Philosophical and Therapeutic Aspects of the Platonic “Drama”: Andrew Irvine’s Socrates on Trial

The present article is written on the occasion of staging Socrates on Trial in Athens. The authors want to reveal unexplored psychological (such as the problem of personal identity, human relations, therapeutic needs of modern man etc.) and social aspects and situations (e.g. problem of justice, social role of the wise man, philosophy in education etc.) that those involved in the specific dramatization have faced with. The application of the Socratic dialectic in the theatrical presentation of philosophical ideas is discussed within the contemporary context of philosophical counseling and various therapeutic activities – such as the so-called philosophical “Praxis” – since the 1970's. We argue in favor of a validly applied interrelation between philosophy and theatre today in which the platonic drama proves to be of great value as a literature genre that stands among them. Therefore we support that in Andrew Irvine's play and the experience of staging Socrates on Trial in its Greek version, we have a genuine example of an educational and therapeutic application of philosophy through art.