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The Athens of the Caribbean: Trinidadian Models of Athenian Democracy

Emily Greenwood

in Afro-Greeks: Dialogues between Anglophone Caribbean Literature and Classics in the Twentieth Century

This chapter complicates the idea of any easy balance sheet of appropriation in which misappropriation always falls on the side of empire and colonialism and appropriation on the side of the ... More

This chapter complicates the idea of any easy balance sheet of appropriation in which misappropriation always falls on the side of empire and colonialism and appropriation on the side of the anti‐ and postcolonial. The argument examines the different ways in which C. L. R. James and Eric Williams attempted to harness Athens as an empowering model for Trinidadian national identity. Although James and Williams approached Athens in different ways, they shared the determination to take back Classics from the colonial archive via which it had been transmitted. In the case of James, the discussion concentrates on his repeated analogies between the culture and society of Trinidad and the culture and society of classical Athens. In the case of Williams, the discussion focuses on his ability to make political capital out of his classical education in his early political career, focusing on his lectures and speeches for the PEM and PNM in the 1950s and 1960s.Less

The Democracy’s Drive for Power, Glory and Gain

Thomas N. Mitchell

in Democracy's Beginning: The Athenian Story

This chapter describes the changes to Athenian democracy and society which contributed to a more aggressive pursuit of military, political, and economic goals. One such factor is Pericles, who would ... More

This chapter describes the changes to Athenian democracy and society which contributed to a more aggressive pursuit of military, political, and economic goals. One such factor is Pericles, who would dominate the landscape of Athenian policy and politics in significant ways. The chapter describes his ascent to power and his personal vision of a democracy, mainly pulled from accounts written by the historian Thucydides. In addition, the chapter also briefly explores the reliability of Thucydides as the chapter's main historical source for this period. The chapter next discusses Athenian imperialism and the Athenian empire, noting in particular the military, economic, and political effects brought about by this political structure. Finally, the chapter looks at the writings of contemporary critics and their strong disapproval of this fifth-century constitution.Less

Classical Athenian Democracy and Democracy Today: Culture, Knowledge, Power

Josiah Ober

in The Promotion of Knowledge: Lectures to Mark the Centenary of the British Academy 1902-2002

This chapter presents the text of a lecture on the growing popularity of Greek democracy as a topic in school and university curricula. It argues that that the modern penchant for reading the meaning ... More

This chapter presents the text of a lecture on the growing popularity of Greek democracy as a topic in school and university curricula. It argues that that the modern penchant for reading the meaning of democracy through the lens of the authoritative institutions of government has had a substantial impact on the way ancient Greek democracy has been understood. It suggests that the study of the ancient Athenian democracy should be conducted with a cultural/ideological approach rather than a constitutional approach.Less

Achievements and Shortcomings

Thomas N. Mitchell

in Democracy's Beginning: The Athenian Story

This chapter describes how Athens had achieved a level of political and social stability that realized the democratic ideal in its fullest form, and more thoroughly discusses the shortcomings ... More

This chapter describes how Athens had achieved a level of political and social stability that realized the democratic ideal in its fullest form, and more thoroughly discusses the shortcomings presented by its democracy. Athenian democracy also had its flaws, and was far from being a model society by the standards of modern liberal democracies. It claimed to give power to the many, but the many did not include three significant elements of the population: women, slaves, and resident aliens known as metics (metoikoi). In addition, the flaws that had shaped a disastrous foreign policy in the fifth century would recur in fourth-century procedures, and furthermore, the chapter indicates another threat to the city's power in the form of Macedonian expansionism.Less

‘For freedom's sake…’: motivation in the Ionian Revolt (Books V–VI)

Emily Baragwanath

in Motivation and Narrative in Herodotus

In this chapter the Athenians' idealistic expression of 8.144—with its slogans of ‘freedom’ and ‘Greek unity’ (to Hellênikon)—introduces a discussion of these key ideal motives and the role of ... More

In this chapter the Athenians' idealistic expression of 8.144—with its slogans of ‘freedom’ and ‘Greek unity’ (to Hellênikon)—introduces a discussion of these key ideal motives and the role of rhetoric in the Ionian Revolt narrative, which proves an important touchstone for assessing the later campaign. Herodotus' text foregrounds the complications of rhetoric, problematising idealising readings and yielding salient ironies, including that of how freedom (as in the case of the ‘polis tyrannos’ of the Athenian democracy) promotes and even entails rule over others. The ideas on motivation in the previous chapter are refined, since the question of whether motives are principled or pragmatic is not after all wholly clear-cut: the Histories' concept of motivation is dynamic, allowing for the possibility of progression in response to changing circumstances, and sensitive also to the potential for complex psychology.Less

Introduction

Loren J. Samons II

in What's Wrong with Democracy?: From Athenian Practice to American Worship

This book presents the criticism of modern democracy. It aims to emphasize that the criticism of, and not simply “debate about” or a “discourse concerning” democracy is meant. Athenian democracy has ... More

