Athens against socratic conviction

Athens against Socratic Conviction
During the Classical period of Ancient Greece (480-323 BC), Athens was considered to be the intellectual center of the world. It was during the early part of this era that some of the greatest Athenian cultural feats took place and it was also at this time that the city peaked as an economic, political, and military power. Architectural marvels like theParthenon and the temple of Nike were constructed during this period, as was the theater of Dionysus, which began to perform the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and others. It was during this time too that Socrates could be found, unwashed and barefoot, walking around the agora and in and around the city streets. A man of odd behavior, he was often seen conversing with and asking questions ofmere strangers; many of these questions challenged widely held ideas and beliefs. Through such actions, Socrates was perceived to be an eccentric man, although few really minded this behavior during the early years of his life. However, as the fifth century neared its end, the Athenian population grew increasingly suspicious of Socrates and his activities. Despite the fact that he should have beenrespected as a brave Hoplite, he was increasingly ridiculed and eventually detested, as he threatened to unravel the threads of Athenian civic society. This suspicion grew to such extent that in the year 399 BC, a jury found him guilty of disbelief of the city gods, introducing new ones, and corrupting the morals of the youth. Moreover, while the ingredients for mockery and derision were alreadynumerous, a negative portrayal of Socrates in Aristophanes’ The Clouds, a period of war, and the idea that new modes of belief were causing a decline to the great city appeared to be the greatest reason for the collective scorn of Socrates and his behavior.
It was at the beginning of the Classical period, in 469 B.C., that Socrates was born. By the time he became a young man, around 450 B.C., hebegan to become more involved in the philosophical life of Athenian society. It was at this time too that Athens was reaching the very peak of its splendor. During this period, new ideas were being introduced and old forms of Athenian thought were beginning to be challenged. Anaxagoras was one of the first philosophers to introduce new ideas. Originally from Clazomenae, he had settled in Athensin 480 B.C. He was a philosopher of nature who became popular with his studies of cosmology, meteorology and geology, and eventually became a friend of Sophocles and Euripides. However, attempting to introduce new ideas on these subjects was always a dangerous proposition, especially when these came into disagreement with any commonly held religious beliefs. This was true for Anaxagoras, who, atsome point near the mid-century, was imprisoned for suggesting that the sun was a hot stone and not a deity, and for believing that the moon reflected the sun’s light (1). This, according to the suitors, was an act of impiety, as it described the notions of the gods to be false.
Another group of thinkers challenging ideas of moral behavior were the sophists. According to James Colaiaco, “sophists”were originally understood to be great poets (such as Homer and Hesiod), musicians, sages, seers, or those who had some sort of special knowledge in distinct fields (1). Nevertheless, by the beginning of the Classical Period of Greece, the word “sophist” began to gain more and more of a negative connotation, and by the time of the classical period, when Socrates lived, the word was no longerprimarily used to describe soothsayers or to define profound philosophers searching for truth. Instead, the “sophists” were beginning to be understood as teachers of the rich, who besides imparting an education in grammar and poetry, taught the arts of rhetoric, dissuasion and public speaking (1). This service was, of course, expensive, so only the wealthy were able to educate their children with...