Acropolis Now
- Radio sitcom
- BBC Radio 4
- 2000 - 2002
- 12 episodes (2 series)
It is 408 BC, and there is all kinds of business going on at the Acropolis Fish Restaurant in Ancient Athens. Stars Alan Cox, Stephen Moore, Robert Hardy, Tom George, Rosemary Leach and more.
Character guide
Aristophanes
Aristophanes is one of the great comic playwrights, although admittedly most of his work consists of knob gags. His ambition is to be remembered as one of the world's greatest playwrights, but fortune never seems to go his way.
Heraclitus
While Aristophanes is always happy, his brother Heraclitus is always down in the dumps (or dung) and is always worried that he will never be remembered as a great philosopher, thanks to Socrates taking all the glory. His bleak outlook always takes his brother down a peg or two.
Socrates
Perhaps the greatest philosopher of all time, Socrates is now an old man who spends much of his time at Acropolis Now, either trying to get one over Aristophanes or trying to get his young student Plato to pay off his meals.
Plato
Young, broad-shouldered Plato is one of Socrates' keenest pupils and will spend as much time as he can with his teacher. However, Socrates believes that Plato will never amount to anything.
Oracle
Once the Oracle at Delphi, she has decided to move back to Athens after seeing a sign foretelling that of Aristophanes' downfall. The mother of Aristophanes and Heraclitus, the Oracle is very good at seeing things in the future - albeit things that will not happen until the 20th century.
Xanthippe
The wife of Socrates, Xanthippe is seen as a sexual deviant, in that she is a heterosexual woman in a period where homosexuality is acceptable. If she isn't complaining with her husband, she is often trying to pull Plato.
Chorus
As with ancient Greek plays, Acropolis Now has a chorus of minor actors who provide the background information and also sometimes help with the plot. In the show, the chorus have take the form of fish sellers, Olympic champions and sex-mad Spartans.