Socrates
Name
Institution
Socrates
Socrates is a representation of wanting satisfaction and realization, a hunger to always question our surroundings, a genuine concern on democracy and justice according to Bettany Hughes. She places these notions on the fifth century way of life in Athens to demonstrate how the city embraced these notions, up lifted them, turned against them and held doubts about them that even Socrates, a strong and self-aware man could put his head around. The writer’s tale celebrates the human and moving things about the times of Socrates such as, the spirit of democracy and one putting down self needs to serve the state’s needs first. While at the same time she condemns the negatives of that time which included: the subjection of slaves and women, imperialism and the cruelty and brutality of war.
A lot of sources are used by the writer the main one is the Platonic dialogues, they were convenient since they were Plato’s descriptions of Socrates. The writer broadens Plato’s descriptions by consulting archeological sources and recent studies on the culture of Athens in Socrates’ time. The subject of slaves at the time raised a lot of debate, as some of them could not be separated from the locals. They were well dressed and kept though most could be recognized as they were not of Athenian decent. The housing in the city was relatively small and confined even for the rich Athenians. The houses had wooden framework, flat-roofed and had brick walls made of mud. In the times of war, the men were named according to the amour and weapon they bore. Holpa was the name given to the soldiers who bore long spears, a metal breastplate, greaves meant for the legs and a round shield.
The culture within the city was vibrant, women were buried with beautiful necklaces around their necks, and their breast covered with cups made of gold. They were buried in communal graves, where several of them shared the same burial site; this is a demonstration of the fine craftsmanship in ancient Greece. The city was filled with fear in 411 BC due to a conspiracy led by Theramenes, a lot of political murders took place in that time that led to the destruction of one hundred years of democracy. The Athenian Agora was a popular site used by the archons to swear an oath to protect and preserve the ways of the city. The site where animal sacrifices were made is believed to be in the same area. The Athenian system where a “jury” sat to decide a man’s fate was a significant part in history. These men had no past or present positions of power; this act of gathering of a “jury” is depicted to be the birth of ‘the west.’
The daily operations of the court were mainly in the hands of armatures as the duties were picked randomly though political affairs were given to very few. When a breaker of the law was proven guilty, the person who caught him breaking the law while the defiant had only himself as his defendant. Sports was a celebrated activity, “Musicians tuning up for the added-attraction music festival would slowly drown out the sound of the bees and the passing birds; the tang of fat cooking and spitting on the hearth would swamp the smell of fresh sweat. The sound of running water, splashing into basins there to purify athletes and spectators alike, would soothe the nerves” (Hughes, 2012, 132).
Other city state such Sparta had started conducting experiments politically to reforms social structures, other areas further east such as India also started adopting democracy in their governance. Tortoises according to paintings on pots and vases of the time were a poplar pet in ancient Athens. The learning system particularly to boys emphasized more on developing character than learning facts though young men were taught their place in society where they do not question or challenge older people. Tension between the Persians and the Athenians rose and resulted to the Persians invading Athens (Hughes, 2012). The completely destroyed a significant wall to the city that stretched for at least a quarter mile. Eventually the two parties came to an agreement in 449 BC and the tension seized.
Under King Evagoras, the Persians and the Athenians worked together against the Spartans with an ambitious goal of ruling the eastern Mediterranean. Antisthenes, a disciple of Socrates set up a school after his teacher shortly after his death. At the beginning the school seemed to be a violent movement but it was not the case. Most Athenians did not marry until they were in their early forties, with the late thirties being described as the perfect age to marry. Prostitution was also quite popular, with free women being valued more than women in slavery. Women were painted more on objects than men were and they were also subjected to more strict legal controls. The Athenians practiced polytheism where they introduced new gods frequently. Socrates himself mentions gods multiple times; he challenged and questioned the mythical stories on gods. They had temples which can be depicted as today’s churches or mosques. The temple was barricaded by the soldiers where they drank from the sacred spring. The Athenian ways eventually faded down over the years though most of their philosophies birthed modern day democracy (Hughes, 2012).
References
Hughes, B. (2012). The hemlock cup (pp. 2-540). London: Jonathan Cape.