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Author: Loren J. Samons
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520251687
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 328
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Book Description
"This is unlike any recent work I know of. It offers a challenging, often refreshing, and what will certainly be a controversial assessment of classical Athenian democracy and its significance to modern America. Samons is willing to tread where few other classicists are willing to go in print. He reminds readers that the Athenian democracy offers just as many negative lessons as positive ones, and topics like the popular vote, the dangers of state payments to individual citizens, the naturally acquisitive foreign policy of democratic governments, and the place of religion in democracy all come up for discussion and criticism. Samons has written an original and very provocative book."—James Sickinger, author of Public Records and Archives in Classical Athens "Professor Samons' lively and challenging account of ancient Athens raises important questions about democracy, ancient and modern. It will surely arouse keen interest and debate."—Donald Kagan, author of The Peloponnesian War "In this elegantly written, carefully researched, and perceptive book, Samons presents a penetrating analysis of ancient Athenian democracy's dark sides. His book is as much about the errors and weaknesses of our own political system as it is about those of ancient Athens. Whether or not we agree with his critique and conclusions, this book is not merely thought-provoking: it is annoyingly discomforting, forcing us to re-examine firm beliefs and to discard easy solutions."—Kurt A. Raaflaub, author of Discovery of Freedom in Ancient Greece "In this marvelously unfashionable book, Samons debunks much of what passes in the current-day academy as scholarship on classical Athens, demonstrating that it is an ideologically-driven apology for a radically defective form of government. In the process, he casts light on the perspicacity of America's founding fathers and on the unthinking populism that threatens in our own day to ruin their legacy."—Paul A. Rahe, author of Republics Ancient and Modern: Classical Republicanism and the American Revolution "We are in the greatest age of democracy since antiquity and in the most need of guidance about the wisdom of government by majority vote. Precisely for that reason Professor Samons offers a bold and unbridled look at the nature and history of democracies, ancient and modern. He reminds us that we are capable of doing as much evil as good when constitutional protections and republican oversight are not there to moderate the instant desires of the majority. This is an engaging, provocative, and timely study of ancient Athens and modern America that should serve as a cautionary reminder to both romantic scholars and zealous diplomats."—Victor Davis Hanson, author of The Other Greeks
Author: Loren J. Samons
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520251687
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 328
Get Book Here
Book Description
"This is unlike any recent work I know of. It offers a challenging, often refreshing, and what will certainly be a controversial assessment of classical Athenian democracy and its significance to modern America. Samons is willing to tread where few other classicists are willing to go in print. He reminds readers that the Athenian democracy offers just as many negative lessons as positive ones, and topics like the popular vote, the dangers of state payments to individual citizens, the naturally acquisitive foreign policy of democratic governments, and the place of religion in democracy all come up for discussion and criticism. Samons has written an original and very provocative book."—James Sickinger, author of Public Records and Archives in Classical Athens "Professor Samons' lively and challenging account of ancient Athens raises important questions about democracy, ancient and modern. It will surely arouse keen interest and debate."—Donald Kagan, author of The Peloponnesian War "In this elegantly written, carefully researched, and perceptive book, Samons presents a penetrating analysis of ancient Athenian democracy's dark sides. His book is as much about the errors and weaknesses of our own political system as it is about those of ancient Athens. Whether or not we agree with his critique and conclusions, this book is not merely thought-provoking: it is annoyingly discomforting, forcing us to re-examine firm beliefs and to discard easy solutions."—Kurt A. Raaflaub, author of Discovery of Freedom in Ancient Greece "In this marvelously unfashionable book, Samons debunks much of what passes in the current-day academy as scholarship on classical Athens, demonstrating that it is an ideologically-driven apology for a radically defective form of government. In the process, he casts light on the perspicacity of America's founding fathers and on the unthinking populism that threatens in our own day to ruin their legacy."—Paul A. Rahe, author of Republics Ancient and Modern: Classical Republicanism and the American Revolution "We are in the greatest age of democracy since antiquity and in the most need of guidance about the wisdom of government by majority vote. Precisely for that reason Professor Samons offers a bold and unbridled look at the nature and history of democracies, ancient and modern. He reminds us that we are capable of doing as much evil as good when constitutional protections and republican oversight are not there to moderate the instant desires of the majority. This is an engaging, provocative, and timely study of ancient Athens and modern America that should serve as a cautionary reminder to both romantic scholars and zealous diplomats."—Victor Davis Hanson, author of The Other Greeks
