Sometimes mistaken for wild parsnips. Scientific name Conium Maculatum. After swallowing the hemlock provided by the jailer poor old Socrates would have experienced a burning sensation in his mouth, excessive salivation, muscular tremors in his legs. He would also have felt cold and probably died in less than fifteen minutes. His crime? Good question. Listening to the final part of the serialisation of Bethany Hughes book, I'm not sure that it wasn't suicide by any other name. Why didn't he try to escape? Clearly he was a man of principle but what point was he trying to make by his (self-imposed) death? I don't want to sound unsympathetic however. Who could not find Socrates an attractive and likeable figure, unlike the quasi-fascist Plato? But there must surely come a point when you have to bend with the prevailing wind? Death is a pretty final scruple to stand by. What price integrity when your corpse is decaying and 'a mouldering in the grave'? Oh, and don't mistake hemlock for parsnip. The photo should help you avoid a fatal error.
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