Plato's account of Socrates' trial and death (399 BCE) is one of the most significant moments in western literature and philosophy. In these four works Plato illustrates Socrates' fundamental belief in the necessity for us to èxamine ourselves and others', portraying the man himself living and dying by his philosophy. In Euthyphro, Socrates debates the nature of pìety'; in Apology, he defends himself in court against the charge of impiety; in Crito, now in prison and awaiting execution, he considers whether escape can be justified; finally, in Phaedo, he reflects on the ethics of suicide, describes his intellectual history, and mounts a series of arguments for supposing that we continue to exist as intelligent beings after death. Then, after a magnificent description of the earth and its regions, he drinks the hemlock and dies.