WI Socrates Acquitted

Here's a question to get back to the OP --

If Socrates is acquitted, what is the short term impact on Athenian politics? AIUI, a lot of Socrates' students OTL left town after the sentence...
 
I'm unaware of students leaving town. I'm unaware of it, not saying it didn't happen.

But since I'm unaware, I can't offer any insight into that.
 
Well, I may be wrong -- I read that in Larry Gonick's Cartoon History, but have been trouble finding a corroboration.

Though there are still potential political implications short term -- for example, Plato wanted to go into politics, until the execution. Could he have made it TTL?
 
Okay, I found evidence that says yeah, this is how it went. People did flee the city, but only temporarily, and Plato was indeed interested in getting into Politics but was put off by Socrates' trial.

If Plato gets involved in politics his primary concern will just be with trying to get Athens to adopt more just laws. Unfortunately I have no idea what the law was like in Athens at the time, so I can't help with this too much.
 
Though there are still potential political implications short term -- for example, Plato wanted to go into politics, until the execution. Could he have made it TTL?
I'm pretty sure that the fact that Plato's uncle Critias was a leading member of the Thirty Tyrants who was particularly infamous for killing people and expropriating their wealth had a lot more to do with Plato giving up on a political career than what happened to Socrates. Immediate family members of the most hated tyrant in recent Athenian memory will not be able to win any sort of political power.

Heck, 90% of the reason Socrates went on trial in the first place was because Critias was one of his students. As a fellow Socratic and a family member, Plato would suffer far too much guilt by association to have a chance in politics.
 
Here's a question to get back to the OP --

If Socrates is acquitted, what is the short term impact on Athenian politics? AIUI, a lot of Socrates' students OTL left town after the sentence...

A lot of his students were involved in the 30 tyrants regime, and they left the city after the regime fell (thus before the process) not to be judged (or murdered) as traitors.
Classical example is Xenophon
 
I'm not saying Plato becomes a leading citizen or anything, but he could still have an impact...
Not really; it would be like having one of the Czar's family members wielding any degree of political influence in the Soviet Union. The most Plato would be able to accomplish if he tried for a career in politics post-Thirty Tyrants is angering enough people to get himself ostracized or murdered.
 
A lot of his students were involved in the 30 tyrants regime, and they left the city after the regime fell (thus before the process) not to be judged (or murdered) as traitors. Classical example is Xenophon

Actually, not to nitpick, but wasn't Xenophon exiled years after Socrates trial for fighting with the Spartans in the Cornithian War?
 
Top