In 399 BC the philosopher Socrates stood before a jury of his fellow Athenians accused of "refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state" and of "corrupting the youth."
If found guilty; his penalty could be death.
The charges against Socrates were:
"Socrates is an evil-doer, and a curious person, who searches into things under the earth and in heaven, and he makes the worse appear the better cause; and he teaches the aforesaid doctrines to others."
Formal charges:
"Socrates in guilty of corrupting the young and of not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other new divinities."
After hearing the arguments of both Socrates and his accusers, the jury was asked to vote on his guilt.
He was found guilty.
The jurors were next asked to determine Socrates' penalty.
His accusers argued for the death penalty.
Socrates was given the opportunity to suggest his own punishment and could probably have avoided death by recommending exile.
The jury decided death for Socrates.
The philosopher was taken to the near-by jail where his sentence would be carried out.
Athenian law prescribed death by drinking a cup of poison hemlock.
Socrates would be his own executioner.
Socrates willingly drank the poison after being sentenced to death for his speeches and for his belief in humanistic and democratic principles.
When he was ordered to publicly deny his ideas or die, he chose death.
However, as a respected gentleman, the court gave him the right to pick the manner in which he wished to have his death sentence carried out.
Hemlock tea was his first choice.
