In 399BC, the most famous trial in history was held in AthensOne of the great city-states of the ancient world and the birthplace of democracy.. In the dock, the famous freewheeling philosopher SocratesConsidered by some to be the greatest philosopher in history, Socrates is credited with developing the whole notion of critical reason.. Standing in judgement over him, 501 jurors, selected by lotMost officials in the Athenian system of democracy were not elected, but chosen randomly through a process of sortition. This was to avoid corrupt vote-buying and demagoguery..

Socrates faced two charges: "impietyA lack of respect for something sacred." and "corrupting the youth". Rather than engage with these charges, he used the platform to deliver a stirring speech in defence of philosophical wisdom. Famously, he declared that he was wise not because of what he knew, but because he knew that he knew nothing.

The great thinker would likely have got away with a fine, were it not for his own stubbornness. When asked what his penalty should be, he joked that he should receive free dinners for life. Enraged by his impertinence, the jury ordered that he be put to death.

This famous clash of philosophical wisdom and popular outrage is the subject of a new play, Cancelling Socrates. It draws comparisons between Socrates' time and the modern free speech debate, suggesting that like the Athenians, we are too quick to punish thinkers with controversial opinions.

The story of Socrates as a persecuted victim of an intolerant, thuggish and above all pious mob has always been appealing. It is viewed as the first chapter in a long struggle between enlightenment and superstition.

Many see Socrates as the forebear of HypatiaA neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer and mathematician who lived in Alexandria in the 4th and 5th Century AD. She was renowned around the ancient world, but fell foul of the Christian authorities and was murdered, becoming a martyr for philosophy., the philosopher who was murdered by a crowd of Christians; of Galileo, who was repressed by the Catholic Church for defending heliocentrismThe belief that the Sun is at the centre of the solar system.; and of Baruch SpinozaA 17th-Century Dutch philosopher of Jewish origin. He was one of the great exponents of rationalism and is regarded as one of the founding figures of the Enlightenment., the Dutch philosopher who was expelled from his own Jewish community and whose work was also suppressed by the Church.

So was this a case of a free thinker being lynched by an ancient "woke mob"? Not exactly, say some. They point out that Socrates was already deeply controversial in Athens for his political connections.

In 404BC, Athens had lost the Peloponnesian WarA long and bloody war fought between Sparta, Athens and the allies of each side. Sparta ultimately triumphed, but the war tipped the whole Greek world into decline, and both powers would soon succumb to Macedonia and then Rome. against SpartaAnother of the great classical city-states, best known for its uncompromising martial culture.. The victorious Spartans had abolished the Athenians' democratic system and replaced it with a repressive oligarchy known as the Thirty Tyrants.

This brutal regime killed around 5% of the Athenian population, confiscated much of its property and forced democrats into exile. Many members of this new government had been students of Socrates.

The Thirty Tyrants were overthrown after just 13 months, but Athenians were left bruised by the experience. It is hardly surprising that they were suspicious of Socrates and his influence on the young men of Athens.

It did not help that Socrates had expressed anti-democratic views. He was an elitist who believed that the majority opinion was usually wrong. True wisdom, he thought, belonged only to a very few, and they should be the ones entrusted with decision-making.

From this perspective, the trial of Socrates looks very different. Not an intolerant crowd murdering an innocent philosopher because his views were too enlightened for them, but a wary, brutalised people seeking to clip the wings of a proto-fascist who was out to destroy their democracy.

Yes:  Whichever way you view it, Socrates was persecuted for having controversial ideas. We must be very wary of following the example of the ancient Athenians, who strangled the intellectual life of their city.

No: Socrates was an enemy of the state, complicit in the savage repression of his fellow citizens. He was linked with brutal authoritarian regimes. He had to be silenced for the sake of preserving freedom.

Or... Socrates was not really silenced by the city. He could easily have fled before the sentence was carried out. He chose to be silenced, so his ideas would live on.