Sophocles

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Athens, Greece has been one of the most influential cities for Western culture the world has ever seen. At the forefront of Athens’ resume lie three names: Sophocles, Plato, and Aristotle. Each of these three great philosophers had different ideas on life, wisdom, and the god’s role in everyday affairs, but each significantly influenced Western thought and culture. Sophocles, the first of these philosophers to have lived, was put to death by the state around 400 BC for charges brought against him of corrupting the youth and impiety. He was found guilty and sentenced to death by a group of his piers (vii). However, Sophocles did not commit the crimes the “plaintiffs” claimed he did, therefore rendering a generally just punishment unjust, causing his execution to be the real crime committed.
To examine whether Sophocles violated the laws he has been charged with violating, the charges brought against him must first be examined. The problem with examining these charges is that Sophocles’ and Meletus’ versions differ. In essence, the charges boil down to two things: corrupting the youth of Athens, and impiety. Meletus claims to know “how the young men are being corrupted, and who’s corrupting them” according to Sophocles in Euthyphro (2c, 3-4). The claim is that Sophocles is putting the future of Athens in jeopardy by indoctrinating the future leaders of the city with his “crazy ideas”. Obviously, the current leaders of the city want to stay in power and keep the city running how they like it. This leads them to try and triturate any possible rebellion or drastic change before it takes place. Logically, the place to stop this is with the leader of the group, whom they consider to be Sophocles. This charge of corrupting the youth, wh...

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...h is, technically, a fitting punishment for this crime. Drastic measures had to be taken by Athenian officials to ensure the continued success and blessing of their city, and crimes such as these could not be tolerated for fear of how the gods would react to them. The only problem with this punishment is that it was given out in error. Sophocles was not in violation of either of these crimes, and their making an example of him was lost because of the debate over his true guilt. Sophocles cared so deeply about Athens as a whole and her continued wellbeing that instead of easily escaping from jail and or his punishment, he chose to accept the consequences and respect the authority of the city officials in order to maintain the legal system’s integrity in his beloved city. This attitude is the exact opposite of the attitude he had been accused of having towards Athens.

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