Socrates (as the somewhat ponderous name is often abbreviated) began its career in the clubs of Athens. Most prominent of these was the popular Kyttaro. They were present at a number of other locations in and around Victoria Square in Athens. Apart from playing many original songs at gigs, Socrates often covered Jimi Hendrix songs, none of which were featured on any studio releases. However, a thirteen-minute cover of (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones found its way onto their 1972 album Taste of Conium. The guitarist, Yannis Spathas, favored a mid-1960's sunburst Fender Stratocaster, a Candy Apple Red Roland GR-505 guitar synthesizer and a black Gibson Les Paul Custom as his instruments, Antonis Tourkoyorgis played a mid-1970's natural ash-bodied Fender Jazz Bass and sang, while several drummers were used throughout the live shows and recording sessions. As a whole, the three-piece outfit resembled that of Cream: counterparts Spathas and Clapton, singer/bassists Tourkoyorgis and Bruce and drummers Boukouvalas and Baker. In 1974, Socrates went through a change in stylistic direction with "Phos" which was produced by Vangelis and featured his contribution on many tracks. Phos was mostly reworkings of older songs by Socrates.
During 2006 Socrates reunited in an extended form (featuring keyboards and a second singer) to do several shows around Athens.
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