Ancient Greece Lesson: Socrates on Trial

In the freest society of the ancient world, an elderly teacher was sentenced to death over {ostensibly} his beliefs on democratic rule. Did this prove the point that democracy was nothing more than mob rule? Or was the Athenian assembly correct in its assertion that Socrates was corrupting the youth of Athens?

This mock trial is a GREAT way to get students to take an in-depth look at one of the most important institutions of our time. It is important to explain to the students that it is not necessarily profane to critique democracy; it does have its shortcomings. Moreover, the only alternative to democracy is not necessarily violent dictatorial rule (although that has been the norm in non-democratic societies). Instead, think of this as more or less an exercise in perfecting democracy, which can only be done through careful analysis and critique.

This lesson can be used as a stand alone activity, or can be used as part of our complete unit on Ancient Greece.


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