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Audiobook edition · 1 h 48 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What is worth defending when your own life is at stake?
In Plato’s Apology, Socrates stands before an Athenian jury accused of dishonoring the city’s gods, introducing new divine things, and corrupting the young. He answers with questions rather than pleas for mercy. As he confronts his accusers, the trial becomes a test of whether a man can keep his principles when his life hangs in the balance.
Here, apology means a defense, not an expression of regret. Socrates explains how a question put to the oracle at Delphi leads him to question others. He challenges Meletus directly and asks what wisdom, duty, and courage demand. Short and almost entirely in one voice, Plato’s account brings you close to a man who refuses to bend his convictions to save himself.
What you’ll discover
- Wisdom begins with questions Follow Socrates as he examines what people know and what they only think they know.
- An accuser under scrutiny Watch Socrates question Meletus directly, putting the charge against him to the test.
- The city’s persistent gadfly Discover why Socrates pictures Athens as a sleepy horse that needs his sting.
- Principles under pressure Consider why Socrates places duty above survival when his way of life puts him in danger.
- A voice without pleading Encounter a defense that asks the jury to listen to reason rather than grant mercy.
Who will love it
This is for readers who love big questions about how to live, who enjoy a sharp courtroom argument, and who want to meet the thinker behind Western philosophy in his own words.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Plain truth matters more than polished speech
- Old slanders do more harm than new charges
- Wisdom begins with knowing what you do not know
- Careful questions can expose a weak accusation
- Duty to do right outweighs the fear of death
- Integrity shows in what you refuse to do
- Death need not be an evil to fear
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Apology
by Plato
An old man on trial in Athens refuses to beg and asks the jury a question about how to live.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to readEspañol
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In short
What would you say if your city put you on trial for the way you think? That is the position of Socrates in Apology.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Plain truth matters more than polished speech
Socrates opens by saying that his accusers spoke so persuasively that he almost forgot who he was. Then he names their boldest falsehood. They warned the jury to beware of his power with words, as if he were a gifted orator. He answers that he has no such gift, unless they mean the power of truth. In that sense alone, he says, he is eloquent.
He promises a very different kind of speech. He will not give a set piece dressed up in neat phrases. He will use whatever words come to him in the moment, because he trusts that his cause is just. He is more than seventy years old, and this is his first time in a court of law. He asks the jurors to treat him as a stranger who speaks in his own manner.
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Also in the Plato Book Set: Six Dialogues
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Cite this edition
Plato. Apology. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/apology.
Plato. (2026). Apology. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/apology (Original work published ca. 390 B.C.E.)
Plato. Apology. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/apology.
@book{plato2026apology,
author = {Plato},
title = {Apology},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/apology},
note = {First published ca. 390 BCE}
}
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What is Apology by Plato about?
It presents the speeches Socrates gives at his trial in Athens. He answers charges of corrupting the young and not believing in the city's gods, explains why he questions people, and shares his calm view of death.
Is Apology a true story and when was it written?
It is based on the real trial of Socrates in Athens. Plato, who was a young follower and present in court, wrote it as his own account, so it reflects his memory and art, not a word-for-word record.
Why does Socrates call himself a gadfly?
He compares Athens to a large, sleepy horse and himself to a stinging fly sent by God. His questions are meant to wake people up and make them care about wisdom, truth, and the good of their souls.
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