The Death of Socrates, 1787, Oil on canvas, 51 x 77 1/4 in. (129. 5 x 196. 2 cm), Paintings, Jacques Louis David (French, Paris 1748?1825 Brussels), Accused by the Athenian government of denying the gods and corrupting the young through his teachings, Socrates (469?399 B. C. ) was offered the choice of renouncing his beliefs or dying by drinking a cup of hemlock