 Unique among Plato’s works, this is a formal speech. The aim of forensic rhetoric by a defendant is normally acquittal, but Socrates’ aim here seems to be to bring out the truth of his life, regardless of how it affects the jury. Still, although he begins with the orator’s usual disclaimer of speech-craft, Socrates speaks artfully enough that the result could be used to illustrate a textbook of rhetorical technique.