Political Trials In Ancient Greece Routledge Revivals

During the inspired years of the Athenian empire, through the tragedy of its collapse, to the more prosaic era that followed, most of the great names in Athenian history were involved in the procedures of criminal law. Political Trials in Ancient Greece, first published in 1990, explores the relationships between historical process, constitution, law, political machinations and foreign policy, concentrating on fifth and fourth century Athens and on Macedonia. These trials contribute significant details to our knowledge of such towering figures as Aeschylus, Pericles, Thucydides, Alcibiades, Socrates, Demosthenes and Aristotle, as well as a diverse collection of Macedonian defendants. The jurisdiction of the Areopagus, trials of communities, and the personal jurisdiction of the Macedonian king are also examined. Richard Bauman’s original account broadens our understanding of Greek legal institutions and of the ancient Greek approach to the law, as well as the general ethos of Athenian and Macedonian society.

Intellectuals in Politics in the Greek World, first published in 1984, was the first comprehensive study of this recurrent theme in political sociology with specific reference to antiquity, and led to significant revaluation of the role of intellectuals in everyday political life. The term ‘intellectual’ is carefully defined, and figures as diverse as Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle; Isocrates, Heracleides of Ponteius and Clearchus of Soli are discussed. The author examines the difference between the success of an intellectual politician, like Solon, and the failure of those such as Plato who attempted to mould society to abstract ideals. It is concluded that, ultimately, most philosophers were conspicuously unsuccessful when they intervened in politics: citizens regarded them as propagandists for their rulers, while rulers treated them as intellectual ornaments. The result was that many thinkers retreated to inter-scholastic disputation where the political objects of discussion increasingly became far removed from contemporary reality.

This comprehensive book will be a fundamental resource for students of Ancient Greek history and anyone interested in the law, social history and oratory of the Ancient Greek world.Trials from Classical Athens presents a selection of key forensic speeches with new translations and lucid explanatory notes, detailing the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments and a discussion of the legal issues raised. Carey offers a diverse repertory of legal case studies which deal with different aspects of Athenian law. The volume provides a unique and accessible introduction to the Athenian legal system and how the system reveals the values and social life of Classical Athens. This comprehensive book will be a fundamental resource for students of Ancient Greek history and anyone interested in the law, social history and oratory of the Ancient Greek world.

Law and Society in Classical Athens, first published in 1987, traces the development of legal thought and its relation to Athenian values. Previously Athens’ courts have been regarded as chaotic, isolated from the rest of society and even bizarre. The importance of rhetoric and the mischief made by Aristophanes have devalued the legal process in the eyes of modern scholars, whilst the analysis of legal codes and practice has seemed dauntingly complex. Professor Garner aims to situate the Athenian legal system within the general context of abstract thought on justice and of the democratic politics of the fifth century. His work is a valuable source of information on all aspects of Athenian law and its relation to culture.

Professor Sanders’ full-length study of Dionysius I, one of the most powerful figures of fourth-century BC Greece, is the first to appear in English, and marks an important reassessment of the ‘tyrant’ of Syracuse. Dionysius I regularly appears in the surviving historical accounts as a tyrant in the worst – modern – sense of the word: cruelty, intransigence, arrogance are all part of this stereotype. Yet here is a ruler who, according to the ancient testimony, was deeply concerned with the establishment of a just regime and to whom Plato turned to found the ideal Republic. The hostile picture of Dionysius that has come down to us is basically Athenian, Sanders argues, deriving from political circles engaged in propaganda aimed at tarnishing the tyrant’s reputation. Dionysius I of Syracuse and Greek Tyranny will be of interest to those engaged with the history, historiography and political practice of the ancient world.

Historians are used to studying the origins of war. The rebuilding in the aftermath of war is a subject that – at least in the case of Athens – has received far less attention. Along with the problems of reconstructing the economy and replenishing the population, the problem of renegotiating political consensus was equally acute. Athens after the Peloponnesian War, first published in 1986, undertakes a radically new investigation into the nature of Athenian political groups. The general model of ‘faction’ provided by political anthropology provides an indispensable paradigm for the Athenian case. More widely, Professor Strauss argues for the importance of the economic, social and ideological changes resulting from the Peloponnesian War in the development of political nexus. Athens after the Peloponnesian War offers a detailed demographic analysis, astute insight into political discourse, and is altogether one of the most thorough treatments of this important period in the Athenian democracy.

First published in 1991, this book — through the examination of ancient Greek literary, philosophical and legal texts — analyses how the Athenian torture of slaves emerged from and reinforced the concept of truth as something hidden in the human body. It discusses the tradition of understanding truth as something that is generally concealed and the ideas of ‘secret space’ in both the female body and the Greek temple. This philosophy and practice is related to Greek views of the ‘Other’ (women and outsiders) and considers the role of torture in distinguishing slave and free in ancient Athens. A wide range of perspectives — from Plato to Sartre — are employed to examine the subject.

Violent conflict between individuals and groups was as common in the ancient world as it has been in more recent history. Detested in theory, it nevertheless became as frequent as war between sovereign states. The importance of such 'stasis' was recognised by political thinkers of the time, especially Thucydides and Aristotle, both of whom tried to analyse its causes. Violence, Civil Strife and Revolution in the Classical City, first published in 1982, gives a conspectus of stasis in the societies of Greek antiquity, and traces the development of civil strife as city-states grew in political, social and economic sophistication. Aristocratic rivalry, tensions between rich and poor, imperialism and constitutional crisis are all discussed, while special consideration is given to the attitudes of the participants and the theoretical explanations offered at the time. In conclusion, civil strife in the ancient world is compared to more recent conflicts, both domestic and international.