This book presents the criticism of modern democracy. It aims to emphasize that the criticism of, and not simply “debate about” or a “discourse concerning” democracy is meant. Athenian democracy has been presented to contemporary Americans as a resource for improving, or at least an ideological sister of, modern representative constitutional government. It also addresses what happened in Athens that could have led to the views expressed by Plato, Thucydides, and Aristophanes, given these authors' predispositions and historical circumstances. Without a strong set of nonpolitical values, modern America may run risks that the Athenians never confronted. Athens' power and prosperity and its increasingly radical democratic government ultimately helped bring on the devastating Peloponnesian War and then encouraged its continuation for twenty-seven years.Less

Epilogue

Thomas N. Mitchell

in Democracy's Beginning: The Athenian Story

This concluding chapter discusses two issues surrounding the political legacy of Athenian democracy, as well as the impact it may have on modern democracy. On the subject of political legacy, the ... More

This concluding chapter discusses two issues surrounding the political legacy of Athenian democracy, as well as the impact it may have on modern democracy. On the subject of political legacy, the chapter considers the extent to which the Athenian democratic ideal inspired the re-emergence of democratic sentiment in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and shaped the democratic forms that subsequently evolved, as well as the lessons that the Athenian experience may still have to offer a world that seems in love with the concept of democracy, but where there is no real consensus about what democracy entails, and where many professedly democratic states are struggling to preserve even the most basic democratic principles. It then offers some general reflections that highlight areas where modern democracy is stumbling and in danger of losing its bearings, and where the Athenian experience may have most to offer.Less

Athenian Society and Government

Loren J. Samons II

in What's Wrong with Democracy?: From Athenian Practice to American Worship

This chapter discusses the basic structure of Athenian government. It also describes how it resembled the governments of other Greek city-states, and reviews the intricate relationship between ... More

This chapter discusses the basic structure of Athenian government. It also describes how it resembled the governments of other Greek city-states, and reviews the intricate relationship between “society” and “government” in ancient Athens. It first introduces a conservative reconstruction of Athens in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. Not long after the period of Solon's reforms, Athens fell under the control of the tyrant Peisistratus and his sons. The important trends that began under Peisistratus are reported. In addition, Athenian history in the classical period is elaborated upon. The Lamian War (323–322) ended in Athenian failure. In 322, classical Athenian democracy and independent Athenian government both ended.Less

Majority Rule vs. Consensus: The Practice of Democratic Deliberation in the Greek Poleis

Mirko Canevaro

in Ancient Greek History and Contemporary Social Science

Scholars have often identified the Greek polis, and Athenian democracy in particular, as the first example of majority rule. This chapter reviews the evidence for Greek deliberative procedures and ... More

Scholars have often identified the Greek polis, and Athenian democracy in particular, as the first example of majority rule. This chapter reviews the evidence for Greek deliberative procedures and reassesses how much they conformed to majority rule, and how much they made use of consensus‐deliberation, understood through engagement with current work on deliberative democracy. It discusses the evidence of Hellenistic decrees from the Greek poleis for which we have voting figures, to show that what we find is for the most part unanimity or near‐unanimity. It then discusses the Athenian evidence to reassess whether the deliberative system in Athens practiced strict majority rule, or left space for considerable consensus seeking and even unanimity. It argues that consensus‐ based forms of deliberation were a key element of Greek decision making, which secured the cohesion of Greek communities as well as the synthesis of wide‐spread knowledge.Less

Conclusion: Socrates, Pericles, and the Citizen

Loren J. Samons II

in What's Wrong with Democracy?: From Athenian Practice to American Worship

This book addresses two of the most well-known ancient characterizations of Athenian democracy and society, namely, Pericles' Funeral Oration and Plato's Apology of Socrates. The text of Pericles may ... More

This book addresses two of the most well-known ancient characterizations of Athenian democracy and society, namely, Pericles' Funeral Oration and Plato's Apology of Socrates. The text of Pericles may largely reflect only what Thucydides thought Pericles said or could have said, and Plato's version of Socrates' defense speech also demands a critical approach. Pericles has come to represent ideals of Athenian democracy and humanism, and the phrase “Periclean Athens” immediately brings to mind literature and architecture, rather than war and imperialism. Socrates makes it clear that there is a higher authority even than the law. Both Socrates and Pericles seem to have subordinated personal gain to their own ideas about justice and public service. They show that a society that does not venerate diversity may nonetheless produce radically diverse ideas. Like Pericles' actions, Socrates' own life and teachings have perhaps had a different effect than the philosopher intended.Less

Reconciliation and Reform

Thomas N. Mitchell

in Democracy's Beginning: The Athenian Story

This chapter traces the emergence of a much more mature and complete democracy, as forged through the lessons learned from its destabilization in the fifth century. It chronicles acts of ... More

This chapter traces the emergence of a much more mature and complete democracy, as forged through the lessons learned from its destabilization in the fifth century. It chronicles acts of reconciliation and reform in the early years of the fourth century, which would set the stage for another eighty years of stable government in the history of Athenian democracy. The chapter also explores the circumstances surrounding the execution of Socrates in 399, noting that despite his many exemplary qualities, he was perceived as being detrimental to the city's ongoing act of reconciliation. Finally, the chapter describes how the legal and constitutional reforms had been undergone, and outlines the important effects engendered by these reforms.Less

