Athens: From Democracy To Hemlock – 9-10. Downfall, Death, Legacy
Lysander, captor of Athens
The Sicilian Campaign, one of the greatest defeats in ancient history – Athens’ military power is crippled – Persians approach the Spartans with the offer for help, subsidize a fleet – Athens surrenders to Spartan commander, Lysander – From democracy to tragedy – One more act of vanity and violence – Socrates arrested on charges of undermining the state religion and corrupting the youth of the city – Positively stubborn – The unexamined life is not worth living – Guilty, with the penalty of death by hemlock.
The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David
One should make one’s end in a reverend silence – Man should question the world around him – A completely new Greek hero – The need to be critical – A city of intellectual inquiry – A world based on reason – Building empires of thought – Reason extending its dominion in all areas.
Socrates defends himself at his trial
What was intended to be a last-ditch attempt for victory turns calamitous, and Athens loses her entire expeditionary force in Sicily. Weakened and demoralized, she barely holds out against the Spartan siege.
The Persians, thirsty for revenge, approach the Spartans with the offer to fund their offensive. A fleet is built and assembled, which lays siege to the city by sea, cutting off supply routes. In 404 BC, starving, Athenians surrender to Lysander, the Spartan commander.
The terms of surrender are harsh. The fleet of Athens is torn down and her defensive walls are destroyed, leaving the city defenseless and incapacitated, a shadow of her former imperial self. Angered and confused, Athenians seek a scapegoat to assign blame to and purify themselves.
Socrates, public critic and antagonist, is the perfect candidate. He is arrested and put on trial. Rather than apologize or conciliate with the court, he stands against them defiantly, accusing everyone of mass folly, appointing himself the “gnat” whose sole purpose in life is to pester Athenians so that they may never settle into a slumber. Outraged, the court finds Socrates guilty of undermining state religion and authority, sentencing him to death.
His execution marks the end of Athenian imperial glory, but also the end of the tragedy that has befallen their democracy. A new kind of hero is born in society, the man of conviction; the person who is willing to die for a reason none other than Reason itself. Inspired by the martyred philosopher, a scientific and philosophical movement is born that drives a resurgent pursuit of knowledge, setting the stage for the consolidation of science, art, and rational society.
It is known as the Socratic ideal, and it affords Athens a place in the pantheon of civilizations as one of Reason’s incubators. It also marks her down as the prototypical caveat on the perils of glory, on how rapid ascendancy leads to tragic downfall if the said rise is not managed properly. Athens’ story stands as a lesson to all future generations, her humbling demotion recognizable to this day, as is her glorious legacy. Let us take heed and examine our course so that we may emulate her rise but avoid her fall.
From the phenomenal Atlantic Productions Documentary Series, The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization
Narrator: Liam Neeson
FOR MORE Athens: From Democracy to Hemlock
Part 9
Part 10
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