DE STE CROIX
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199255177
- eISBN:
- 9780191719844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255177.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This introductory chapter begins with the story behind the delayed publication of the collection of essays presented in this volume. An overview of the essays is then given. It is argued that if the ...
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This introductory chapter begins with the story behind the delayed publication of the collection of essays presented in this volume. An overview of the essays is then given. It is argued that if the ultimate aim of the essays is to school the political intelligence of their readers, their method is scholarship of a detailed and rigorous kind. They are largely exercises in ‘source criticism’ (Quellenkritik) in its twin branches: study of the ancient evidence with a view to establishing who said what, and on what authority; and criticism of the data thus secured in the light of the observable political behaviour of human actors.Less
This introductory chapter begins with the story behind the delayed publication of the collection of essays presented in this volume. An overview of the essays is then given. It is argued that if the ultimate aim of the essays is to school the political intelligence of their readers, their method is scholarship of a detailed and rigorous kind. They are largely exercises in ‘source criticism’ (Quellenkritik) in its twin branches: study of the ancient evidence with a view to establishing who said what, and on what authority; and criticism of the data thus secured in the light of the observable political behaviour of human actors.
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.
J. L. Marr and P. J. Rhodes
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780856687761
- eISBN:
- 9781800342804
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9780856687761.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
'Old Oligarch' is a label often applied to the unknown author of the Athenian Constitution preserved with the works of Xenophon. Probably written in the mid-420s B.C., it is the earliest surviving ...
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'Old Oligarch' is a label often applied to the unknown author of the Athenian Constitution preserved with the works of Xenophon. Probably written in the mid-420s B.C., it is the earliest surviving Athenian prose text, and its author was probably a young pupil of the teachers known as sophists. It is an essay which replies to oligarchic criticisms of the Athenian democracy by agreeing with the critics that democracy is distasteful but arguing that it is appropriate for Athens as a city whose power depends on the poorer citizens who row the navy's ships, and that it is successful and could not easily be overthrown. This edition provides a Greek text and English translation, with Introduction, Commentary and Appendixes which discuss the date, authorship and character of the work, the historical background, the statements and arguments presented by the author and features of the author's style.Less
'Old Oligarch' is a label often applied to the unknown author of the Athenian Constitution preserved with the works of Xenophon. Probably written in the mid-420s B.C., it is the earliest surviving Athenian prose text, and its author was probably a young pupil of the teachers known as sophists. It is an essay which replies to oligarchic criticisms of the Athenian democracy by agreeing with the critics that democracy is distasteful but arguing that it is appropriate for Athens as a city whose power depends on the poorer citizens who row the navy's ships, and that it is successful and could not easily be overthrown. This edition provides a Greek text and English translation, with Introduction, Commentary and Appendixes which discuss the date, authorship and character of the work, the historical background, the statements and arguments presented by the author and features of the author's style.
Joseph Roisman
Jeffrey Corbin and Carla D'Antonio (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520247871
- eISBN:
- 9780520932913
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520247871.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
The Attic orators, whose works are an invaluable source on the social and political history of Classical Athens, often filled their speeches with charges of conspiracy involving almost every facet of ...
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The Attic orators, whose works are an invaluable source on the social and political history of Classical Athens, often filled their speeches with charges of conspiracy involving almost every facet of Athenian life. There are allegations of plots against men's lives, property, careers, and reputations, as well as charges of conspiracy against the public interest, the government, the management of foreign affairs, and more. Until now, however, this obsession with conspiracy has received little scholarly attention. In order to develop the first full picture of this important feature of Athenian discourse, this book examines the range and nature of the conspiracy charges. The author asks why they were so popular, and considers their rhetorical, cultural, and psychological significance. He also investigates the historical likelihood of the scenarios advanced for these plots, and asks what their prevalence suggests about the Athenians and their worldview. The author concludes by comparing ancient and modern conspiracy theories. In addition to shedding new light on Athenian history and culture, his study provides a perspective on the use of conspiracy as a rhetorical ploy.Less
The Attic orators, whose works are an invaluable source on the social and political history of Classical Athens, often filled their speeches with charges of conspiracy involving almost every facet of Athenian life. There are allegations of plots against men's lives, property, careers, and reputations, as well as charges of conspiracy against the public interest, the government, the management of foreign affairs, and more. Until now, however, this obsession with conspiracy has received little scholarly attention. In order to develop the first full picture of this important feature of Athenian discourse, this book examines the range and nature of the conspiracy charges. The author asks why they were so popular, and considers their rhetorical, cultural, and psychological significance. He also investigates the historical likelihood of the scenarios advanced for these plots, and asks what their prevalence suggests about the Athenians and their worldview. The author concludes by comparing ancient and modern conspiracy theories. In addition to shedding new light on Athenian history and culture, his study provides a perspective on the use of conspiracy as a rhetorical ploy.
