How Apology drew on The Iliad
A documented line of influence: Plato demonstrably engaged Homer’s work. The commentary below is Gröblé’s, verbatim from each work’s page.
The source
The Iliad
Homer · c. 750 BCE
Ancient GreeceThe influenced
Apology
Plato · c. 399 BCE
Ancient GreeceRelevance
7/10
On Apology’s page
- Cornered at trial, Socrates reaches for Homer — quoting the Iliad's Achilles, who chose death over dishonor
- The heroic ethic of the battlefield is transposed onto the courtroom: face execution without fear rather than betray your calling
- It's an explicit, named borrowing — knowing the Iliad shows you whose example Socrates is invoking against his accusers
On The Iliad’s page
- Achilles' choice in Iliad 18 — death over dishonor — gave Socrates the words to defend his own life
- In the Apology, Socrates quotes that passage by name to explain why he won't abandon his philosophic mission, even on pain of death
- Homer's battlefield code becomes the template for the most famous act of intellectual courage in antiquity