Add to wishlist
This volume surveys democracy broadly as a cultural phenomenon operating in different ways across a very wide range of ancient societies throughout Antiquity. It examines the experiences of those living in democratic communities and considers how ancient practices of democracy differ from our own.
The origins of democracy can be traced in a general way to the earliest civilizations, beginning with the early urban societies of the Middle East, and can be seen in cities and communities across the Mediterranean world and Asia. In classical Athens, male citizens enjoyed full participation in the political life of the city and a flourishing democratic culture, as explored in detail in this volume. In other times and places democratic features were absent from the formal structures of regimes, but could still be found in the participatory structures of local social institutions.
Each chapter takes a different theme as its focus: sovereignty; liberty and the rule of law; the “common good”; economic and social democracy; religion and the principles of political obligation; citizenship and gender; ethnicity, race, and nationalism; democratic crises, revolutions, and civil resistance; international relations; and beyond the polis. These ten different approaches to democracy in Antiquity add up to an extensive, synoptic coverage of the subject.
List of Illustrations
General Editor's Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Carol Atack and Paul Cartledge (University of Cambridge, UK)
1. Sovereignty
Andrew Monson (New York University, USA) and Carol Atack (University of Cambridge, UK)
2. Liberty and the Rule of Law
Valentina Arena (University College London, UK)
3. The Common Good
Dhananjay Jagannathan (Columbia University, USA)
4. Economic and Social Democracy
Emily Mackil (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
5. Religion and the Principles of Political Obligation
Georgia Petridou (University of Liverpool, UK)
6. Citizenship and Gender
Carol Atack (University of Cambridge, UK)
7. Ethnicity, Race, and Nationalism
Denise Eileen McCoskey (Miami University, USA)
8. Democratic Crises, Revolutions, and Civil Resistance
Paul Cartledge (University of Cambridge, UK)
9. International Relations
Carol Atack with Paul Cartledge (University of Cambridge, UK)
10. Beyond the Classical Polis
Benjamin Gray (Birkbeck, University of London, UK)
Notes
References
Notes on Contributors
Index
Description
This volume surveys democracy broadly as a cultural phenomenon operating in different ways across a very wide range of ancient societies throughout Antiquity. It examines the experiences of those living in democratic communities and considers how ancient practices of democracy differ from our own.
The origins of democracy can be traced in a general way to the earliest civilizations, beginning with the early urban societies of the Middle East, and can be seen in cities and communities across the Mediterranean world and Asia. In classical Athens, male citizens enjoyed full participation in the political life of the city and a flourishing democratic culture, as explored in detail in this volume. In other times and places democratic features were absent from the formal structures of regimes, but could still be found in the participatory structures of local social institutions.
Each chapter takes a different theme as its focus: sovereignty; liberty and the rule of law; the “common good”; economic and social democracy; religion and the principles of political obligation; citizenship and gender; ethnicity, race, and nationalism; democratic crises, revolutions, and civil resistance; international relations; and beyond the polis. These ten different approaches to democracy in Antiquity add up to an extensive, synoptic coverage of the subject.
