Why Socrates Died : Dispelling the Myths, Paperback by Waterfield, Robin, ISBN 0571235514, ISBN-13 9780571235513, Brand New, Free shipping in the US The picture we have of it - created by his immediate followers and perpetuated in countless works of literature and art ever since - is that a noble man was put to death in a fit of folly by the ancient Athenian democracy.