Author: Rhodes P. J. Rhodes
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 1474471986
Category : HISTORY
Languages : en
Pages : 304
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Book Description
Athens' democracy developed during the sixth and fifth centuries and continued into the fourth; Athens' defeat by Macedon in 322 began a series of alternations between democracy and oligarchy. The democracy was inseparably bound up with the ideals of liberty and equality, the rule of law, and the direct government of the people by the people. Liberty meant above all freedom of speech, the right to be heard in the public assembly and the right to speak one's mind in private. Equality meant the equal right of the male citizens (perhaps 60,000 in the fifth century, 30,000 in the fourth) to participate in the government of the state and the administration of the law. Disapproved of as mob rule until the nineteenth century, the institutions of Athenian democracy have become an inspiration for modern democratic politics and political philosophy. P. J. Rhodes's reader focuses on the political institutions, political activity, history, and nature of Athenian democracy and introduces some of the best British, American, German and French scholarship on its origins, theory and practice. Part I is devoted to political institutions: citizenship, the assembly, the law-courts, and capital punishment. Part II explores aspects of political activity: the demagogues and their relationship with the assembly, the manoeuvrings of the politicians, competitive festivals, and the separation of public from private life. Part III looks at three crucial points in the development of the democracy: the reforms of Solon, Cleisthenes and Ephialtes. Part IV considers what it was in Greek life that led to the development of democracy. Some of the authors adopt broad-brush approaches to major questions; others analyse a particular body of evidence in detail. Use is made of archaeology, comparison with other societies, the location of festivals in their civic context, and the need to penetrate behind what the classical Athenians made of their past.
Author: Robin Osborne
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198731531
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 285
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Book Description
Concise, comprehensive, and authoritative, Classical Greece provides an analysis of the physical setting of and the archaic legacy to the classical city: its economy, its civic and religious institutions, the waging of war between cities, the occurrence and ancient analysis of conflict within the city, and the private life of the citizen.
Author: John Kenyon Davies
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674196070
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332
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Book Description
The art of classical Greece, and its political and philosophical ideas, have had a profound influence on Western civilization. It was in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. that this Greek culture--material, political and intellectual--reached its zenith. At the same time, the Greek states were at their most powerful and quarrelsome. J. K. Davies traces the flowering of this extraordinary society, drawing on a wealth of documentary material: houses and graves, extant sculpture and vases, as well as the writings of historians, orators, biographers, dramatists, and philosophers.
Author: Peter Garnsey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521375856
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 328
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Book Description
The first full-length study of famine in antiquity. The study provides detailed case studies of Athens and Rome, the best known states of antiquity, but also illuminates the institutional response to food crisis in the mass of ordinary cities in the Mediterranean world. Ancient historians have generally shown little interest in investigating the material base of the unique civilisations of the Graeco-Roman world, and have left unexplored the role of the food supply in framing the central institutions and practices of ancient society.
Author: Darel Tai Engen
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 0472116347
Category : Athens (Greece)
Languages : en
Pages : 412
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Book Description
A new assessment of the ancient Athenian economy relying on fresh documentary evidence
Author: Onno Van Nijf
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317575997
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226
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Book Description
This book, first published in 1992, presents an introduction to the nature of trade and transport in antiquity through a selection of translated literary, papyrological, epigraphical and legal sources. These texts illustrate a range of aspects of ancient trade and transport: from the role of the authorities, to the status of traders, to the capacity and speed of ancient ships. It is clear that the actual means of transportation were crucial; the book illustrates the limitations of ancient transport technology and the consequences for the development of commerce. It focuses first on different aspects of transport over land and then on transport by river and concludes with a discussion of several aspects of ancient seafaring, This book is ideal for students of ancient history.
