During his Apology Socrates said; "For anything that man can tell, death may be the greatest good that can happen to them..." and continued by stating that he considered both conceivable states of death a gain. One which is an eternal night filled with peaceful rest, and the more common belief that one journeys to another place filled with great men and women free from judgement and with a great ease to converse with. Who would not enjoy such a fate?

Socrates had been offered exile as opposed to death for his crimes against the city, but in his apology Socrates had gloried death as opposed to exile, he preferred to choose death rather than be exiled from Athens. Socrates alluded that being exiled or escaping would be equivalent to receiving a lighter punishment, and that was not a justified consequence of the wrong doing.

While speaking with Crito, during Socrates' portrayal of city officials who had learnt of the plans to escape, Socrates claimed that escaping would be seen as an attempt to destroy the

So was Socrates right for facing up to his death, or should he has fled Athens to one of the surrounding cities? I don't believe this situation lends itself to a right or wrong answer. If the right answer is the one with the most benefits over harms, then I believe that Socrates made the better choice.

Had Socrates chosen to escape and flee Athens, in essence he would have been (unofficially) exiled from the city, and would have been no better off than had he chosen to be exiled in the first place. In addition word would have traveled quickly and the habitants of the surrounding city that Socrates had chosen to take up residence in, surely would have found out about his escape, and while they may not turn him in, they most certainly would be less trusting of him. He was after all a fugitive.

Perhaps the most significant factor in Socrates' refusal to flee from Athens was the "prophetic sign" that Socrates heard throughout his life. That divine voice that had followed him all through his life, warning him of things he was about to do which were not right, did not speak to him as he left his house the morning of his apology. Nor had it spoken to him as he was heading to the court, no

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 810
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)