Geoffrey de Ste. Croix
David Harvey and Robert Parker (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199255177
- eISBN:
- 9780191719844
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255177.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This book presents a number of interconnected essays, in which the late Geoffrey de Ste. Croix defends the institutions of the Athenian democracy, showing that they were much more practical, ...
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This book presents a number of interconnected essays, in which the late Geoffrey de Ste. Croix defends the institutions of the Athenian democracy, showing that they were much more practical, rational, and impartial than has usually been acknowledged. One major essay provides a new view of Aristotle's use of sources in The Constitution of the Athenians, on which so much of our knowledge of Athenian constitutional history depends. The essays also argue that commercial factors had much less influence on Greek politics than modern scholars tend to assume, and that there was no such thing in any Greek state as a ‘commercial aristocracy’. As always, Ste. Croix works out these general positions with lucidity and pungency, and in meticulous detail. Though written in the 1960s, these hitherto unpublished essays by a great radical historian will still constitute a major contribution to contemporary debate.Less
This book presents a number of interconnected essays, in which the late Geoffrey de Ste. Croix defends the institutions of the Athenian democracy, showing that they were much more practical, rational, and impartial than has usually been acknowledged. One major essay provides a new view of Aristotle's use of sources in The Constitution of the Athenians, on which so much of our knowledge of Athenian constitutional history depends. The essays also argue that commercial factors had much less influence on Greek politics than modern scholars tend to assume, and that there was no such thing in any Greek state as a ‘commercial aristocracy’. As always, Ste. Croix works out these general positions with lucidity and pungency, and in meticulous detail. Though written in the 1960s, these hitherto unpublished essays by a great radical historian will still constitute a major contribution to contemporary debate.
Deborah Kamen
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691138138
- eISBN:
- 9781400846535
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691138138.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
Ancient Greek literature, Athenian civic ideology, and modern classical scholarship have all worked together to reinforce the idea that there were three neatly defined status groups in classical ...
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Ancient Greek literature, Athenian civic ideology, and modern classical scholarship have all worked together to reinforce the idea that there were three neatly defined status groups in classical Athens—citizens, slaves, and resident foreigners. But this book—the first comprehensive account of status in ancient democratic Athens—clearly lays out the evidence for a much broader and more complex spectrum of statuses, one that has important implications for understanding Greek social and cultural history. By revealing a social and legal reality otherwise masked by Athenian ideology, the book illuminates the complexity of Athenian social structure, uncovers tensions between democratic ideology and practice, and contributes to larger questions about the relationship between citizenship and democracy. Each chapter is devoted to one of ten distinct status groups in classical Athens (451/0–323 BCE): chattel slaves, privileged chattel slaves, conditionally freed slaves, resident foreigners (metics), illegitimate children, privileged metics, disenfranchised citizens, naturalized citizens, female citizens, and male citizens. Examining a wide range of literary, epigraphic, and legal evidence, as well as factors not generally considered together, such as property ownership, corporal inviolability, and religious rights, the book demonstrates the important legal and social distinctions that were drawn between various groups of individuals in Athens. At the same time, it reveals that the boundaries between these groups were less fixed and more permeable than Athenians themselves acknowledged. The book concludes by trying to explain why ancient Greek literature maintains the fiction of three status groups despite a far more complex reality.Less
Ancient Greek literature, Athenian civic ideology, and modern classical scholarship have all worked together to reinforce the idea that there were three neatly defined status groups in classical Athens—citizens, slaves, and resident foreigners. But this book—the first comprehensive account of status in ancient democratic Athens—clearly lays out the evidence for a much broader and more complex spectrum of statuses, one that has important implications for understanding Greek social and cultural history. By revealing a social and legal reality otherwise masked by Athenian ideology, the book illuminates the complexity of Athenian social structure, uncovers tensions between democratic ideology and practice, and contributes to larger questions about the relationship between citizenship and democracy. Each chapter is devoted to one of ten distinct status groups in classical Athens (451/0–323 BCE): chattel slaves, privileged chattel slaves, conditionally freed slaves, resident foreigners (metics), illegitimate children, privileged metics, disenfranchised citizens, naturalized citizens, female citizens, and male citizens. Examining a wide range of literary, epigraphic, and legal evidence, as well as factors not generally considered together, such as property ownership, corporal inviolability, and religious rights, the book demonstrates the important legal and social distinctions that were drawn between various groups of individuals in Athens. At the same time, it reveals that the boundaries between these groups were less fixed and more permeable than Athenians themselves acknowledged. The book concludes by trying to explain why ancient Greek literature maintains the fiction of three status groups despite a far more complex reality.