Author: Phillip Harding
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 0802090699
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225
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Book Description
Epigraphy is a method of inferring and analyzing historical data by means of inscriptions found on ancient artifacts such as stones, coins, and statues. It has proven indispensable for archaeologists and classicists, and has considerable potential for the study of ancient history at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Epigraphy and the Greek Historian is a collection of essays that explore various ways in which inscriptions can help students reconstruct and understand Greek History. In order to engage with the study of epigraphy, this collection is divided into two parts, Athens and Athens from the outside. The contributors maintain the importance of epigraphy, arguing that, in some cases, inscriptions are the only tools we have to recover the local history of places that stand outside the main focus of ancient literary sources, which are often frustratingly Athenocentric. Ideally, the historian uses both inscriptions and literary sources to make plausible inferences and thereby weave together the disconnected threads of the past into a connected and persuasive narrative. Epigraphy and the Greek Historian is a comprehensive examination of epigraphy and a timely resource for students and scholars involved in the study of ancient history.
Author: Gordon S. Shrimpton
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0773562915
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 365
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Book Description
Theopompus was primarily known in antiquity for his historical works, which included an Epitome of Herodotus; Hellenica, a twelve-volume history of Greece; and the fifty-eight volume Philippica, which focused mainly on the career of Philip II of Macedon. All of Theopompus' works were lost by late antiquity except fifty-three volumes of the Philippica, which survived into Byzantine times only to disappear by perhaps the tenth century. Before these works were lost, geographers, lexicographers, biographers, collectors of anecdotes, and later historians all quoted Theopompus in their writings and many critics of historical style commented on Theopompus' work. Concentrating on the Hellenica and the Philippica, Shrimpton studies the fragments and testimonies to reveal what can be gleaned about the scope and content of Theopompus' two major works. He deals systematically with the problems of interpretation and makes clear the methodological background of his reconstructions and evaluations, furnishing the basis for further methodological debate. Theopompus' moral and political views are discussed, as are his treatment of two of the most important figures of the middle of the fourth century BC, Philip and Demosthenes. In addition, Shrimpton provides a comprehensive index of the proper names found in the fragments and reassesses the authorship of the Hellenica Oxyrhynchia, suggesting that it is most plausibly identified with Cratippus.
Author:
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292773684
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 436
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Book Description
This is the second volume in the Oratory of Classical Greece series. Planned for publication over several years, the series will present all of the surviving speeches from the late fifth and fourth centuries B.C. in new translations prepared by classical scholars who are at the forefront of the discipline. These translations are especially designed for the needs and interests of today's undergraduates, Greekless scholars in other disciplines, and the general public. Classical oratory is an invaluable resource for the study of ancient Greek life and culture. The speeches offer evidence on Greek moral views, social and economic conditions, political and social ideology, and other aspects of Athenian culture that have been largely ignored: women and family life, slavery, and religion, to name just a few. This volume contains all the complete works and eleven of the largest fragments attributed to Lysias, the leading speechwriter of the generation (403-380 B.C.) after the Peloponnesian War, who was also one of the finest and most deceptive storytellers of all time. As a noncitizen resident in Athens, Lysias could take no direct part in politics, but his speeches, written for clients to deliver in court, paint vivid pictures of various private and public disputes: one speaker defends himself on a charge of murdering his wife's lover, while another is accused of having caused the deaths of democratic activists under the short-lived oligarchy of the Thirty (404/3), despite his claim to be protected by the amnesty that accompanied the restoration of democracy in 403.
