What leads a convalescent city, in need of heroes and role models, to execute its wisest and most famous citizen? And why would that citizen participate willingly and hasten his demise?
Athens was a city in decline. Its hegemony had been eclipsed by that of Sparta, and its spirit was flagging. It had suffered a terrible defeat at Aegospotami by the Lacedaemonians, and its democratic ideals had been severely circumscribed by thirty tyrants who controlled the city for almost a year. Many of Athens’ heroes had been disgraced, perhaps most notably Alcibiades.[1] Athenian supremacy was no longer certain, and the traditional ideals were everywhere being challenged. Sacrifices were necessary to regain the graces of the gods.
