The charges against Socrates are that he "is an evildoer... who searches into things under the earth and in the heaven, and he makes the worse appear the better cause; and he teaches the aforesaid doctrines to others" (p.7). They are accusing him of being an atheist and teaching this to others and corrupting the youth.
Socrates's main arguments are that others are envious of him, and that they are angry at him for pointing out how unwise they really are. He also argues that he cannot be an atheist because he believes in spiritual entities and demigods. He says that he is only obeying God's command and standing up for what is right. He claims to be the gadfly of the Athenian people and awaken them to virtue.
Socrates believes that what he has done is right. He does not want to discredit himself by begging for forgiveness, promising to change, or using his wife and children to get pity. He wants to be brave and die as a martyr, which he feels is the only honorable thing to do in this situation.
Socrates did live and die by his own philosophy. There was no way he could have stuck to his philosophy and not been put to death once the trial began. Sometimes self-appointed martyrs are sticking to their beliefs, but not always.
There is virtue in being a martyr because it means that the person gave the ultimate sacrifice for his or her beliefs.
Socrates thinks that he is no wiser than others as far as knowledge goes, but he knows that he lacks knowledge and that his wisdom is not even close to God's, so that makes him a little wiser than most people.
Living by one's ethical principals is worth dying for. Socrates had a philosophy and the strength to stand by his beliefs even in the face of death. Depending on the situation and what was at stake, my ethical principals might also be worth dying for.
