The great 4th century BC ancient Greek General Themistocles was exonorated in a mock trial by the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago, US, almost 2,500 after he was accused of treason by the citizens of Athens.
The “Trial of Themistocles” was a fundraiser event to support the National Hellenic Museum, and forms part of the institution’s Trial Series, designed to highlight the enduring relevance and value of Greek thought and history since 2013.
Today’s leading legal talent gathered at Chicago’s Harris Theatre on Tuesday, April 1st, to take on the ancient case against Themistocles, one of ancient Athens’ most celebrated yet controversial figures.
“Exonorated! On Tuesday, an audience of over 500 jurors found the ancient Athenian leader and hero Themistocles “not guilty” of treason against the city and people of Athens in 459 BCE.- after almost 2,500 years of waiting for a verdict,” the National Hellenic Museum posted on Facebook.
Representing the successful defense of Themistocles were a team of renowned attorneys: Patrick M. Collins (King & Spalding LLP), Tinos Diamantatos (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP) and Katerina Alexopoulos (U.S. Department of Homeland Security).
Representing the prosecution were Sarah F. King (Clifford Law Offices PC) and Patrick A. Salvi II (Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard PC). The event was hosted by award-winning Chicago media personality and NHM Trustee Andrea Darlas.
The trial was presided over by Justice Joy V. Cunningham of the Illinois Supreme Court, Hon. Georgia N. Alexakis of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Hon. Anthony C. Kyriakopoulos of the Circuit Court of Cook County and Hon. Jeffery Chrones of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
This panel of renowned judges voted unanimously for acquittal.
The 12-member panel of esteemed jurors on stage, comprised of civic leaders, academics and media personalities, found Themistocles not guilty by a margin of 11-1.
The Trial of Themistocles Committee included NHM Trustees Andrea Darlas, Hon. Anna H. Demacopoulos (Ret.) and John V. Kalantzis, and Jim Sotos.
Athenian military General Themistocles was the supreme commander of the great Battle of Marathon and the Naval Battle of Salamis in 480 BC, a turning point in the Persian Wars.
Thanks to his admirable strategy in the latter, the Persians were pushed out of ancient Greece, suffering great losses. Several historians argue that if the Battle of Salamis had not been won by the Greeks, the course of history and Western civilization would have been entirely different.
However, later, Themistocles was undermined by his political rivals and ended up being accused of betraying Athens to its greatest rival, Persia, when, after the war, he was ostracized by his city, lived in exile for years, and eventually entered the service of the Persian King Ataxerxes I, the son of King Xerxes whom Themistocles had defeated at the Persian War.
He never stood a trial that could allow him to return to Athens, and that is what the National Hellenic Museum of Chicago has wanted to rectify with the mock trial event.
“Themistocles’ life embodies the tension between public service and personal ambition,” the Museum notes.
