Aristotle And Xenophon On Democracy And Oligarchy

This collection contains: Aristotle's The Constitution of Athens Xenophon's The Politeia of the Spartans The Constitution of the Athenians ascribed to Xenophon the Orator The Boeotian Constitution from the Oxyrhynchus Historian In bringing together, translating, and annotating these constitutional documents from ancient Greece thirty five years ago, J. M. Moore produced an authoritative work of the highest scholarship. An explanatory essay by classics scholar Kurt A. Raaflaub expands this indispensable collection.

Enth.: Aristotle's The constitution of Athens. The constitution of the Athenians / Xenophon (Orator). Xenophon's Atheniensis The politeia of the Spartans. The Boeotian constitution.

Books V and VI of Aristotle's Politics constitute a manual on practical politics. In the fifth book Aristotle examines the causes of faction and constitutional change and suggests remedies for political instability. In the sixth book he offers practical advice to the statesman who wishes to establish, preserve, or reform a democracy or an oligarchy. He discusses many political issues, theoretical and practical, which are still widely debated today - revolution and reform, democracy and tyranny, freedom and equality. David Keyt presents a clear and accurate new translation of these books, together with a commentary which, though primarily philosophical, also supplies a key to Aristotle's many historical references. It is intended to guide readers toward a proper understanding of this classic text in the history of political thought, and is well suited to the needs of students, including those with no knowledge of Greek and little knowledge of Greek institutions and history.

This volume in the LACTOR Sourcebooks in Ancient History series features a new English translation of The Old Oligarch: Pseudo-Xenophon's Constitution of the Athenians, a key text for the study of Classical Greek history, with accompanying notes and a thorough, contextualising Introduction. It provides for the needs of students at schools and universities who are studying ancient history in translation and has been written and reviewed by experienced teachers.

A translation of Pseudo-Xenophon's Constitution of Athens , with an introduction.

Economic power is becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of the few, even as democratic movements worldwide allow for political power to be dispersed among the many. With their access to influence, the wealthy can shape and constrain the political power of the rest of the world. As the economic dominance of an elite minority coincides with the forces of globalization, is oligarchy becoming the dominant political regime? This collection explores the renewed relevance of oligarchy to contemporary global politics. By drawing out lessons from classic texts, contributors illustrate how the character of oligarchical regimes informs contemporary political life. Topics include the relationship between the American government and corporations, the tension between republican and oligarchical regimes, and the potential conflicts that have opened up between economic management and political life. On Oligarchy deftly illuminates the significance of this regime in the context of pressing global economic and political issues.

This volume collects new, revised, and expanded articles about Aristotle's Politics by renowned classical scholar Mogens Herman Hansen. By addressing old controversies, and treating issues that have been ignored or neglected, Hansen sheds new lights on a range of issues of paramount importance for understanding the Politics: Aristotle's view of democratic freedom and political freedom as a value in itself; Aristotle’s silence as to the numerous federal states in the contemporary Hellenic polis world; the sixfold model of constitutions and the alternative model according to which all constitutions are either democracies or oligarchies or a mixed form of oligarchy and democracy. In a final article he shows that Aristotle took a positive view of the mixed forms of democracy, in particular an indirect form of democracy in which the power of the people was restricted to electing the magistrates and calling them to account whereas all political decisions were left to be made by the elected magistrates.

By bringing these articles within the covers of a single volume, Mogens Herman Hansen’s writings on an important subject will be more conveniently available to students, scholars, and general readers interested in Aristotle’s Politics.

Mogens Herman Hansen, emeritus reader in Ancient Greek at the University of Copenhagen, now associated with The Royal Library in Copenhagen, is a leading authority in Athenian democracy and the Greek City-State. He is a member of the British Academy and the Danish Academy for Sciences and Letters. He was formerly the Director of The Copenhagen Polis Centre 1993-2005.