How did ancient Greek philosopher Socrates die?

Socrates ( 470–399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy. He was a scholar, teacher and philosopher.

His life is chronicled through only a few sources: the dialogues of Plato and Xenophon and the plays of Aristophanes. Because these writings had other purposes than reporting his life, it is likely none present a completely accurate picture. However, collectively, they provide a unique and vivid portrayal of Socrates's philosophy and personality.

When the political climate of Greece turned against him, Socrates was sentenced to death in 399 B.C., he was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and of impiety, or heresy. He chose to defend himself in court.

Rather than present himself as wrongly accused, Socrates declared he fulfilled an important role as a gadfly, one who provides an important service to his community by continually questioning and challenging the status quo and its defenders.

The jury was not swayed by Socrates' defense and convicted him by a vote of 280 to 221. Possibly the defiant tone of his defense contributed to the verdict and he made things worse during the deliberation over his punishment.

The jury sentenced him to death by drinking poisonous hemlock. Plato described Socrates' execution in his Phaedo dialogue: he drank the hemlock mixture without hesitation. Numbness slowly crept into his body until it reached his heart, and he lay lifeless.