Socrates spent the entirety of his life practicing philosophy. He questions everyone who claims to have wisdom and eventually comes to either aggravate those he made to look foolish or inspired those who kept an open mind. At one point Socrates claims that his life has been no less heroic than the heroes who fought at Troy. Considering how vital heroism is to Athenian culture, this claim can be unfavorable. Most Athenians when prompted about what is a hero, will picture Achilles, or one of Homer’s other heroes, not a man who “Corrupts the youth”, or “Is an Atheist”. So when asking whether or not his claim is plausible, we can see from the Apology and Crito that his enemies would say no, while his friends would say yes. In this paper, I argue that Socrates had lived a life no …show more content…
Heroism is a concept that was essential to the ancient Greeks, heroes were what people looked to, to model their lives after. A majority of people believed in a God, it is essentially illegal to not believe in a GOd, hence one of the charges brought upon Socrates. If you believe in a God, most likely you will believe that God is benevolent and that to gain eternal life after death, you must strive to live a good/benevolent life. Since, throughout greek mythology we can see the Gods favoring heroes. We can assume that heroes are pious and will most likely reach eternal life. This can be seen through Socrates argument of whether something is pious because the Gods love it or because the Gods love it, it is pious. Regardless, of whether the heroes are pious and the gods love them because they are pious or the gods love them therefore they are pious, the fact that they favor them at all, means they must be pious. Since heroes are pious, they are someone we should strive to be. Since they are someone we should strive to be they must be considered a good man. With being a good man, comes caring about the well-being and improvement of others, and as well doing no evil to