Athens on Trial: The Antidemocratic Tradition in Western Thought

by Jennifer T. Roberts

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691029191
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	01/26/1997
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	426
Product dimensions:	7.75(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jennifer Tolbert Roberts is Professor of History at Southern Methodist University and Associate Professor of Classical Languages and History at the City College of New York and the CUNY Graduate Center. She is the author of Accountability in Athenian Government (Wisconsin) and, with Robert Zaller and Richard Greaves, Civilizations of the West (HarperCollins).

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Ch. 1	Introduction	3
Pt. 1	Classical Greece	23
Ch. 2	The Athenian Experiment	25
Ch. 3	The First Attacks on Athenian Democracy	48
Ch. 4	Democracy and the Philosophers	71
Pt. 2	Playing With the Past	93
Ch. 5	Roman Adaptations	97
Ch. 6	Recovering the Greeks	119
Ch. 7	Monarchists and Republicans	137
Ch. 8	The Debate over Athens and Sparta	156
Ch. 9	Athenian Democracy in the Age of Revolutions	175
Ch. 10	A Shift in the Sands	208
Pt. 3	Modern Transformations	227
Ch. 11	The Turning of the Tide	229
Ch. 12	Athenians and Others	256
Ch. 13	Epilogue: The Old and the New	291
Notes	315
Selected Bibliography	379
Index	393

Editorial Reviews

"Roberts has given us an excellent study of [the Athenian] legacy...Athens on Trial deserves praise both for its conception and its execution."—-Eric W. Robinson, Bryn Mawr Classical Reviews

"A first-rate intellectual and cultural history."—-Stephen Goode, The Washington Times

"Roberts . . . writes with learning, wit, acerbity, profundity, and engagement on the vicissitudes of the idea [of democracy] in its supposedly original Athenian form."—-Paul Cartledge, New Statesman & Society

From the Publisher

Roberts has given us an excellent study of [the Athenian] legacy...Athens on Trial deserves praise both for its conception and its execution.

Bryn Mawr Classical Reviews - Eric W. Robinson

A first-rate intellectual and cultural history.

The Washington Times - Stephen Goode

Roberts has given us an excellent study of [the Athenian] legacy...Athens on Trial deserves praise both for its conception and its execution.
— Eric W. Robinson

Bryn Mawr Classical Reviews

Roberts . . . writes with learning, wit, acerbity, profundity, and engagement on the vicissitudes of the idea [of democracy] in its supposedly original Athenian form.
— Paul Cartledge

New Statesman & Society

Roberts has given us an excellent study of [the Athenian] legacy...Athens on Trial deserves praise both for its conception and its execution.
— Eric W. Robinson

Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Roberts . . . writes with learning, wit, acerbity, profundity, and engagement on the vicissitudes of the idea [of democracy] in its supposedly original Athenian form.

New Statesman & Society - Paul Cartledge

A first-rate intellectual and cultural history.
— Stephen Goode

The Washington Times

Roberts (history, Southern Methodist Univ.) traces the antidemocratic tradition in Western thought from antiquity to the present, locating its origin in reactions to Athenian democracy. Fully cognizant of the difficulties attendant upon getting a true and accurate picture of any period in history--difficulties that become more onerous the further back one peers--she succeeds in convincing the reader of her thesis through the impressive, almost breathtaking wealth of detail she supplies for each period. Her knowledge is both wide and deep, touching on questions ``not only of historiography, but also of ethics, political science, anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, gender studies, and educational theory.'' This study belongs in all pertinent academic collections.-- Leon H. Brody, U.S. Office of Personnel Mgt. Lib., Washington, D.C.

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