History: The trial of Socrates

HISTORY
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The trial of Socrates
Socrates expresses that Athens was a wonderful and impartial city where people from all quarters went by land and sea. The main reason for this movement was that occupants of Athens depended on the imported goods and the freedom of speech that was exhibited in Athens. However, the outstanding feature that was acknowledged and did not exist in all other cities in Greece was the democratic space, where the residences were allowed to express their views freely.
During the trail of Socrates, freedom of speech was written in the constitution but was not practiced in real sense. In fact he expressed the dissatisfaction with the people who were judging him; he termed those who were violating the freedom of speech to be terminating the customs of democracy and compared to cutting the tongue or removing the eyes from the body. Other philosophers though that the trial of Socrates could have argued that the trial was misplaced, since the core issue was the rights of Athens people and the trial was against their freedom.
In his testimony, Socrates confessed to the prosecutors that they were not prosecuting him for the actions he committed rather the views he said and taught. The views he was expressing and teaching did not concurred with the thoughts of leadership of the time. The trial of Socrates indicated that freedom of speech was not limited only to Athens and not to other cities in Greece. The trial took place during Bronze Age period and though democratic system of governance was unique to Athens and not practice all over Greece, full expression was limited. This was an indication that leadership was introducing dictatorship in Athens as was the case in other cities.
The sentiment was later proved to be right when the city was taken by dictators by overthrowing the democratic leadership at around 411 AD. Socrates further asserted that it was absurd to allege there is freedom of speech yet the words uttered are irrational opinion that favors specific quarters of leadership and demeaning the opinion of the larger population. The probability was that even in Alexander’s aftermath strong philosophers’ considered to be civic treasures that could teach citizen a better way of life of Socrates statue could still existed.
Socrates thought freedom of speech was founded in the supposition that everyman’s opinion counts and the majority opinion leads the way. But the judgment was contrary to the spirit of freedom of speech by suppressing the opinions. In his conclusion, Socrates explained that freedom of speech is not exp...