Description
Book SynopsisOffers a historical and sociological interpretation of classical Athens centered on the notion of greed. Integrating ancient philosophy, poetry, and history, and drawing on modern political thought, this work demonstrates that the Athenian discourse on greed was an essential component of Greek social development and political history.
Trade Review"[A] timely and sophisticated interdisciplinary study, involving not only ancient political theory, but also modern ethics, the concepts of distributive justice and individual virtue... Students of political theory will find this study, which illuminates many basic issues both thoughtful and invigorating."--David F. Graf, Religious Studies Review "The intellectual breadth and depth of the project is most impressive. Moreover, the scholarship is thorough ... primary sources are regularly cited and sometimes quoted and the writing style is as consistently clear as it is literate and, from a critical standpoint, au courant. Altogether, Balot's study is to be highly recommended across the wide spectrum of disciplines it so splendidly reflects."--Nicholas F. Jones, The Historian
Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments ix Abbreviations xi Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Chapter 2. Greed in Aristotle's Political Thought 22 Greed and Unfairness in Distribution in Nicomachean Ethics 5 23 What Makes Human Beings Greedy? 34 Analyzing Greed in the Polis: Revolution, Civic Strife, and Distributive, Justice 44 Conclusion 55 Chapter 3. Solonian Athens and the Archaic Roots of Greed 58 Homer and Hesiod 59 Solon's Reform 73 Solon's Critique: The Problem of Acquisition and Unfairness 79 Chapter 4. Herodotus and the Greed of Imperialism 99 Eastern Imperialism 100 Greed and Fairness in the Panhellenic League 108 The Emergent Imperialism of Athens 114 Conclusion 129 Chapter 5. Thucydides, Greed, and the Breakdown of Political Community 136 Revolution at Corcyra: Greed, Leadership, and Civic Trust 137 Periclean Athens: Greedy Success 142 Human Nature, Democracy, and Greed 154 Post-Periclean Disintegration 159 Conclusion: The Ethics of Athenian Imperialism 172 Chapter 6. "Revolution Matters"? Oligarchic Rebellion and Democratic Hegemony in Athens 179 Athenian Culture in the Late Fifth Century: Unity and Division 180 The Revolution of 411: Speech, Mistrust, and Violence 211 The Revolution of 404: Greed and the Thirty 219 Responding to the Revolutions. Lysias and Xenophon 225 Chapter 7. Epilogue: Planto's Republic in Context 234 Bibliography 249 Index Locorum 273 General Index 279
