Socrates was a great philosopher. He was a great teacher too. He lived in Athens in Greece. About 2300 years have passed since he died. This great man, the wisest philosopher and teacher of his time, however, did not die a natural death. He was killed by the rulers of Athens. Socrates was born in 459 BC in Athens. It was the home of sculpture. Probably his father was a sculptor. He helped his father in his work. He wanted to spread knowledge among the people. To educate the people was the mission of his life. He would often go out in the streets of Athens and ask people simple questions. If their answers were wrong, he would correct them. Socrates soon became very popular with the young people who learnt from him. But some men in authority became jealous of the great popularity of Socrates among people. They brought two charges against him. One was that he was educating the traitors. The other was that he was corrupting the young men of Athens. Finally, he was killed by drinking a cup of juice of Hemlock.