Omega (Westport). 2010;61(1):71-84. doi: 10.2190/OM.61.1.d.
Socrates' death, as portrayed by Plato, and commonly accepted, is seen as the virtuous choice of a philosopher of death in preference to ignominiously evading an unjust verdict of the jury. Xenophon's portrayal, the only other contemporaneous account, shows Socrates as being tired of life, seeing nothing worthwhile in hanging on to a continuously declining life, and deliberately choosing death. In more recent years I. F. Stone has discussed in depth the political context surrounding the trial of Socrates. In this article I discuss the various personal factors, his awareness of aging, his vision of declining relationships with others, his marriage and family life, the political context of the times, and his disbelief in democracy, at a time when the Athenian democracy had only recently been restored, but was still under threat by the oligarchs; and the influence of his daimon, a personal spirit who spoke to him only when opposing an action he was considering. The sum of these various factors presents a fuller and more complete picture of Socrates' choice of death over life.
柏拉图所描绘的苏格拉底之死，以及普遍被接受的观点，将其视为一位哲学家面对陪审团不公正裁决时，宁愿选择光荣赴死，也不屈辱逃避的高尚选择。色诺芬的描述则是唯一的同时代记载，他将苏格拉底描绘为厌倦了生命，认为继续维持生命毫无价值，并故意选择死亡。近年来，I.F.斯通深入探讨了苏格拉底审判的政治背景。在本文中，我讨论了各种个人因素，包括他对衰老的意识、与他人关系逐渐恶化的看法、他的婚姻和家庭生活、当时的政治背景以及他对民主的不信任，当时雅典民主制刚刚恢复，但仍受到寡头政治的威胁；以及他的守护神的影响，守护神只有在苏格拉底考虑采取行动时才会对他说话。这些各种因素的总和，呈现出了一个更全面、更完整的苏格拉底选择死亡而非生命的画面。
