It’s quite a modern concept to have a retrial. Giving someone a second chance to argue they were unfairly treated by the courts is a modern luxury.

It might be 2,000 years too late, but ancient Greek philosopher Socrates is getting a second chance.

This time it’s in front of Australia’s best legal minds, who will argue whether the 339BC death sentence for impiety and corrupting the youth was fair and just.

In a one-off performance, the Hellenic Museum will stage a mock retrial of the case, bringing together seven revered legal minds and two popular Greek Australian actors.

Justice Lex Lasry, Justice Emilios Kyrou and Judge Felicity Hampel will have the task of sentencing Socrates, while QC Julian Burnside, QC Nicholas Papas, QC Ronald Merkel and Elizabeth King will be defending and prosecuting him.

Taking on the role of Socrates will be Greek Australian actor Tony Nikolakopoulos, whom many will remember from the popular movie Wog Boy and most recently Fat Tony and Co..

The role of Meletus, Socrates’ accuser, will be Greek Australian actor Lex Marinos, know for his role in the ABC’s The Slap.

While there may be some actors in the mix, the retrial is very much unscripted and based in legal processes.

Both the prosecution and the defence have been working on their arguments for weeks, and no one knows what they will present at the retrial.

Court of Appeal judge Emilios Kyrou says he is as much in the dark about what will be presented as the audience.

“I do not know how this is going to be handled,” Justice Kyrou tells Neos Kosmos.

“We do not know what the prosecution barristers are going to say, it is not scripted, we do not know what the defence barristers are going to say.

“It’s not as theatrical as people might think, it’s more spontaneous.”

All three judges will be able to ask the prosecution and defence a question, showing it will merge contemporary ideas with ancient proceedings.

He says the whole event will be a combination of serious legal proceedings mixed with a history lesson.

“The idea is to try him based on the law and conditions prevailing in Athens in that period, so not to apply current law or current standards,” he says.

As one of the prosecuting barristers, QC Nicholas Papas has been researching all the material available about the trial and is delving into the underlying factors that were affecting ancient Athens at that point in time to present a solid and rounded argument.

“The prosecutor has to look at the importance of what was happening then,” he tells Neos Kosmos.

“Back then Athens had been through terrible difficulty, the Spartans had just defeated Athens, many of the citizens had been killed, the tyrants had been in place and it was a very difficult period where they had to re-establish what they considered to be the most important city in terms of culture, and importance.

“They had to have strength in unity, and they couldn’t have one individual above the others.”

Being on the side that won the case in the first place might be a comfort for Mr Papas and his assisting barrister Elisabeth King, but both know as a retrial, their argument must be even more convincing than it was in ancient times.

Many have pointed to the politics surrounding the case as infiltrating the jury’s final decision, unfairly sentencing Socrates, who was hoping to inspire a different way of thinking.

“If you have a look at the description of him in Plato’s Apology, he was a very interesting man, he was difficult, he was very confronting, and he offended people,” Mr Papas says.

“It’s got to be put that Socrates caused trouble, he did cause some breakdown, he did cause potential difficulty at a time when the only way Athens could survive was to work together, work cohesively.”

Politics will be on the agenda of the trial in a number of forms, with Socrates and Meletus being able to give their two cents in their address to the audience.

A number of versions of the retrial have happened in Athens, New York and Chicago where just the politics of the case and the arguments were addressed, without anyone taking the roles of Socrates and Meletus.

Tony Nikolakopoulos, who will play Socrates, says the inclusion of the characters humanises the case to the audience.

“In the past there was no Socrates, so they debated his ideas,” Tony tells Neos Kosmos.

“So this time there is someone playing Socrates in the room who can answer questions.

“From a creative point of view we are far more engaged when we can actually see the subject,” he says.

The director of the production, the Hellenic Museum’s own CEO John Tatoulis, wants the case to be as close to the real thing as possible, thereby creating a space that is stripped back, encouraging the audience to listen and make up their own minds along with the judges.

“The audience should feel like they’re involved and part of the process,” Tony says.

“Hopefully they don’t heckle questions, but get to the point that they feel as though they want to say something as well.”

While they will try and stick to the laws and procedures that were around in ancient times, Justice Kyrou admits it will be “inevitable” that modern sensitivities will enter the mix.

“We have almost 2,000 years of additional understanding in terms of legal principles and so on, so I think it is inevitable that parallels with today’s society and legal principles will be sought by either side to bring in to the equation to assist their case either against him or for him,” he says.

Seeing the case in modern eyes has also got Justice Kyrou thinking if the charges would fly in a modern law court.

“The charges would have to be very clear and precise, there would be particulars of the charges rather than that of corrupting the youth,” he muses.

“You will never be able to charge someone of an offence like that because it is too vague.”

Mr Papas believes while society has changed significantly, the core principles in the case haven’t.

“The central issues in this case haven’t changed in over 2,500 years in terms of the rights of the individual to speak freely, the importance of a cohesive society in the common interest,” he says.

“The issues are still alive today.”

The Hellenic Museum will present The Retrial of Socrates on Saturday 7 March at 6.00 pm.

Tickets are $95 for adults and $80 for concession.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.hellenic.org.au