Sacrifice In Plato's Apology

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Apología is a Latin word that is defined as "a defense of one's opinions or conduct". In Plato's Apology, Socrates is "apologizing" for his actions to his two groups of accusers who have accused him of two very serious accusations. Like any important figure, Socrates was destined to have people scrutinize his every word and every decision he made but the accusations against him were absurdly dishonest and lacked truth.
Socrates makes a point of addressing the older charges and his early accusers first, stating “I am more afraid of them than Anytus and his associates, who are dangerous, too, in their own way”. The first accusers were the ones who initially sparked the rumors that Socrates was the main cause for corrupting the youth and that he was being disrespectful of the Gods, following his every move
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Socrates never claimed to possess any of the knowledge his first accusers were so sure of that he held and whatever Socrates was teaching was not meant to bring harm or corruption to anyone. Though many were not in favor of him, a good number of the people at Socrates trial were on his side and completely knew that whatever was being said about Socrates was all a lie. People proclaim that Socrates is a “villainous leader of youth”, yet when asked what he teaches and does that is so evil, they do not know how to respond.
After making his defense against his first class of accusers, Socrates moved on to defend himself against his second class of accusers, with the main prosecutor being Meletus. Aiding Meletus in his quest to take down Socrates were Anytus and Lycon. Their accusations against Socrates stated that “Socrates is a doer of evil, and corrupter of the youth, and he does not believe in the gods of the state, and has other divinities of his own”. Socrates took these charges against him and turned them towards Meletus, questioning whether or not he was the one who was