The Embassy of the Hellenic Republic (Greece) in the State of Qatar in collaboration with Elliniko Theatro (Greek Theatre) recently organised a classic stage show, ‘The Apology of Socrates’, at the United School International, The Pearl Qatar.
The stage show based on the works of Plato, one of the greatest philosophers of all time, reflects Socrates’s speech before the High Court in ancient Athens in his own defence against defamatory accusations (‘Apologia’).
The stage setting was an open-air Court of Areros Pagos, before a jury of 501 Athenians.
Upon his entrance, Emmy Award winner actor-director Yannis Simonides offered in ancient Greek the opening lines of the Apology, and upon exiting he does the same with the last lines of the text.
Socrates is 70 years old and has a record of combat service in the recently concluded Peloponnesian War and decades of renown for scrutinizing the prevailing at the time perception of virtue.
The charges brought against him by his opponents aim to silence him once and for all. In their view, his dissenting activities harm the youth and risk the security of the city. To them, the volatile instability of post-war Athens amounts to a crisis that makes this matter urgent.
To Socrates, the court case is an opportunity to give a full public account of his life’s work and defend the true demands of piety, truth, justice, courage and dignity in society. The performance captured the essence of Socratic ethics in an accessible and engaging manner.
The performance places the audience at the scene, giving them a chance to have their own vicarious encounter with the brilliance of the thrillingly demanding figure of Socrates.
The text closely follows Plato’s portrait of the philosopher’s defence at his trial, in which he dramatically poses the question at the heart of Greek philosophy, ‘How ought one to live?’ This particular question has also been addressed by Aristotle and other philosophers, especially the stoic; a considerable part of their work and that of other ancient Greek writers has been salvaged thanks to prominent intellectuals in the Arab world, who translated ancient Greek texts into Arabic.
The verdict of the Court was that Socrates was guilty; the sentence imposed was that of death.
In another work titled ‘Kriton’, written by Plato at a later stage, Socrates’s last hours spent in his prison cell in the company of disciples are presented, who urged him to escape and save his life, on the basis of a plan they had prepared to that purpose.
Socrates denied and explained that such a decision would be incompatible with his principles, in particular the one relating to the need for citizens to fully comply with the law, as it was defined in the Court’s judgment.
The growing gap between Humanity studies and technological advancement nowadays makes it imperative that people, especially the young ones, be exposed to the divine wisdom contained in texts such as ‘The Apology of Socrates’; the power generated by technology needs to be used, managed and controlled by people with a background based on ethics. Otherwise, the damage that will potentially be provoked could be incalculable.
Before the performance in Qatar, Elliniko Theatro organised the classic ‘The Apology of Socrates’ at around 499 performances-discourses, to more than 150,000 people, in 23 countries and in 10 languages.
EllinikoTheatro is an international performing arts organisation based in New York and Athens. Since its inception in 1978, it has sought to bring classical, medieval and contemporary Greek literature and drama to theatres, festivals, schools, universities and communities around the world.
The classical and unique stage show in Qatar was sponsored by Qatar Airways and Aktor.