Socrates (film)

Plot

After Athens falls under the government of the Thirty Tyrants, the lives of citizens are no longer safe. The philosopher Socrates, meanwhile, continues his so-called philosophical "preaching", gathering more and more young disciples. The youth of Athens like Socrates, although the conservatives, such as the comedian Aristophanes, ridicule him, believing him to be one of the sophists.

His enemies, led by a young man named Meletus, accuse him in court, arguing that the philosopher preaches crazy doctrines to the youth, and does not believe in the gods, but demons. Socrates makes his "apology" (i.e., legal defense), but the citizens are against him; so Socrates is sentenced to death, and held in prison, awaiting execution. His disciples are desperate, and one of them, Crito, tries to help him by encouraging him to flee. Socrates rejects this idea, saying he must obey the rulers of the city. Socrates then resolves to die, and dies as soon as he is forced to drink hemlock.

Cast