Gray, Benjamin (2018) A later Hellenistic debate about the value of Classical Athenian civic ideals? The evidence of epigraphy, historiography and philosophy. In: Canevaro, M. and Gray, Benjamin (eds.) The Hellenistic Reception of Classical Athenian Democracy and Political Thought. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, pp. 139-176. ISBN 9780198748472.
This is the latest version of this item.
|
Text
Ch 8 - Gray.pdf - Author's Accepted Manuscript Download (510kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Book synopsis: In the Hellenistic period (c.323-31 BCE), Greek teachers, philosophers, historians, orators, and politicians found an essential point of reference in the democracy of Classical Athens and the political thought which it produced. However, while Athenian civic life and thought in the Classical period have been intensively studied, these aspects of the Hellenistic period have so far received much less attention. This volume seeks to bring together the two areas of research, shedding new light on these complementary parts of the history of the ancient Greek polis. The essays collected here encompass historical, philosophical, and literary approaches to the various Hellenistic responses to and adaptations of Classical Athenian politics. They survey the complex processes through which Athenian democratic ideals of equality, freedom, and civic virtue were emphasized, challenged, blunted, or reshaped in different Hellenistic contexts and genres. They also consider the reception, in the changed political circumstances, of Classical Athenian non- and anti-democratic political thought. This makes it possible to investigate how competing Classical Athenian ideas about the value or shortcomings of democracy and civic community continued to echo through new political debates in Hellenistic cities and schools. Looking ahead to the Roman Imperial period, the volume also explores to what extent those who idealized Classical Athens as a symbol of cultural and intellectual excellence drew on, or forgot, its legacy of democracy and vigorous political debate. By addressing these different questions it not only tracks changes in practices and conceptions of politics and the city in the Hellenistic world, but also examines developing approaches to culture, rhetoric, history, ethics, and philosophy, and especially their relationships with politics.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | Reproduced by permission of Oxford University Press |
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | Posidonius, Athenion, Polybius, Stoics, Peripatetics, Hellenistic democracy, Hellenistic political philosophy |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Historical Studies |
| Depositing User: | Benjamin Gray |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Jun 2019 07:44 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:43 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/23206 |
Available Versions of this Item
-
A later Hellenistic debate about the value of Classical Athenian civic ideals? The evidence of epigraphy, historiography and philosophy. (deposited 29 Sep 2017 13:26)
- A later Hellenistic debate about the value of Classical Athenian civic ideals? The evidence of epigraphy, historiography and philosophy. (deposited 07 Jun 2019 07:44) [Currently Displayed]
Statistics
Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.
Archive Staff Only (login required)
