Free Speech - An Ancient History

In the wake of recent conflicts over free speech and acts of
political violence, Mary and Charlotte discuss how - then as now -
free speech dominated the political agenda in the ancient world,
with wildly different interpretations about what it meant and who
got to decide.  They discuss two distinct, yet complimentary
principles in Ancient Athenian democracy: Parrhesia (free or frank
speech) and isegoria (the equal right to speak). In theory,
parrhesia preserved the right to speak truth to power, including
the scandalous sexual jokes about public figures which pepper the
comedies of the Greek stage. Tolerance of these plays suggested the
Athenians generally recognised the validity of frank speech - and
one of the state warships was even named parrhesia.  Isegoria
embodied the principle that any free man had an equal right to
participate in public discourse, although in practice this was
rarely the case. Polished public speaking came with a good
education and those who lacked it could be physically
silenced.  The principles of free speech and equality are
deceptively simple, and - as with today - interpretation and
implementation varied wildly, depending on who held power. The life
and death of the philosopher Socrates provides an interesting case
study. He is often celebrated as a martyr of free speech, dying in
its name, but on closer examination this isn’t exactly what
happened.  They also look at free speech in Ancient Rome and
the sobering story of Cicero’s final hours, in which his tongue -
allegedly - was stitched into silence.  Join the Instant
Classics Book Club here: https://instantclassics.supportingcast.fm/
Mary and Charlotte recommend some further reading Plato’s version
of Socrates’ response to the charges against him is found in his
Apology of Socrates (this, like all ancient works we mention here,
is widely available in translation in print and online). NB in
Greek apologia means “defence” not “sorry”.  An important
debate in the Athenian assembly that we reference in our discussion
(on how to punish the people on Mytilene) is described by
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War  Book 3, 36ff.
The story of Cremutius Cordus is told in Tacitus Annals Book 3,
34-5; that of the tongue of Cicero by Cassius Dio, History of Rome
Book 47, 8. Emily Wilson, The Death of Socrates (Profile/Harvard
UP, 2008) is a good introduction to the issues of free speech in
399 BCE and their legacy. Content warning: references to political
violence both in the ancient world and in the past week, and mild
sexual innuendo.  @instaclassicpod for Insta, TikTok and
YouTube @insta_classics for X email: instantclassicspod@gmail.com
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