Stephen Clarke
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- January 2022
- ISBN:
- 9781789622447
- eISBN:
- 9781800852624
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781789622447.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
Demosthenes’ oration On the Chersonese is a masterpiece of rhetorical brilliance and contains some of the best examples of his skill as a political orator, coming as one of his final surviving ...
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Demosthenes’ oration On the Chersonese is a masterpiece of rhetorical brilliance and contains some of the best examples of his skill as a political orator, coming as one of his final surviving speeches in the corpus. It was delivered to the Athenians in 341 BC, at a time of turbulent events when Athens was coming under increasing pressure resulting from the actions of Philip of Macedon. The Chersonese was a region of great importance for Athens. At the time of the speech, Philip was in the middle of an extensive military and diplomatic campaign in Thrace that would threaten the security of the Athenian grain trade from the Black Sea. The resulting pressure in the Chersonese, however, was seen by Demosthenes as an attempt by Philip to weaken Athens as a prelude to taking the whole of Greece. In this context he argued in the speech that the general Diopeithes, who had been sent out to the Chersonese in 346 with a naval force, be supported in the face of protest from Philip regarding Diopeithes’ actions in the wider area. This edition with Greek text, translation and commentary contains the first detailed commentary on this speech. Less
Demosthenes’ oration On the Chersonese is a masterpiece of rhetorical brilliance and contains some of the best examples of his skill as a political orator, coming as one of his final surviving speeches in the corpus. It was delivered to the Athenians in 341 BC, at a time of turbulent events when Athens was coming under increasing pressure resulting from the actions of Philip of Macedon. The Chersonese was a region of great importance for Athens. At the time of the speech, Philip was in the middle of an extensive military and diplomatic campaign in Thrace that would threaten the security of the Athenian grain trade from the Black Sea. The resulting pressure in the Chersonese, however, was seen by Demosthenes as an attempt by Philip to weaken Athens as a prelude to taking the whole of Greece. In this context he argued in the speech that the general Diopeithes, who had been sent out to the Chersonese in 346 with a naval force, be supported in the face of protest from Philip regarding Diopeithes’ actions in the wider area. This edition with Greek text, translation and commentary contains the first detailed commentary on this speech.
Emily Greenwood
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199575244
- eISBN:
- 9780191722189
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199575244.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
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 ...
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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
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.
Thomas N. Mitchell
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780300215038
- eISBN:
- 9780300217353
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300215038.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
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 ...
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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
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.
Deborah Kamen
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691138138
- eISBN:
- 9781400846535
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691138138.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
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 ...
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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
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.
S.C. Humphreys
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199269235
- eISBN:
- 9780191710094
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269235.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This book contains analyses both of Athenian religion and of the history of classical studies. It emphasizes that disciplinary history is an integral part of research, especially in interdisciplinary ...
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This book contains analyses both of Athenian religion and of the history of classical studies. It emphasizes that disciplinary history is an integral part of research, especially in interdisciplinary fields such as religion. It also highlights the intellectual aspects of religious thought and practice, and attacks the stereotype of religion and ritual as traditional and unchanging. The supernatural — like ‘nature’ in modern science — attracts speculation and experiment. Particular attention is given to the construction of classical studies and its subdisciplines in the 19th century university; to the genesis of the dichotomy rational/irrational in Greece in the 6th-5th centuries BCE (magnified in importance by 19th-century classicists); to the religious reforms of Lycurgus in Athens in the late 4th century BCE; to cultic innovation in the Attic demes; to the 18th-century origins of the idea that fertility cult was the earliest form of religion; and to the history of the Anthesteria festival.Less
This book contains analyses both of Athenian religion and of the history of classical studies. It emphasizes that disciplinary history is an integral part of research, especially in interdisciplinary fields such as religion. It also highlights the intellectual aspects of religious thought and practice, and attacks the stereotype of religion and ritual as traditional and unchanging. The supernatural — like ‘nature’ in modern science — attracts speculation and experiment. Particular attention is given to the construction of classical studies and its subdisciplines in the 19th century university; to the genesis of the dichotomy rational/irrational in Greece in the 6th-5th centuries BCE (magnified in importance by 19th-century classicists); to the religious reforms of Lycurgus in Athens in the late 4th century BCE; to cultic innovation in the Attic demes; to the 18th-century origins of the idea that fertility cult was the earliest form of religion; and to the history of the Anthesteria festival.
