Accepting that the "Apology" is incomparably closer to the historical Socrates than the "Phaedo," I believe that the true Socrates was a terrified man about to die who drank the hemlock in fear because he did not know where he was going, or otherwise he had not clarified whether something exists or does not exist from the moment he would forever close his eyes.

And he was afraid for one more reason: because he was not honest in his defense. And I think, ultimately, that he was as brave when he drank the hemlock as a willing victim can be when he secured the best excuse for his death.

Socrates would not have survived, even if he was the precursor of practical ethical philosophy, if that fateful afternoon in 399 BC he had not boldly or timidly decided to drink the hemlock, the drink of immortality or better the immortal water.