The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search for the Good Life

Bettany Hughes

ISBN 10: 0099554054 / ISBN 13: 9780099554059

Published by Vintage Books, 2011

About this Item

2011. First Paperback Edition. Paperback. For seventy years Socrates was a vigorous citizen of Golden Age Athens, philosophising in the squares and public arenas rather than in the courts of kings, before his beloved city turned on him, condemning him to death by poison. Socrates lived in and contributed to a city that nurtured key ingredients of contemporary civilisation. Num Pages: 544 pages, Illustrations (some col.), maps, ports. (some col.). BIC Classification: BGH; HPCA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 131 x 198 x 35. Weight in Grams: 466. . . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780099554059

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the ...

Publisher: Vintage Books

Publication Date: 2011

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: New

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

A riveting, lively and brilliantly researched biography of Socrates by the author of the acclaimed bestseller Helen of Troy.

We think the way we do because Socrates thought the way he did. His aphorism 'The unexamined life is not worth living' may have originated twenty-five centuries ago, but it is a founding principle of modern life. Socrates lived and contributed to a city that nurtured key ingredients of contemporary civilisation -- democracy, liberty, science, drama, rational thought -- yet, as he wrote nothing in his lifetime, he himself is an enigmatic figure.

The Hemlock Cup gives Socrates the biography he deserves, setting him in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean that was his home, and dealing with him as he himself dealt with the world. Socrates was a soldier, a lover, a man of the people. He philosophised neither in grand educational establishments nor the courts of kings but in the squares and public arenas of Golden Age Athens. He lived through an age of extraordinary materialism, in which a democratic culture turned to the glorification of its own city; when war was declared under the banner of democracy; and when tolerance turned into intimidation on streets once populated by the likes of Euripides, Sophocles and Pericles. For seventy years he was a vigorous citizen of one of the greatest capitals on earth, but then his beloved Athens turned on him, condemning him to death by poison. Socrates' pursuit of personal liberty is a vibrant story that Athens did not want us to hear, but which must be told.

Bettany Hughes has painstakingly pieced together Socrates' life, following in his footsteps across Greece and Asia Minor, and examining the new archaeological discoveries that shed light on his world. In The Hemlock Cup she reveals the human heart of the man, and relates a story that is as relevant now as it has ever been.

About the Author:

BETTANY HUGHES is a historian, author and broadcaster who has devoted much of the last twenty years to the vibrant communication of the past. Her first book, Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore was published to great critical acclaim and has now been translated into ten languages. Bettany has made a number of factual films for the BBC, Channel 4, PBS, Discovery, The History Channel and ABC for both the British and International markets including The Spartans, When The Moors Ruled in Europe, Athens:The Truth of Democracy, The Women of the Bible and Helen of Troy. These have now been seen by over 100 million worldwide.