Did Socrates “Teach New Deities”?

Or: Homer’s Gods, Plato’s Gods*

A Public Talk by Dr. Jan Garrett

Contents

* The Charges Against Socrates
* Socrates and the Poets
* The Poets’ Picture of the Gods
* Socrates and Plato
* Socrates’ Notion of His Philosophical Mission
* The Search for a Definition of Piety
* Are Platonic Forms Gods?
* What Does Plato Think the Gods Are Like?
* Visible and Invisible Gods
* Proper Relations Between Gods and Mortals
* Did Socrates Teach New Divinities?
* Plato on the Gods, Immortality, and Philosophy
* Homer’s Gods, Plato’s Gods: Summary in Chart Form

The Charges Against Socrates
Socrates, as is well known, was convicted and sentenced to death in 399 B.C. on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens. Of his three accusers, one was Meletus, who spoke for the poets of Athens. What kind of gripes would the poets have against Socrates?

A clue is provided by the part of the indictment involving impiety. Apparently it said something like this: “Socrates is guilty of believing in deities of his own invention instead of the gods recognized by the city.” (Apol. 24b) In effect, then, Socrates is accused of teaching new gods. This point is often lost sight of because during the trial, when Socrates actually confronts his accuser, Meletus shifts his ground and accuses Socrates not of teaching new gods, but of not believing in any gods at all. Yet the charge that Socrates taught new gods was probably in the original indictment.

Read full article here:
http://www.wku.edu/~jan.garrett/pgods.htm