Final answer:
Athenians relied on distorted images of Socrates through Aristophanes' caricature in 'The Clouds' and the public's association of Socrates with sophistry. These misrepresentations influenced his trial and ultimately his death sentence, despite his actual philosophies focusing on the pursuit of truth and challenging traditional beliefs.
Step-by-step explanation:
During Socrates' lifetime, Athenians relied on distorted images of him, largely due to depictions by playwright Aristophanes and misunderstandings of his association with sophistry. Aristophanes created a caricature of Socrates in his play “The Clouds”, casting him as a Sophist head of a school, despite Socrates' actual criticism of sophistry. This portrayal likely influenced public opinion and contributed to misconceptions among some jurors during his trial. Additionally, Socrates' dialectical method of inquiry and his practice of questioning everything, often leaving his interlocutors embarrassed, made him suspect in the eyes of his peers.
Unlike the Sophists who claimed to teach wisdom for a fee, Socrates' philosophies were based on the pursuit of virtue and understanding through reason. His approach to questioning traditional beliefs challenged the Athenian status quo, leading to animosity from those in power. Socrates' legacy survived through the works of his disciples, notably Plato, whose writings remain the principal source of our knowledge of Socrates' philosophies.