Legend has it that Prince theseus of Athens voluntarily went to Crete, as one of seven pairs of Athenian boys and girls who were forced to give Minos cows, determined to get rid of the curse imposed on the Athenians. Before leaving, the Athenians made a wish that if they returned safely, they would go to Telo to worship Apollo every year. The polis took this sacred religious sacrifice seriously. In order to ensure the cleanliness of the city, the death penalty will be suspended. Socrates was put in prison, waiting to be sacrificed and executed. During this period, the disciples took turns to visit the prison and spend the last days with the teacher. As a result, there were several famous dialogues in which Plato recorded Sue's remarks in prison. About a month later, the 70-year-old philosopher sent his wife and children away, drank the poisonous fish in front of his disciples and died peacefully.
Take Socrates as an example. On the one hand, he is a great philosopher who pursues truth and sacrifices his life for righteousness, and on the other hand, he is an Athens city-state who flaunts democracy and freedom and is regarded as the source of democratic politics. Who is right and wrong, who is good and who is evil, is not so clear-cut, emotional choice has become a painful torture, so its tragic color is becoming more and more obvious. In the modern world where the concept of democracy and freedom is deeply rooted in people's hearts, Socrates' death has not only become a problem, but also an inextricable knot in modern people's hearts.
However, for the Athenians, this case is far from a difficult knot, and it is not a problem at all. Because the whole case was tried in full accordance with the laws of the Athens city-state. The three people who sued Socrates were all Athenian citizens, led by meredith, who obviously prosecuted according to law. At the beginning of Euschiffero, Socrates said that he would go to "the king's consul" to answer meredith's complaint. The king's consul is responsible for the worship of god. The main charges against Socrates are disrespect for god and worship of new gods, so he needs to go there for the record. At this point, the case officially entered the trial process.
The trial procedure is equally complicated and democratic. Different from modern times, the courts in Athens have no judges, only the presiding judge, who is responsible for organizing trials and maintaining court order, and the adjudication power lies with the jury. Members of the jury were chosen by lot from among citizens. For example, at the beginning of each year, citizens voluntarily sign up to compete for jury members of that year, and then draw lots to select 6,000 volunteers as jury members of that year. If a court session is held, the city-state officials will determine the size of the jury needed to hear each case in advance according to the size of the case, ranging from five to two thousand, and then draw lots from six thousand jury members to select the total number of jurors needed for that day. Before the trial, these jurors will be assigned to different courts to hear different cases by drawing lots. Its operation process is incredibly complicated, but it is hard to believe that the stone inlay used for lottery can survive to this day. In addition, the reason why the Athenians invented this set of things is not unreasonable, and its main purpose is to prevent any form of bribery. First of all, you can't know in advance which jurors will participate in your case. Secondly, you are unlikely to bribe all 6000 jurors. Of course, the large number of jurors also reflects the fundamental principle of democratic politics, that is, the direct and extensive participation of citizens. Jurors can get a lot of money every time they attend the trial, which can support a family for about a day. Those wealthier citizens probably won't spend a day in court for this reward, unless the case concerns their vital interests.
Therefore, jurors are mainly composed of lower-class citizens. The jury that tried Socrates consisted of 500 people, which was obviously not a great case. Larger cases will have a jury of up to 2000 people, while major cases are often tried directly by the citizens' assembly.