Alan H. Sommerstein
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199568314
- eISBN:
- 9780191723018
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199568314.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book brings together nineteen studies on ancient Athenian drama, especially tragedy; five of these have not previously appeared in print, and almost all the others were first published (between ...
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This book brings together nineteen studies on ancient Athenian drama, especially tragedy; five of these have not previously appeared in print, and almost all the others were first published (between 1992 and 2006) in out-of-the-way journals, collections, or conference volumes. These appear here as originally written, but are accompanied by updating addenda. Though they cover a wide range of topics—from the presentation of violence in drama to the socialization of the adolescent male, from the authenticity of play titles to the significance of one character calling another ‘dearest’—most of them focus on four or five themes: the dramatists' exploitation and modification of myth; how much their audiences could know or guess in advance about the content of a play; connected suites of plays that were produced together (trilogies and tetralogies); the information that can be gleaned from our fragmentary evidence about plays that have not survived; and some of the multifarious connections between Athenian tragic drama and Athenian society, including the socioeconomic composition of audiences, the relationship between Aeschylus' Oresteia and the politics of its day, and evidence supporting the tradition that Aeschylus desired to be commemorated on his tomb not as a poet but as a soldier. All are informed by the conviction that ‘the study of ancient, or any other, literature is a branch of history’.Less
This book brings together nineteen studies on ancient Athenian drama, especially tragedy; five of these have not previously appeared in print, and almost all the others were first published (between 1992 and 2006) in out-of-the-way journals, collections, or conference volumes. These appear here as originally written, but are accompanied by updating addenda. Though they cover a wide range of topics—from the presentation of violence in drama to the socialization of the adolescent male, from the authenticity of play titles to the significance of one character calling another ‘dearest’—most of them focus on four or five themes: the dramatists' exploitation and modification of myth; how much their audiences could know or guess in advance about the content of a play; connected suites of plays that were produced together (trilogies and tetralogies); the information that can be gleaned from our fragmentary evidence about plays that have not survived; and some of the multifarious connections between Athenian tragic drama and Athenian society, including the socioeconomic composition of audiences, the relationship between Aeschylus' Oresteia and the politics of its day, and evidence supporting the tradition that Aeschylus desired to be commemorated on his tomb not as a poet but as a soldier. All are informed by the conviction that ‘the study of ancient, or any other, literature is a branch of history’.
P. M. Fraser
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264287
- eISBN:
- 9780191753978
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264287.003.0011
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The ktetics of certain Greek cities were in wide circulation from an early date, with reference either to the coins of the cities or to the standard weights and values of their coinage, as used by ...
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The ktetics of certain Greek cities were in wide circulation from an early date, with reference either to the coins of the cities or to the standard weights and values of their coinage, as used by other cities. The most familiar of these are the Aeginetan and Athenian, and later the Rhodian, all of which appear in a wide variety of sources, and in particular in the weights and measures assigned to votive offerings of precious metals, including coinage, in temple-inventories, notably those of Athens and Delos, and in the long temple-accounts for the work carried out at Delphi in the middle of the fourth century. The ktetic in -ικός/η/όν was regularly used in this context, both in documentary and literary usage.Less
The ktetics of certain Greek cities were in wide circulation from an early date, with reference either to the coins of the cities or to the standard weights and values of their coinage, as used by other cities. The most familiar of these are the Aeginetan and Athenian, and later the Rhodian, all of which appear in a wide variety of sources, and in particular in the weights and measures assigned to votive offerings of precious metals, including coinage, in temple-inventories, notably those of Athens and Delos, and in the long temple-accounts for the work carried out at Delphi in the middle of the fourth century. The ktetic in -ικός/η/όν was regularly used in this context, both in documentary and literary usage.