Introduction: Spectrum of Statuses

Deborah Kamen

in Status in Classical Athens

This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, namely to provide a thick description of Athenian status, ultimately broaching larger questions about the relationship between Athenian ... More

This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, namely to provide a thick description of Athenian status, ultimately broaching larger questions about the relationship between Athenian citizenship and civic ideology. “Civic ideology” here refers to the conception that all Athenian citizens—and only Athenian citizens—were autochthonous (that is, descended from ancestors “born from the earth” of Attica) and engaged in the political and military life of the city. This survey of statuses will demonstrate, among other things, that Athenian democracy was both more closed and more open than civic ideology might lead us to think: on the one hand, only some citizen males exercised full citizen rights; on the other, even noncitizens and naturalized citizens were, to varying degrees, partial shareholders in the Athenian polis.Less

Transgression, Equality, and Voice

Sheldon S. Wolin

Nicholas Xenos (ed.)

in Fugitive Democracy: And Other Essays

This chapter explores the question of what kind of democracy it is where equal rights are formally guaranteed but where wealth and power are no less concentrated than poverty and powerlessness. It ... More

This chapter explores the question of what kind of democracy it is where equal rights are formally guaranteed but where wealth and power are no less concentrated than poverty and powerlessness. It does so by way of a contrast between Athenian democracy, in which the demos was the major actor, and a democracy called “electoral democracy,” or a democracy without the demos. It argues that contemporary democracy contradicts Aristotle's fundamental principle for identifying the distinctive character of a democratic politeia, that each citizen should be on an equality with the rest. Moreover, contemporary democracies are also in contradiction with modern conceptions of democracy, as seen in the adoption of popular sovereignty as its first or defining principle.Less

Ancient and Modern Conceptions of the Rule of Law

Sara Forsdyke

in Ancient Greek History and Contemporary Social Science

This chapter provides a definition of the contested concept of the rule of law and suggests that it consists of three components: legal supremacy, legal equality and legal certainty. The chapter ... More

This chapter provides a definition of the contested concept of the rule of law and suggests that it consists of three components: legal supremacy, legal equality and legal certainty. The chapter further argues that the classical Athenian legal system valued all three components of this definition of the rule of law, but also sought to balance the good of legal certainty against a more context specific assessment of equity in particular cases. In making this compromise, the chapter suggests, the Athenians anticipated a tension that continues to exist even in modern legal systems.Less

Natural Equality

Paul Woodruff

in First Democracy: The Challenge of an Ancient Idea

Greek philosophers saw significance in human equality—rich or poor, Asian or Greeks, men and women—believing them all to belong to the same species. Homer was not a democrat, but through his stories ... More

Greek philosophers saw significance in human equality—rich or poor, Asian or Greeks, men and women—believing them all to belong to the same species. Homer was not a democrat, but through his stories he showed humaneness that was similar to democracy. Early anthropologists also discussed human nature, their origin, and the human ability to teach and learn. Despite the existence of the view of equality, biologically and socially, people posses differences in physical attributes and social class. Aristotle stated that humans are political animals, but Plato suggested otherwise. This chapter is about human nature and equality as tackled in Greek culture and Athenian democracy as well as the democratic equality of men, women, and slaves.Less

Conclusion: Status in Ideology and Practice

Deborah Kamen

in Status in Classical Athens

This chapter summarizes key themes and presents some final thoughts. Through close analysis of various forms of evidence—literary, epigraphic, and legal—this book demonstrated that classical Athens ... More

This chapter summarizes key themes and presents some final thoughts. Through close analysis of various forms of evidence—literary, epigraphic, and legal—this book demonstrated that classical Athens had a spectrum of statuses, ranging from the base chattel slave to the male citizen with full civic rights. It showed that Athenian democracy was in practice both more inclusive and more exclusive than one might expect based on its civic ideology: more inclusive in that even slaves and noncitizens “shared in” the democratic polis, more exclusive in that not all citizens were equal participants in the social, economic, and political life of the city. The book also showed the flexibility of status boundaries, seemingly in opposition to the dominant ideology of two or three status groups divided neatly from one another: slave versus free, citizen versus noncitizen, or slave versus metic versus citizen.Less

‘I am No Politician’ (Socrates)

Jean-François Pradeau

in Plato and the City: A New Introduction to Plato's Political Thought

This chapter presents the political philosophy of Socrates, and its impact on Plato's political thought. It notes that Socrates' political critique of Athens is aimed at its deficiency of virtue, a ... More

This chapter presents the political philosophy of Socrates, and its impact on Plato's political thought. It notes that Socrates' political critique of Athens is aimed at its deficiency of virtue, a criticism echoed in Plato and Aristotle's works as the two believed in the unity of politics and ethics, and adds that in spite of his criticisms, Socrates did not suggest any alternative to remedy the deficient Athenian democracy.Less