Loren J. Samons II
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520236608
- eISBN:
- 9780520940901
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520236608.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
Study of Athenian society suggests that in drawing social distinctions, moderns may have attempted to thwart or simply ignore a fundamental aspect of human nature. Athens' financing of certain ...
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Study of Athenian society suggests that in drawing social distinctions, moderns may have attempted to thwart or simply ignore a fundamental aspect of human nature. Athens' financing of certain fifth-century military operations with money and treasure dedicated to the polis' gods nicely illustrates the overlapping political, religious, economic, and military aspects of Athenian society. America's democratic ideology and lack of a strong moral matrix mean that modern Americans have few standards by which to judge their actions and choices other than freedom itself. In classical Athens, religion suffused every aspect of public life, from the theater to the military to the political assembly. If democracy has become a religion and the attempt to separate church and state in America has therefore failed, it may be because human societies have such a strong tendency to organize themselves around a set of interlocking principles and beliefs.Less
Study of Athenian society suggests that in drawing social distinctions, moderns may have attempted to thwart or simply ignore a fundamental aspect of human nature. Athens' financing of certain fifth-century military operations with money and treasure dedicated to the polis' gods nicely illustrates the overlapping political, religious, economic, and military aspects of Athenian society. America's democratic ideology and lack of a strong moral matrix mean that modern Americans have few standards by which to judge their actions and choices other than freedom itself. In classical Athens, religion suffused every aspect of public life, from the theater to the military to the political assembly. If democracy has become a religion and the attempt to separate church and state in America has therefore failed, it may be because human societies have such a strong tendency to organize themselves around a set of interlocking principles and beliefs.
Loren J. Samons II
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520236608
- eISBN:
- 9780520940901
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520236608.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
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 ...
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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
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.
Vincent Azoulay
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691154596
- eISBN:
- 9781400851171
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691154596.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
Pericles has had the rare distinction of giving his name to an entire period of history, embodying what has often been taken as the golden age of the ancient Greek world. “Periclean” Athens witnessed ...
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Pericles has had the rare distinction of giving his name to an entire period of history, embodying what has often been taken as the golden age of the ancient Greek world. “Periclean” Athens witnessed tumultuous political and military events, and achievements of the highest order in philosophy, drama, poetry, oratory, and architecture. This is the first book in more than two decades to reassess the life and legacy of one of the greatest generals, orators, and statesmen of the classical world. It provides an unforgettable portrait of Pericles and his turbulent era, shedding light on his powerful family, his patronage of the arts, and his unrivaled influence on Athenian politics and culture. It takes a fresh look at both the classical and modern reception of Pericles, recognizing his achievements as well as his failings while deftly avoiding the adulatory or hypercritical positions staked out by some scholars today. From Thucydides and Plutarch to Voltaire and Hegel, ancient and modern authors have questioned the great statesman's relationship with democracy and Athenian society. Did Pericles hold supreme power over willing masses or was he just a gifted representative of popular aspirations? Was Periclean Athens a democracy in name only, as Thucydides suggests? This is the enigma that the book investigates. In doing so the book offers a balanced look at the complex life and afterlife of the legendary “first citizen of Athens” who presided over the birth of democracy.Less
Pericles has had the rare distinction of giving his name to an entire period of history, embodying what has often been taken as the golden age of the ancient Greek world. “Periclean” Athens witnessed tumultuous political and military events, and achievements of the highest order in philosophy, drama, poetry, oratory, and architecture. This is the first book in more than two decades to reassess the life and legacy of one of the greatest generals, orators, and statesmen of the classical world. It provides an unforgettable portrait of Pericles and his turbulent era, shedding light on his powerful family, his patronage of the arts, and his unrivaled influence on Athenian politics and culture. It takes a fresh look at both the classical and modern reception of Pericles, recognizing his achievements as well as his failings while deftly avoiding the adulatory or hypercritical positions staked out by some scholars today. From Thucydides and Plutarch to Voltaire and Hegel, ancient and modern authors have questioned the great statesman's relationship with democracy and Athenian society. Did Pericles hold supreme power over willing masses or was he just a gifted representative of popular aspirations? Was Periclean Athens a democracy in name only, as Thucydides suggests? This is the enigma that the book investigates. In doing so the book offers a balanced look at the complex life and afterlife of the legendary “first citizen of Athens” who presided over the birth of democracy.
EDITH HALL
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199298891
- eISBN:
- 9780191711459
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199298891.003.0012
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter takes the argument out of the theatre and into the lawcourts, one of the contexts which most clearly reveals the increasingly theatrical tenor (or ‘cast’) of Athenian society at large ...
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This chapter takes the argument out of the theatre and into the lawcourts, one of the contexts which most clearly reveals the increasingly theatrical tenor (or ‘cast’) of Athenian society at large and of its public discourses. In a survey of the corpus of legal oratory from classical Athens, it is argued that the analogy between a trial and a theatrical performance was close and multilayered. There were strong similarities between the writing of roles for a play and the composition of speeches for delivery in court; there was a considerable degree of overlap between what was expected of tragic actors and litigants in terms of vocal performance.Less
This chapter takes the argument out of the theatre and into the lawcourts, one of the contexts which most clearly reveals the increasingly theatrical tenor (or ‘cast’) of Athenian society at large and of its public discourses. In a survey of the corpus of legal oratory from classical Athens, it is argued that the analogy between a trial and a theatrical performance was close and multilayered. There were strong similarities between the writing of roles for a play and the composition of speeches for delivery in court; there was a considerable degree of overlap between what was expected of tragic actors and litigants in terms of vocal performance.
