Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths [Hardcover]

Robin Waterfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 2009

A revisionist account of the most famous trial and execution in Western civilization—one with great resonance for American society today.

Socrates’ trial and death together form an iconic moment in Western civilization. In 399 BCE, the great philosopher stood before an Athenian jury on serious charges: impiety and “subverting the young men of the city.” The picture we have of it—created by his immediate followers, Plato and Xenophon, and perpetuated in countless works of literature and art ever since—is of a noble man putting his lips to the poisonous cup of hemlock, sentenced to death in a fit of folly by an ancient Athenian democracy already fighting for its own life. But an icon, an image, is not reality, and time has transmuted so many of the facts into historical fable.

Aware of these myths, Robin Waterfield has examined the actual Greek sources and presents here a new Socrates, in which he separates the legend from the man himself. As Waterfield recounts the story, the charges of impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens were already enough for a death sentence, but the prosecutors accused him of more. They asserted that Socrates was not just an atheist and the guru of a weird sect but also an elitist who surrounded himself with politically undesirable characters and had mentored those responsible for defeat in the Peloponnesian War. Their claims were not without substance, for Plato and Xenophon, among Socrates’ closest companions, had idolized him as students, while Alcibiades, the hawkish and notoriously self-serving general, had brought Athens to the brink of military disaster. In fact, as Waterfield perceptively shows through an engrossing historical narrative, there was a great deal of truth, from an Athenian perspective, in these charges.

The trial was, in part, a response to troubled times—Athens was reeling from a catastrophic war and undergoing turbulent social changes—and Socrates’ companions were unfortunately direct representatives of these troubles. Their words and actions, judiciously sifted and placed in proper context, not only serve to portray Socrates as a flesh-and-blood historical figure but also provide a good lens through which to explore both the trial and the general history of the period.

Ultimately, the study of these events and principal figures allows us to finally strip away the veneer that has for so long denied us glimpses of the real Socrates. Why Socrates Died is an illuminating, authoritative account of not only one of the defining periods of Western civilization but also of one of its most defining figures. 4 pages of illustrations

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Socrates and Alcibiades were an unlikely couple: an ugly old philosopher and a charming, intelligent, ambitious and arrogant aristocrat. The fallout from this relationship and an unpopular war toppled the world's most significant philosophical figure. By placing the execution of Socrates against the context of the Peloponnesian War, classicist Waterfield (Xenophon's Retreat) argues that a guilty verdict against the philosopher, charged with impiety and corrupting Athens's youth, was a rational outcome. Athens of the last third of the fifth century B.C. was affected by a striking list of stress factors. Old certainties were being undermined by prolonged warfare, morally subversive ideas, population displacement and other forms of social upheaval. Sitting atop a solid foundation of scholarship, this valuable survey of an important period of ancient history is especially useful as a prelude to texts by Plato, Xenophon and Thucydides. Of the many introductory studies on the Athenian judicial system, the trial of Socrates, the conflict between Athens and Sparta and the reasons that democracy gave way to oligarchy in Athens, this is among the clearest, most well-organized and most concise. 4 pages of illus., maps. (May)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* In The Death of Socrates (2007), Emily Wilson illuminated the mythmaking process that converted the execution of a famous ancient philosopher into a symbolic tableau incorporated into a wide range of religious and political ideologies. In this much-needed complementary study, Waterfield deflates that mythmaking by probing the historical dynamics surrounding the trial itself. The analysis will surprise readers accustomed to viewing Socrates’ accusers as paranoid defenders of religious superstitions. For a careful parsing of the evidence reveals that when Athenian judges condemned Socrates, they were defending principles still cherished by most twenty-first-century readers: namely, the principles of democracy. Waterfield convincingly establishes that Socrates fell under hostile suspicion largely because of his close ties to young students of deeply anti-democratic sympathies. One of these arrogant young men joined other oligarchs in conspiring against Athens during its bitter war against Sparta; another scripted the atrocities committed by the Thirty Tyrants when they temporarily overthrew Athens’ democratic government. Waterfield shows that even Socrates’ own belief in an ideal government by experts legitimated, elitist, not democratic governance. Such a belief, readers soon realize, would have appeared particularly menacing to Athenian democrats traumatized by the twin shocks of external assault and internal discord. Impressive scholarship redefining an iconic event. --Bryce Christensen

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (June 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393065278
• ISBN-13: 978-0393065275
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #428,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Athenian Politics in the Fifth Century B.C., January 7, 2010

