Socrates understood that the charges against him would prove to be difficult to over come, he even explains to the jury that he is doubtful of his success. Euthyphro tells Socrates that a charge of improvising on the subject of the gods is easily misrepresented before the general public, a charge that Socrates must defend. Then the two men agree that a criminal would not in his right mind admit that he did wrong, and then ask for no penalty. So based on his

Stone's opinion is that Socrates thought he would lose anyway, so why should Socrates waste his time begging for mercy. Socrates was surprised at the outcome because he had been annoying the people of Athens all his life, and he felt he was doing the same at his trial. Perhaps Socrates wisdom did not go as far as he had hoped. However, after his conviction, Socrates still uses his arrogant thinking telling the jury he would rather die as a result of his defense, than live as a result of begging. So Socrates was aware that his task of acquittal was difficult. But he chose to argue in his own style, his greatest enemy being himself. The charges brought against him would have been dropped if he had argued in favor of himself. Instead, his attitude proved to be detrimental to his case and his life as well. However, Socrates lack of defense was not the only factor in his conviction.

Socrates was also extremely impatient and arrogant throughout the trial. Every time his prosecutor Meletus spoke, Socrates would reply in a sarcastic and often abrupt manner. It seems logical that a man on trial would show respect for a man such as Meletus. After all, the peers of Meletus were members of the jury. The jury could draw the conclusion that since Socrates was not respectful to Meletus, and then he would also show disrespect to them. Instead of using his intelligence to combat Meletus' accusations, Socrates seemed to answer to quickly. His hastiness made him appear to be the very nuisance that he was being tried for. He would get off to the side and explain situations that were not pertinent to his case. Instead of denying the charges, it seemed as though he danced around them. Socrates' arrogance had a similar effect. In his explanation of why people hated him, he actually incriminates himself further.

Socrates' claims of wisdom in The Apology also cause the jury to choose conviction. Socrates angered the jury in his claims of wisdom. These claims might have been appreciated more if he had not suggested that the whole jury is ignorant except himself. The jury knows that Socrates is a nuisance to the city, and that he claims to be the most wise, but Socrates does not fail to remind them. Socrates repeatedly claims that he is the wisest because he knows that he knows nothing. So the jury hears Socrates calling them ignorant, which is certainly not helpful to his case. But after the insults, Socrates acts like he is humble when he is not. He explains that it is his duty to search for one wiser than he, claiming that it is assisting god. So Socrates tries to dismiss the charge of worshiping other deities by asserting that he is doing god a favor by annoying everyone. He explains:

conversation with Euthyphro, Socrates concludes that his case is a matter of who did it, what he did, and when he did it, not whether the act was right or wrong. His conversation with Euthyphro leads Socrates to conclude that it is difficult to ascertain what is holy and unholy, right or wrong. Therefore, Socrates plans on defending his case by answering the questions of who, what and when because it would be impossible to prove instead if he was right or wrong. Socrates' chosen method of defense is not familiar to the Athenians. It

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