The Republic
Plato · Ancient · Philosophy
Ancient · Philosophy, dialogue
Apology
by Plato. Plato’s Apology presents Socrates answering charges against his teaching and way of life, while turning a legal defense into an examination of knowledge, duty, reputation, and death.
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- Date
- c. 399–387 BCE
- Origin
- Ancient Greece
- Era
- Ancient
- Genre
- Philosophy, dialogue
- Canon tier
- Essential core
- Difficulty
- Accessible
- Length
- Short
- Reading time
- 1–2 hours
- Collection
- The Western Canon
Subjects and themes
Why it matters
It supplies a compact entrance to Socratic philosophy and one of the canon’s defining models of intellectual conscience under public pressure.
This work is included on the basis of great books / harvard. Its cataloged influence level is 5 out of 5.
Before you read
The title means a defense, not an expression of regret. Notice how Socrates distinguishes the formal charges from the older stories that have shaped the jury’s expectations.
Historical context
The speech is Plato’s literary presentation of a real Athenian trial. It should be read both as civic drama and as a philosophical portrait.
What to read next
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