I was reading socrates' "The Apology" and I ran in a few questions. Could someone help me out?

Question

My first question is why did Socrates refuse to have his family come and make a petition for aquittal before the court? What comes to my mind is that is it because he felt that it would be lowly of him to do so?
My second question is what did the people expect Socrates to propose as his punishment? What I'm thinking is that the people thought that he would accept exile.
My third question is what did Socrates ask his friends to do for his three sons in order that they grow up right? I'm stumped on this one.

I hope someone can enlighthen me on this topic

Answer 1

Just for clarity, although the main character is Socrates, it was written by Plato.
The answer to your first question is that anyone coming to seek Socrates’ acquittal would have been similar to an admission of guilt. Remember that Socrates' argument was that he had not corrupted the youth of Athens and he gives reasons how he had not done that. He wants the jury to set him free because he is innocent rather than taking pity on an old man.
The sentence indicates that the guilty verdict included votes that did not think him guilty before, so Socrates’ line of reasoning inflamed the jury against him. He was willing to sacrifice himself to make a point. Lastly, as I recall the dialogue indicates that he was some 70 years old; his life was pretty much at an end, regardless. Living, especially as an exile, would have been shameful to him. He was determined to go out with a bang.
You are perhaps right that they would just liked initially to have had him go away into exile, but, again, Socrates was out to make a point. Instead he makes it almost impossible to treat him lightly. His arrogance certainly aroused their ire, whether they deserved it or not. There are certain parallels to Jesus' trial, at least in the sense that by answering differently, they both might have saved themselves. Socrates even suggests he be rewarded, which no one could have accepted easily. People just wanted him to shut up, but it was out of character for the man. If he had agreed to cease doing what he was doing, he would easily have saved himself, but it would have been an admission of guilt. The great line from all of this is, "The unexamined life is not worth living."
Socrates says he has two young sons and an adolescent; not bad for a guy who is 70 so he must have been busy at home with his wife into his 60's. (No wonder Xanthippe became famous for complaining so much!)
Concerning his sons, I assume that you are referring to Socrates' instructions to the jury to avenge themselves by causing them the same grief that he caused them. Besides being highly unlikely for the jury to do so, no matter how much they hated Socrates, this is a clear indication that Socrates is saying that he hasn't done anything wrong, except, perhaps, try to get people to think.
Lastly his comment that he owed "a cock for Aesclepius" was an indication that the god of healing was finally healing him in his dying. It is echoed in the works of Kierkegaard especially in the book, "Sickness unto Death."

Answer 2

I don't have the text on me, but I will give this a shot. I think you're right when you say that Socrates didn't have his family help him in court because he thought it would be low of him to do so. Socrates thinks that he is innocent of these charges, and he thinks that he has proved this, so he doesn't think he needs to cry and beg for mercy. Having his family come in and do that would be like begging, and he doesn't feel the need to do that. Also, you can see how Socrates thinks he has done the right thing(s) in life, so he won't apologize for them now to save his life. I think Plato and them tell Socrates to ask for a fine as punishment, but as you know, Socrates doesn't do that. As for the sons question, I'm not sure where that is in text, but you can tell that Socrates wants people to examine themselves and try to lead a good life, so it might have something to do with that. I hope these answers help you out some, or at least get other people to join in.

Answer 3

It's been a while since I've read Apology (the title's used here in its older sense, a defense for an expressed belief rather than an expression of regret for wrongdoing, cf. apologetics), so here goes.

Why did Socrates refuse to have his family come to petition for his acquittal? Ultimately, Socrates knew this was HIS defense; to have anyone else petition for him would give others the impression that he really was guilty and would make Socrates himself look guilty already of not believing in the gods of the city and corrupting the youth (the charges which the Athenians DID bring against him). The crux of his defense was not whether he was guilty of the charges, but whether being guilty of the charges did in fact constitute a crime.

In ancient Athens (post-defeat by Sparta in the Peloponessian War), the charges against Socrates were the only ones he could be brought to trial for. Sparta required Athens to pass a general amnesty after their conquest, which meant he couldn't be prosecuted for any crime during the war (which he was a veteran of, having fought in the early battles of Delium and Potidaea).

My best guess is that the Athenian jury expected Socrates to propose exile as his punishment -- a convicted Athenian was allowed to propose an alternative sentence for himself, and the jury chose between that and the standard penalty. The leadership of Athens wanted Socrates out of sight because they were looking for a scapegoat for their misfortune; Socrates, by his teachings to do not what's expedient but what's right in the service of the state, became the stone in their craw. When he chose free meals (essentially, a lifetime pension) as his alternative sentence, the jury was left without a choice. He was sentenced to death.

In Crito (so named because he's the central figure in the dialogue), Socrates asks his friends while on his deathbed to ensure that his three sons never become philosophers. He knew, despite the company of family and friends, that a philosopher is largely unappreciated in the time he or she lives. Just then, Athens needed less philosophy and more to get back on its feet -- but it would never be the superpower it was again.

Answer 4

Socrates himself said that it would be lowly of him to bring his family before the court. He used a different word, maybe ignoble or something, but he considered a disgrace to beg for your life on the basis of having a family. He believed guilt or innocence should be decided just on that, and would not lower himself to the level everyone else had. (Of course, by doing so, he just got the jury mad at him, since he set himself up as better than all of them.)

The people definitely thought he would accept exile. Like bringing your family before the court, it was common practice then to beg for exile rather than death.

I don't remember the third one, so I'm looking it up now...

Answer 5

Socrates Sons