Emily Baragwanath
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199231294
- eISBN:
- 9780191710797
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231294.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Moving from Plutarch's accusation that Herodotus is too fond of polarizing questions of motivation into better and worse, and emphasizing the latter, this chapter considers cases of alternative ...
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Moving from Plutarch's accusation that Herodotus is too fond of polarizing questions of motivation into better and worse, and emphasizing the latter, this chapter considers cases of alternative accounts in the Histories where the alternative possibilities relate to questions of motivation. It reviews those where the double explanations do not represent true alternatives; where they are genuine but no ethical judgment attaches to a particular choice; and where the alternatives are indeed morally weighted (e.g. principled versus pragmatic)—as in the case-studies of the Athenians' expulsion of the Pelasgians and failure to expel the Peisistratids. Reader response is not simply a matter, then, of making an autonomous choice between alternatives, but of observing a complex skein of possible motivations and their possible resolutions. Herodotus' presentation implies that polarized views of motivation do not reflect complex realities.Less
Moving from Plutarch's accusation that Herodotus is too fond of polarizing questions of motivation into better and worse, and emphasizing the latter, this chapter considers cases of alternative accounts in the Histories where the alternative possibilities relate to questions of motivation. It reviews those where the double explanations do not represent true alternatives; where they are genuine but no ethical judgment attaches to a particular choice; and where the alternatives are indeed morally weighted (e.g. principled versus pragmatic)—as in the case-studies of the Athenians' expulsion of the Pelasgians and failure to expel the Peisistratids. Reader response is not simply a matter, then, of making an autonomous choice between alternatives, but of observing a complex skein of possible motivations and their possible resolutions. Herodotus' presentation implies that polarized views of motivation do not reflect complex realities.
Emily Baragwanath
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199231294
- eISBN:
- 9780191710797
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231294.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
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 ...
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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
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.
Steven Johnstone
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226405094
- eISBN:
- 9780226405117
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226405117.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
An enormous amount of literature exists on Greek law, economics, and political philosophy. Yet no one has written a history of trust, one of the most fundamental aspects of social and economic ...
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An enormous amount of literature exists on Greek law, economics, and political philosophy. Yet no one has written a history of trust, one of the most fundamental aspects of social and economic interaction in the ancient world. This volume explores the way democracy and markets flourished in ancient Greece, not so much through personal relationships as through trust in abstract systems—including money, standardized measurement, rhetoric, and haggling. Focusing on markets and democratic politics, the book draws on speeches given in Athenian courts, histories of Athenian democracy, comic writings, and laws inscribed on stone to examine how these systems worked. It analyzes their potentials and limitations and how the Greeks understood and critiqued them. The book links Greek political, economic, social, and intellectual history and examines contemporary analyses of trust and civil society.Less
An enormous amount of literature exists on Greek law, economics, and political philosophy. Yet no one has written a history of trust, one of the most fundamental aspects of social and economic interaction in the ancient world. This volume explores the way democracy and markets flourished in ancient Greece, not so much through personal relationships as through trust in abstract systems—including money, standardized measurement, rhetoric, and haggling. Focusing on markets and democratic politics, the book draws on speeches given in Athenian courts, histories of Athenian democracy, comic writings, and laws inscribed on stone to examine how these systems worked. It analyzes their potentials and limitations and how the Greeks understood and critiqued them. The book links Greek political, economic, social, and intellectual history and examines contemporary analyses of trust and civil society.
G. J. Oliver
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199283507
- eISBN:
- 9780191712722
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199283507.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This book provides a new assessment of the economic history of Athens in the Hellenistic era, when the city was no longer an imperial power and struggled to maintain its territory, both at home in ...
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This book provides a new assessment of the economic history of Athens in the Hellenistic era, when the city was no longer an imperial power and struggled to maintain its territory, both at home in Attica and overseas in the cleruchies. The book assesses how political and military change affected the fragile economies of the Athenian polis. Warfare in Attica required the Athenians to protect their domestic grain supply and seek out those beyond the city to provide commodities from abroad. The book stresses the economic importance of benefaction and civic honours, and shows how much the citizens of Athens contributed to the defence and finances of their city.Less
This book provides a new assessment of the economic history of Athens in the Hellenistic era, when the city was no longer an imperial power and struggled to maintain its territory, both at home in Attica and overseas in the cleruchies. The book assesses how political and military change affected the fragile economies of the Athenian polis. Warfare in Attica required the Athenians to protect their domestic grain supply and seek out those beyond the city to provide commodities from abroad. The book stresses the economic importance of benefaction and civic honours, and shows how much the citizens of Athens contributed to the defence and finances of their city.