By 

G. Poirier (Orleans, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths (Hardcover)

Those fascinated by ancient Athenian politics and culture should enjoy this rather wide-ranging book. Unfortunately for me, it was not at all what I expected. I was anticipating a book focussing on Socrates - his life and accomplishments - culminating is his trial and execution. Instead, the author discusses Socrates mainly in the first chapter and last two. The rest is devoted primarily to Athenian politics, its legal system, the Peloponnesian War and its aftermath as well as other important individuals - particularly Alcibiades for whom much more space has been devoted than that devoted to Socrates. Also, the Peloponnesian War is discussed from a political viewpoint and not one that focuses on military equipment, tactics and battle strategies. However, if one is careful not to lose sight of the book's title, then perhaps one can ultimately get a richer perspective on the reasons for Socrates' trial and execution; in my case, I'm afraid that I got lost along the way. The writing style is certainly clear and very authoritative. Despite my experience in reading this book, I am giving it four stars because I feel that it does contribute important political information on that period of Athenian history.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book With a Far Greater Range, January 27, 2010

By 

Jose Hanson (Edina, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths (Hardcover)

...than the title indicates. The author is tremendously intelligent, knowledgeable and thoughtful. His tone is scholarly but never dry. He's simply a great writer. The big surprise, however, is how much is not directly about Socrates at all, but about Athens. And not the iconic Athens of stately, silent, yellowing marble.

The famous are there along with the less known sons of "billionaire" families who helped bring down Socrates. These young rowdies, with way too much time on their hands, dressed and acted outlandishly, formed drinking clubs, went on destructive rampages, gambled and cruised the gymnasia and baths looking for boys. They liked girls too, and the stories of Alcibiades alone could explain why Athenian women were kept hidden.

And fortunately Alcibiades rates as many pages as his teacher and antithesis Socrates. Considered the handsomest man in Greece, Alcibiades was apparently a rich, reckless, narcissistic satyr. Once Socrates' lover, and later a general, he learned rhetoric from the older man and used it to become the idol of the Greek world. Before he was murdered he seems to have double-crossed at least twice everyone who trusted him. Having a hearty sexual appetite, he seduced men and women alike and was even reputed to have had orgies with his mother and sisters; fleeing Athens, he sought safety in Sparta, but then had to light out again after he impregnated the king's wife. Obviously the book is not dull.

In this Athens Waterfield finds unexpected parallels with our world today: As wealth increases, so does the stress of empire. The population is bitterly divided by competing interests, and struggles erupt between elites and democrats, rich and poor, young and old, farmers and businessmen. Then there's the religious strife of 2,000 cults in a city of 350,000 and the seemingly endless war between Sparta and Athens that spreads to Sicily and Asia Minor as both sides insanely try to goad the Persian Empire to join in. These Greeks are not models of classical good sense and rational action, and Alcibiades seems to have had a hand in everything that went wrong.

Readability is gained partly at the expense of footnotes; there are none -- although the end notes and the extensive bibliography are good. There's also a useful glossary for those unfamiliar with Greek.

This is above all a book of ideas, and believe me, it will leave you with plenty to think about.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Done!, January 30, 2011

By 

David Milliern "Velkar182" (Mitchell, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths (Hardcover)

Waterfield's book pleases me from multiple vantage points. First, it establishes an historical context so that the reader can develop a feel for what was going on prior to Socrates' trial. Now, I have read a great deal about the times leading upto Socrates' trial, as well as reading all of Plato's dialogues (note: at the time of reading I had not read Xenophon), so I only had modest idea of how it all came together. What Waterfield does is establish an overall frame work from largely a socio-political vantage point, and he does so with sophistication and style. The second thing that I deeply appreciate is the original idea (or two) that Waterfield builds to, and it is this primary thesis which serves as the crescendo for the work. Don't be confused if you find yourself half way through the book, asking, "I still don't know why Waterfield thinks Socrates died." The entire book is building to it, and once you realize what he is doing, you will be pleased with the end result.

This book is next-level scholarship, in that it takes a broad base of knowledge and, through reason, presents a very likely conclusion, which, by the way, does not contradict current scholarly thought; it is simply a new idea, as far as I know, and it complements popular scholarly thought.

Another important aspect of this book is the relationship between history and philosophy. I am staunchly in the camp that believes that there is an innate importance to understanding history for the sake of understanding philosophy. While this is one of the smaller details regarding this book, I still think that Waterfield serves in advancing our understanding of the relationship between history and philosophy. Furthermore, Waterfields subtle insights are rather interesting when put into perspective.

I think my one complaint is that I wished Waterfield applied a number at the end of sentences that correspond to his references in the bibliography. Of course, Waterfield's mastery of the subject matter is probably such that he didn't actually refer to the books while writing this book, but it would have been helpful to me.

There is something very refreshing I find in academics that are not associated with a university, and Waterfield is another example of this.