What is an apologia? (An analysis of Plato's Apology with a personal comparison) What is your definition of an apologia? Nowadays we think of an apology as an expression of our pain, but is this the true definition of the word? A long time ago, around the year 399 BC, the word apology meant something very different than it does today. Then the word apology was defined as an explanation of why you thought you were right, it was not an expression of sorrow or an acknowledgment of an offense, but rather a clarification of your point of view. In the history of literature we have a great and important example of this ancient definition of apologia, and this is the work of the philosopher Plato, entitled Apologia. Plato's excuses were Fear is something that all individuals must battle, just like the debate over taking the high road, it is something that everyone will have dealt with at least once in their life. We are all afraid of something, whether it is a psychological or physical object, the fear is there. How do we fight our fears? Do we just not think about it or do we take away the things that scare us? According to Socrates you should never be afraid of anything. Just like the last characteristic we talked about, we learned this lesson about fear through careful observation of Socrates' example. During the trial in Plato's Apology we saw what it meant for Socrates to stand fearlessly under the false persecutions of his accusers. Even until the end, he stood valiantly to prove what he believed. How can they have this lasting courage? The answer is simple, because we have already talked about it in the last two paragraphs, we must always defend what we believe in, and take the high road no matter what. By making the connections now, I hope you are able to understand why all three of these features are important. After examining Socrates' arguments during the trial, I began to determine which ones pertain to my personal life. Ultimately, the most important lesson I learned from Plato's Apology was that we should never be