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Comparing Authority In Apology Of Socrates And Hebrew Bible

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In the Apology of Socrates and Hebrew Bible, there are different structures of authority – the way people live their lives, or how they view their world. The Greek gods and the Hebrew God gain power by influencing every aspect of these people’s lives. The structures of authority are evidently shown in the Apology of Socrates, when the judges are harsh on Socrates about a crime that Socrates did not do. Also, it is in the books of the Bible how the Jews judge each other. Another structure of authority that show in these works are the messengers who do what their Gods want them to do. Although the Athenians’ and Jews’ lives contrast sharply, the ways they devote themselves to their Gods are similar.
First of all, the Greek gods are nothing like the Hebrew …show more content…

Cupid marries the beautiful girl, Psyche, and takes care of her. When Cupid’s wound heals at the end of The Golden Ass, “he could no longer bear to be parted for so long from Psyche” (104). The Greek gods and the people who follow them are not very forgiving, especially toward Socrates, who only speaks the truth, not his religion. The Athenians, who are polytheists, are relentless when voting against Socrates because they do not agree with the views of Socrates and believe that Socrates has been “corrupting the young and not believing in the gods the city believes…” (Apology 24b; 24c). Socrates is not an atheist because he says that if he believes in divinities, then he believes there are gods (Apology 27d), he just believes in different Greek gods. Plus, Socrates is not forcing a new religion on young people, he takes the opportunity to talk to people willing to listen to him. It just happens to be young people that listen to Socrates rambling on about how wise people are not actually geniuses. He is not spreading the word about his gods. Unfortunately, the judges still think

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