right|thumb|The Death of Socrates (1787), by Jacques-Louis David Plato's presentation of the trial and death of Socrates inspired writers, artists, and philosophers to revisit the matter. For some, the execution of the man whom Plato called "the wisest and most just of all men" demonstrated the defects of democracy and of popular rule; for others, the Athenian actions were a justifiable defence of the recently re-established democracy.I.F. Stone. The Trial of Socrates, 1988.
right|thumb|The Death of Socrates (1787), by Jacques-Louis David Plato's presentation of the trial and death of Socrates inspired writers artists, and philosophers to revisit the matter. For some, the execution of the man whom Plato called "the wisest and most just of all men" demonstrated the defects of democracy and of popular rule; for others, the Athenian actions were a justifiable defence of the recently re-established democracy.I.F. Stone. The Trial of Socrates, 1988.