Throughout the Phaedo, Socrates argues that the soul is immortal. Because he believes that his soul will live forever, Socrates states that he is not afraid of dying. Socrates was sentenced to death and because he took the poison before the necessary time, many believe that he committed suicide. Contrary to what one might assume regarding Socrates' death, I will argue that he is a martyr and did not commit suicide. Suicide is defined as taking one's own life for the sake of oneself. Killing oneself does not necessarily mean suicide because suicide is inherently selfish and completely focused on the individual. The reason for committing suicide changes whether it is suicide or not. Suicide has a very negative connotation and, according to Socrates, “…taking one's life…is not right” (Plato 98). Socrates is against the suicidal act. When reading Phaedo, it is logical to assume that when Socrates drinks the poison, it undermines almost everything he says because he kills himself a few hours before he needs to and during the hours before his death he says multiple times and in multiple ways. ways in which killing yourself is wrong. When you view Socrates' death as an act of martyrdom, you do not diminish what he said. In fact, he exemplifies everything he said by drinking the poison early. Socrates is a martyr because a martyr is defined as someone who takes his own life for the sake of someone else. Socrates shows martyrdom because he died for the sake of his friends. Socrates dies for the sake of his friends to show them that they should not fear death. He explains to his friends, through Phaedo, that the soul is immortal, and uses logical arguments to demonstrate that it is...... middle of paper ......means that our body is considered a particular, because when we die, unlike our souls, our bodies are gone forever. Throughout this article, I have argued that Socrates is a martyr, because he spent his entire life preparing for death and explained to his friends that there is nothing to fear regarding death, because, in the end, our souls will continue to live. Ultimately, Socrates takes the poison earlier than necessary, not to commit suicide, but rather in light of his friends. He did this so that they could understand that dying really means that our soul continues to live. I found the martyrdom of Socrates very inspiring and worthy of praise. The fact that someone dies for the sake of someone else shows true character. There is no concrete evidence that the soul exists in the afterlife, however, through strong faith, Socrates proves that he is not only a great philosopher, but also a noble man..