Free speech and democracy in ancient Athens

by Arlene W Saxonhouse

"This book illuminates the distinctive character of our modern understanding of the basis and value of free speech that was practiced by the ancient Athenians in their democratic regime. Free speech in the ancient democracy was not a protected right but an expression of the freedom from hierarchy, awe, revenue, and shame. It was thus an essential ingredient of the egalitarianism of that regime. That freedom was challenged by the consequences of the rejection of shame (aidos), which had served as a cohesive force within the polity. Socrates' "shameless" free speech at his trial captures the paradoxical consequences of democracy's theoretical grounding on the unbridled speech in which the Athenians expressed great pride and the polity's dependence on traditions that evoke shame. Through readings of Socrates' trial, Greek tragedy and comedy. Thucydides' History, and Plato's Protagoras, this volume explores the paradoxical connections between free speech, democracy, shame, and Socratic phi