Socrates benefited society, annoyed people to action, and was sentenced to death for a good cause. So, why did he call himself a gadfly? He basically meant a horsefly, which bites and annoys horses. "I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you." He meant that he annoyed and spurred the people on, and that if they killed him, the people would lose their motivation.
So, why was he put on trial in the first place? Well, They (The judges) agreed about what the charges against Socrates were: failing to acknowledge the gods recognized by the city, introducing other new divinities, and corrupting the young. Back then, the judges would receive two options for the accused given to them by the accuser and the accused. The accuser said that the sentence for Socrates should be death. Socrates said it should be free meals in the Parthenon, the place where the successful Olympians eat.
Obviously, they weren't going to give Socrates free meals, that would set an example for others to follow after him, so they gave him the death sentence.
He wasn't too surprised, he actually commented on how he thought there would be more votes against him. It was a closer vote than he expected, so he at least took comfort in this. As a conclusion to my essay, Socrates died to show people that the court was corrupt and that they needed different laws to be put in place.
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