The Apology of Socrates

Learning Resources

Plato (429-347 B.C.E.) is, by any reckoning, one of the most dazzling writers in the Western literary tradition and one of the most penetrating, wide-ranging, and influential authors in the history of philosophy. An Athenian citizen of high status, he displays in his works his absorption in the political events and intellectual movements of his time, but the questions he raises are so profound and the strategies he uses for tackling them so richly suggestive and provocative that educated readers of nearly every period have in some way been influenced by him.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Resources for Students of All Ages

Read the text of the Apology for free
A free audio recording of the Apology.
An audio version of the Apology from Agora Publications

From The Classics Technology Center:
Historical Background of the Apology

From Clarke University:
The Last Days of Socrates full featured website

Resources for Teachers

From The Classics Technology Center:
Teaching Plato in Translation by Susan Gorman of Boston University

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), Stanford University:
The Socratic Method and How to Use it in the Classroom

From the academic journal "Teaching Philosophy":
Teaching Plato's Euthyphro Dialogically by Robert B. Talisse, Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University

From Houghton-Mifflin:
Lesson Plan for teaching the "Crito"

From Willamette University:
Study Questions and other resources

Just For Fun

This Flickr page features great set of Cartoons on a Theme of Plato by Singapore University Philosophy Professor John Holbo.