War, democracy and culture in classical Athens
By: edited by David M. Pritchard
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 460
ISBN-13: 9780521190336
Subjects: Military History; Politics and government; Sources; Antiquities; Politics and war; History; War and society; Social change; Democracy
Description: "Athens is famous for its direct democracy and its innovative culture. Not widely known is its contemporaneous military revolution. Athens invented or perfected new forms of combat, strategy, and military organisation and was directly responsible for raising the scale of Greek warfare to a different order of magnitude. The timing of this revolution is striking: it followed directly the popular uprising of 508 BC and coincided with the flowering of Athenian culture, which was largely brought about by democracy. This raises the intriguing possibility that popular government was one of the major causes of Athenian military success. Ancient writers may have thought as much, but the traditional assumptions of ancient historians and political scientists have meant that the impact of democracy on war has received almost no scholarly attention. This volume brings together ancient historians, archaeologists, classicists and political scientists to explore this important but neglected problem from multiple perspectives"--Provided by publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 409-451) and index.
Table of contents: title: The symbiosis between democracy and war : the case of ancient Athens / David M. Pritchard; title: pt. 1. The impact of democracy on war; title: Thucydides on Athens' democratic advantage in the Archidamian War / Josiah Ober; title: Democratizing courage in classical Athens / Ryan K. Balot; title: pt. 2. Military Innovations of the democracy; title: Cavalry, democracy, and military thinking in classical Athens / Iain Spence; title: Light troops in classical Athens / Matthew Trundle; title: pt. 3. The fifth-century drama of war; title: Affirming Athenian action : Euripides' portrayal of military activity and the limits of tragic instruction / Sophie Mills; title: Ridiculing a popular war : old comedy and militarism in classical Athens / David Konstan; title: pt. 4. War in fourth-century speeches; title: War in the law-court : some Athenian discussions / Alastair J.L. Blanshard; title: Athenian militarism and the recourse to war / Peter Hunt; title: pt. 5. Soldiers in privately purchased art; title: Democratic ideology, the events of war, and the iconography of Attic funerary sculpture / Robin Osborne; title: The warrior loutrophoroi of fifth-century Athens / Patricia Hannah; title: "I am Eurymedon" : tensions and ambiguities in Athenian war imagery / Margaret C. Miller; title: pt. 5. Honouring the war dead; title: Commemoration of the war dead in classical Athens : remembering defeat and victory / Polly Low; title: Aretē and the achievements of the war dead : the logic of praise in the Athenian funeral oration / Sumio Yoshitake; title: Epilogue: Does democracy have a violent heart? / John Keane.