Dark Athens: The Democracy That Condemned Socrates

You are in the Kerameikos, the ancient cemetery of Athens. Look at the marble stelae with figures waving farewell, the remains of the city wall's gates, the grass between the graves. This was the potters' quarter, which is where the word ceramic comes from. And it was where Athens buried its war dead. In the winter of 431 BC, Pericles, the city's most influential politician, gave a speech here honoring those who had fallen in the first year of war against Sparta. It is one of the most famous texts in history. It says that Athens' constitution is called democracy because power lies not with …

You are at the northern end of the Agora, beside the railway line. Look at the low remains of a columned portico: the Royal Stoa. The king archon worked here, the magistrate in charge of religious matters. The city's laws were inscribed on its walls. In the spring of 399 BC, a seventy-year-old man, barefoot, in a worn cloak, came here to answer a charge. It was Socrates. The indictment had been filed by a young poet, Meletus, with the backing of an influential politician, Anytus. It said three things: that Socrates did not recognize the city's gods, that he introduced new divinities and tha…

You are beside the Temple of Hephaestus, the best-preserved Greek temple in the world. From here look down over the whole Agora, and the Acropolis opposite. The Agora was the public square of Athens. Market, courts, offices, temples, fountains. Here people bought fish, voted, argued about politics and philosophy. And here Socrates spent his days. He wrote no books. He charged nothing for teaching. He stopped people in the street and asked them questions. What is justice? What is courage? Do you really know what you think you know? He began gently and ended by exposing that the other person …

You are facing the foundations of the Tholos, a round building. Here the fifty councillors on duty, who ran the city each month, ate and slept. Someone always had to be awake, day and night, watching over democracy. Offices in Athens were distributed by lot. Any citizen could end up governing. In 406 BC, it was Socrates' turn. That year, the Athenian fleet won a great naval battle at the Arginusae islands. But a storm prevented the rescue of hundreds of sailors, who drowned. The furious people wanted to punish the generals. It was proposed to try them all together, in a single vote. That wa…

You are at the southwest corner of the Agora. Look for a stone marker with an inscription: it says I am the boundary of the Agora. Very close by are the foundations of a small house. In the 1950s, archaeologists excavated this house. They found hundreds of little iron hobnails, the kind used in sandal soles. And the base of a pottery cup with a name scratched on it: Simon. Ancient writers mention a cobbler named Simon who had his workshop beside the Agora. They said Socrates often went there to talk with young men too young to enter the square. It may be this house. It may not. But the imag…

You are in the southern part of the Agora, where the people's courts met. Look up: the Acropolis dominates everything. Athens had no professional judges. Trials were decided by juries of ordinary citizens, chosen by lot that very morning so no one could bribe them. They received a small payment for the day. Socrates' trial lasted a single day. The jury had five hundred and one citizens. First the accusers spoke. Then Socrates. He did not beg for mercy. He did not bring his children in weeping, as was customary. He said a god had charged him with questioning the Athenians and that he would n…

You are facing the Stoa of Attalos, a long two-story colonnaded portico. It is a 1950s reconstruction. Inside is the Agora Museum. Go in and look for three objects. The first is a stone slab full of slots in rows. It is a kleroterion, a machine for selecting juries by lot. Citizens slotted in their identity tokens and colored balls decided who served that day. The second is a pottery vessel with a hole at the bottom. It is a water clock. It was used in court to time how long each person could speak. When the water ran out, so did your speech. The third is a set of pottery shards with names …

You have climbed the Areopagus, a rock polished by millions of feet, between the Agora and the Acropolis. Watch your step: it is slippery. From here you see the whole Agora below. This hill was the seat of an ancient court for homicide. But the story that matters happened down in the city, a few years before the trial. In 404 BC, Athens lost its long war against Sparta. The Spartans imposed a government of thirty men. Athenians called them the Thirty Tyrants. Within months they had killed some fifteen hundred people. They seized fortunes and banished thousands. The most brutal leader was Cr…

You are standing before the Propylaea, the monumental entrance to the Acropolis. Above stands the Parthenon, the symbol of Athenian democracy all over the world. But look at this building with different eyes. To a large extent, others paid for it. After the wars against the Persians, many Greek cities formed an alliance with Athens. Each contributed ships or money to a common fund, kept on the island of Delos. In 454 BC, Athens moved that treasury to this hill. And began using it for its own ends. Among them, building these temples. Allies who tried to leave the alliance were besieged and …

You are in the Theater of Dionysus, on the southern slope of the Acropolis. Look at the stone tiers and, in the front row, the marble chairs with backs, reserved for priests. Western theater was born here. The tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides premiered here. And the comedies of Aristophanes. In 423 BC, Aristophanes staged a comedy called The Clouds. Its main character was a certain Socrates. In the play, Socrates lives hanging in a basket in the air so he can think better, studies absurd things, denies the gods and teaches young men to win arguments with tricks, making the we…

You are on the Pnyx, an open hill facing the Acropolis. Look for the speakers' platform carved into the rock, with steps. The orators spoke from there. The assembly of Athens met here. Thousands of citizens sitting on the slope voted by show of hands on laws, wars, treaties and sentences. It was direct democracy: there were no representatives. In 427 BC, the city of Mytilene rebelled against Athens. The furious assembly voted to kill all the adult men of the city and enslave the women and children. A ship set out with the order. The next day, many regretted it. There was a new debate on thi…

You are facing some caves carved into the rock of Philopappos Hill, with bars across the entrance. A sign says: Prison of Socrates. It almost certainly is not. The tradition began only a few centuries ago. The real prison was probably in a building at the southwest corner of the Agora, where archaeologists found tiny pottery bottles, just the right size for a dose of poison. These caves have another story. During the Second World War, some of the Acropolis's most precious sculptures were hidden here to protect them from the Nazi occupiers. Socrates spent almost a month in prison. His execut…