Vincent Azoulay and Paulin Ismard
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781474421775
- eISBN:
- 9781474449519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474421775.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter specifically aims to find a path that traverses — or a midway point between — both approaches to the study of the Greek world influenced by Actor-Network Theory and more traditional ...
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This chapter specifically aims to find a path that traverses — or a midway point between — both approaches to the study of the Greek world influenced by Actor-Network Theory and more traditional Durkheimian approaches centered on the city. It considers the model of the choros (as it was conceptualized by classical authors) as capable of offering a productive paradigm for understanding the mechanisms of belonging at work within Athenian civic society during the classical period. The choral reference also refers to a certain way of writing history—one inspired by the models of the novel and the choral film— that seems particularly fitting for describing the complex way in which the Athenian social sphere functioned. The article formulates the following hypothesis: a choral approach, at the crossroads between the specifically Greek conception of the chorus and the contemporary conceptualization of the chorus in the field of fiction, makes it possible to stay as close as possible to the ways in which the social sphere was composed, the formation of groups, and the identities at the various levels of community life. This hypothesis to put to the test by examining a unique moment in Athenian history: the years between 404 and 400.Less
This chapter specifically aims to find a path that traverses — or a midway point between — both approaches to the study of the Greek world influenced by Actor-Network Theory and more traditional Durkheimian approaches centered on the city. It considers the model of the choros (as it was conceptualized by classical authors) as capable of offering a productive paradigm for understanding the mechanisms of belonging at work within Athenian civic society during the classical period. The choral reference also refers to a certain way of writing history—one inspired by the models of the novel and the choral film— that seems particularly fitting for describing the complex way in which the Athenian social sphere functioned. The article formulates the following hypothesis: a choral approach, at the crossroads between the specifically Greek conception of the chorus and the contemporary conceptualization of the chorus in the field of fiction, makes it possible to stay as close as possible to the ways in which the social sphere was composed, the formation of groups, and the identities at the various levels of community life. This hypothesis to put to the test by examining a unique moment in Athenian history: the years between 404 and 400.
Peter Green
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520255074
- eISBN:
- 9780520934719
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520255074.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
A combination of scholarship and unorthodoxy makes these studies in ancient history and literature unusually rewarding. Few of the objects of conventional admiration gain much support from the ...
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A combination of scholarship and unorthodoxy makes these studies in ancient history and literature unusually rewarding. Few of the objects of conventional admiration gain much support from the author—Pericles and the “democracy” of fifth-century Athens are treated to a very cool scrutiny—but he has a warm regard for the real virtues of antiquity and for those who spoke with “an individual voice.” The studies cover both history and literature, Greece and Rome. They range from the real nature of Athenian society to poets as diverse as Sappho and Juvenal, and all of them, without laboring any parallels, make the ancient world immediately relevant to our own. There is, for example, an essay on how classical history often becomes a vehicle for the historian's own political beliefs and fantasies of power.Less
A combination of scholarship and unorthodoxy makes these studies in ancient history and literature unusually rewarding. Few of the objects of conventional admiration gain much support from the author—Pericles and the “democracy” of fifth-century Athens are treated to a very cool scrutiny—but he has a warm regard for the real virtues of antiquity and for those who spoke with “an individual voice.” The studies cover both history and literature, Greece and Rome. They range from the real nature of Athenian society to poets as diverse as Sappho and Juvenal, and all of them, without laboring any parallels, make the ancient world immediately relevant to our own. There is, for example, an essay on how classical history often becomes a vehicle for the historian's own political beliefs and fantasies of power.
Fiona Mchardy
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780859897525
- eISBN:
- 9781781380628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9780859897525.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter examines the significance of the murder of sons by their mothers in Greek tragedy and classical Athenian society as a whole. It draws on a wide range of material derived not only from ...
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This chapter examines the significance of the murder of sons by their mothers in Greek tragedy and classical Athenian society as a whole. It draws on a wide range of material derived not only from fragments of plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, but also from the minor tragic poets and Roman tragedy. The prominence of metaphors of madness in the fragments which survive from plays dealing with this theme suggests a way of understanding how the Athenian audience of the time interpreted the actions of these women. It is argued that whereas the motif of filicide is absent from earlier versions of the same stories, it seems to have been understood as particularly suitable to tragedy.Less
This chapter examines the significance of the murder of sons by their mothers in Greek tragedy and classical Athenian society as a whole. It draws on a wide range of material derived not only from fragments of plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, but also from the minor tragic poets and Roman tragedy. The prominence of metaphors of madness in the fragments which survive from plays dealing with this theme suggests a way of understanding how the Athenian audience of the time interpreted the actions of these women. It is argued that whereas the motif of filicide is absent from earlier versions of the same stories, it seems to have been understood as particularly suitable to tragedy.