The Sicilian Expedition
Sunday 4 December 2005 19:45-21:30 (Radio 3)
By John Fletcher.
Almost 2500 years ago, a confident young general persuaded Athens to launch an attack on Sicily. Alcibiades was a member of the Athenian baby boomer generation, whose elders had fought to give their children a society of justice, wealth and education.
The baby boomers explored every sexual avenue, took drugs to excess, and became the greatest consumers of the most exotic products in human history. Then it all went wrong.
Within two years of the defeat in Sicily, imperial, democratic Athens, the pinnacle of human civilisation, lay in ruins. Yet, as the city endured its death agonies, something new and wonderful was born: the Socratic idea of universal love.
Read the author's blog about modern parallels with 'The Sicilian Expedition'.
Duration:
1 hour 45 minutes
Playlist:
Socrates ...... James Laurenson
Alcibiades ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Callias ...... Richard Nichols
Theodote ...... Mia Soteriou
Nicias ...... Jonathan Nibbs
Taureas ...... Matthew Morgan
Agathon ...... Richard Mitchley
Spartan Soldier ...... Nathan Sussex
Bagoas ...... Brendan Charleson
Mantitheus ...... Jonathan Floyd
Mother ...... Christine Pritchard
Original Music by John Hardy.
Directed by Kate McAll.
