Plato's account of the speech Socrates delivered at his trial for impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens in 399 BC. Facing a capital charge, Socrates refuses to beg for his life or compromise his mission. He cross-examines his accuser Meletus, explains the divine oracle that set him on his path of questioning, and argues that death holds no terror for the philosopher. Convicted and sentenced to death, he addresses both his accusers and his supporters with equal calm. The Apology is the founding document of the tradition of intellectual courage in the face of political power.
