Race and Citizen Identity in the Classical Athenian Democracy

Race and Citizen Identity in the Classical Athenian Democracy
Author: Susan Lape
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2010-02-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1139484125

In Race and Citizen Identity in the Classical Athenian Democracy, Susan Lape demonstrates how a race ideology grounded citizen identity. Although this ideology did not manifest itself in a fully developed race myth, its study offers insight into the causes and conditions that can give rise to race and racisms in both modern and pre-modern cultures. In the Athenian context, racial citizenship emerged because it both defined and justified those who were entitled to share in the political, symbolic, and socioeconomic goods of Athenian citizenship. By investigating Athenian law, drama, and citizenship practices, this study shows how citizen identity worked in practice to consolidate national unity and to account for past Athenian achievements. It also considers how Athenian identity narratives fuelled Herodotus' and Thucydides' understanding of history and causation.

The Limits of Altruism in Democratic Athens

The Limits of Altruism in Democratic Athens
Author: Matthew Robert Christ
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2012-10-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107029775

Examines the behavior of Athenians in the classical period, arguing that Athenians felt little pressure as individuals to help fellow citizens.

Citizenship in Classical Athens

Citizenship in Classical Athens
Author: Josine Blok
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2017-03-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 0521191459

This book argues that citizenship in Athens was primarily a religious identity, shared by male and female citizens alike.

Performance Culture and Athenian Democracy

Performance Culture and Athenian Democracy
Author: Simon Goldhill
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 434
Release: 1999-06-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521642477

This 1999 book discusses the ways performance is central to the practice and ideology of Athenian democracy.

Athens on Trial

Athens on Trial
Author: Jennifer T. Roberts
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 426
Release: 2011-10-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 1400821320

The Classical Athenians were the first to articulate and implement the notion that ordinary citizens of no particular affluence or education could make responsible political decisions. For this reason, reactions to Athenian democracy have long provided a prime Rorschach test for political thought. Whether praising Athens's government as the legitimizing ancestor of modern democracies or condemning it as mob rule, commentators throughout history have revealed much about their own notions of politics and society. In this book, Jennifer Roberts charts responses to Athenian democracy from Athens itself through the twentieth century, exploring a debate that touches upon historiography, ethics, political science, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, gender studies, and educational theory.

Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece

Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece
Author: Kurt A. Raaflaub
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2007
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520258096

"A balanced, high-quality analysis of the developing nature of Athenian political society and its relationship to 'democracy' as a timeless concept."—Mark Munn, author of The School of History

Freedom and Power in Classical Athens

Freedom and Power in Classical Athens
Author: Naomi T. Campa
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2024-04-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 1009221426

Athenian democracy was distinguished from other ancient constitutions by its emphasis on freedom. This was understood, Naomi T. Campa argues, as being able to do 'whatever one wished,' a widely attested phrase. Citizen agency and power constituted the core of democratic ideology and institutions. Rather than create anarchy, as ancient critics claimed, positive freedom underpinned a system that ideally protected both the individual and the collective. Even freedom, however, can be dangerous. The notion of citizen autonomy both empowered and oppressed individuals within a democratic hierarchy. These topics strike at the heart of democracies ancient and modern, from the discursive principles that structure political procedures to the citizen's navigation between the limitations of law and expression of individual will to the status of noncitizens within a state. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

Status in Classical Athens

Status in Classical Athens
Author: Deborah E Kamen
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2019-08-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 0691195978

In the first comprehensive account of status in ancient democratic Athens, Kamen 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.