G. J. Oliver
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199283507
- eISBN:
- 9780191712722
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199283507.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter considers how the Athenian polis was able to extract economic advantage from its relations with foreign individuals and communities. The chapter is divided into four sections. The first ...
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This chapter considers how the Athenian polis was able to extract economic advantage from its relations with foreign individuals and communities. The chapter is divided into four sections. The first explains what aid overseas benefactors provided for the Athenian supply of grain and why such aid was provided when it was. The next three sections look at the commercial and institutional infrastructures of redistributing grain: prices, sources of grain, and the intervention of the polis in the commercial supply of grain from abroad through the institution of sitonia.Less
This chapter considers how the Athenian polis was able to extract economic advantage from its relations with foreign individuals and communities. The chapter is divided into four sections. The first explains what aid overseas benefactors provided for the Athenian supply of grain and why such aid was provided when it was. The next three sections look at the commercial and institutional infrastructures of redistributing grain: prices, sources of grain, and the intervention of the polis in the commercial supply of grain from abroad through the institution of sitonia.
G. J. Oliver
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199283507
- eISBN:
- 9780191712722
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199283507.003.0011
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter presents a summary of the preceding chapters. The book has covered these topics: grain supply; warfare, in particular its impact on the countryside; institutions (army, magistracies, ...
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This chapter presents a summary of the preceding chapters. The book has covered these topics: grain supply; warfare, in particular its impact on the countryside; institutions (army, magistracies, politicians); and demography, and has tried to offer a contextual approach. It has drawn together these themes and considered how the economies of the post-classical polis of Athens had to adapt to the new conditions of the early Hellenistic era. Thus, this book is a case study of how some economic structures worked in the post-Classical polis.Less
This chapter presents a summary of the preceding chapters. The book has covered these topics: grain supply; warfare, in particular its impact on the countryside; institutions (army, magistracies, politicians); and demography, and has tried to offer a contextual approach. It has drawn together these themes and considered how the economies of the post-classical polis of Athens had to adapt to the new conditions of the early Hellenistic era. Thus, this book is a case study of how some economic structures worked in the post-Classical polis.
Matthew Landauer
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226654010
- eISBN:
- 9780226653822
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226653822.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This book examines the role of the sumboulos (adviser) in Greek conceptions of both democratic and autocratic politics. The distinctive role of advisers follows from the structural similarity between ...
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This book examines the role of the sumboulos (adviser) in Greek conceptions of both democratic and autocratic politics. The distinctive role of advisers follows from the structural similarity between the two regime types, especially with regard to accountability politics. The Athenian demos, gathered together in the assembly and in the popular courts, was understood in the fifth and fourth centuries to have competencies and powers akin to those of an autocratic ruler. In particular, both the demos and the autocrat were recognized as unaccountable rulers able to hold others, including their advisers, to account. Given the power asymmetries structuring the relationships between advisers and decision-makers in both democracies and autocracies, both practicing orators and theoretically inclined observers came to see that the problems and opportunities associated with having (or choosing) to speak to the powerful were comparable across regimes. In playing with the image of the demos as tyrant, fifth- and fourth- century authors such as Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristophanes, and Plato illuminated the logic of accountability and offered powerful accounts of the ways in which power asymmetries conditioned and at times distorted political discourse.Less
This book examines the role of the sumboulos (adviser) in Greek conceptions of both democratic and autocratic politics. The distinctive role of advisers follows from the structural similarity between the two regime types, especially with regard to accountability politics. The Athenian demos, gathered together in the assembly and in the popular courts, was understood in the fifth and fourth centuries to have competencies and powers akin to those of an autocratic ruler. In particular, both the demos and the autocrat were recognized as unaccountable rulers able to hold others, including their advisers, to account. Given the power asymmetries structuring the relationships between advisers and decision-makers in both democracies and autocracies, both practicing orators and theoretically inclined observers came to see that the problems and opportunities associated with having (or choosing) to speak to the powerful were comparable across regimes. In playing with the image of the demos as tyrant, fifth- and fourth- century authors such as Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristophanes, and Plato illuminated the logic of accountability and offered powerful accounts of the ways in which power asymmetries conditioned and at times distorted political discourse.
