"The Death of Socrates"

 

That history was not known

"The Death of Socrates"

The wise man Socrates will be executed in the evening. According to the rules of that time, the entire family and private disciples surround him. 

Dark prison cell. The chief jailer came and took his last leave. Tears are welling up in his eyes too. Alas, what a strange punishment! He who dies is slow, quiet. And the one who kills will have tears in his eyes. The jailer said, 'You shall not curse me, O great son of Athens. I am just doing my duty. In all my years of working in prisons, I have never seen anyone as brave, honest and wise as you.

Just before he died, Socrates asked the women and children of his family to leave. He wore beautiful clothes. The disciples are all crying but Socrates seems unconcerned. Does nothing come and go in death? He could have avoided the death penalty if he wanted. The charges against him were - dissenting from the gods, conspiracy against the state and encouraging the youth to go astray. According to the rules, his trial was held in the open field. Judges were 500 wise people of the society. Many of them were loyal to the King of Greece. They were fueled by Socrates' genius and his popularity, especially among the young. Why would they leave such an opportunity to destroy Socrates? However, Socrates might have survived. But he did not forget to make fun of the judges while standing in the courtroom. The result was 'death by hemlock poisoning'.

He was imprisoned for a month before his death. That was the rule. In this one month, the prison guards were also impressed by his knowledge. They wanted to help him escape. Socrates politely refused. He said, "History will think of me as a coward if I run away today." He considered a manly death preferable to a life of disgrace.

That evening, after the chief jailer had left, the executioner came in, cup in hand. A cup full of hemlock poison. Socrates said to the executioner, "Tell me what to do." You know better than me''. The executioner said, "You have to drink the entire cup of poison, not a single drop can be wasted." "So be it," said Socrates. He drank the entire cup of bitter poison like water. The disciples sitting around are crying out. No one can accept such a death. Then the executioner gave more severe orders. "According to the rules, you have to walk for a while now, so that the effects of the poison can spread quickly throughout the body," he said. Alas, everyone got up. Socrates only faintly smiled. He said, "I obeyed the law all my life, why should I break the law in death"? He stood up on weak legs and walked for a while, until his strength cooled. Then he went to bed. He said to the disciples "don't cry loudly, let me die in peace". He lowered his head with respect, modesty and shame even in the executioner's stony mind. Socrates covered his face with a sheet. He removed the sheet once. He called a disciple and said, "I borrowed a chicken from a neighbor, give it back."

This was his last word. After a while, the wise man Socrates left on a precarious journey. Plato was the best among his disciples. Plato wrote down these events about two and a half thousand years ago. Plato's disciple was the great philosopher Aristotle, one of the top wise men of all time. We all know the name of Mahavir Alexander the Great. Aristotle was the teacher of this world conqueror Alexander.

In the trial of the farce, Socrates died but death did not kill him. He will live eternally with the light of knowledge among the disciples. Those who will fight to reveal the truth, Socrates, who died at the age of seventy-one, will remain a name of encouragement to them.

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This painting is called “Death of Socrates”. French artist Jacques-Louis David painted this picture about two hundred and thirty years ago (AD 1787). Everyone knows the story of the film. A jar of hemlock poison is held in front of Socrates, who freely drinks it. On the right side of the picture, his disciples are sad and angry. The man to Socrates' left holding out the hemlock pot, his own face covered in shame, is through him the death of such a wise man, perhaps for that reason.