Description
Book SynopsisThis book presents a powerful new argument for how and why the Greek city-states, including their distinctive society and culture, came to be - and why they had the highly unusual and influential form they took. After reviewing early city-state formation, and the economic underpinnings of city-state society, three key chapters examine the way the Greeks developed their unique society. The spear, scroll and pebble encapsulate the book''s core ideas. The
Spear: city-state Greeks developed a citizen-militia military system that gave relatively equal importance to each citizen-warrior, thereby emboldening the citizen-warriors to demand political rights. The
Pebble: the resultant growth of collective political systems of oligarchy and democracy led to thousands of citizens forming the sovereign element of the state; they made political decisions through communal debate and voting. The
Scroll: in order for such systems to function, a shared information base had to be
Trade ReviewThis book makes a convincing case for the primacy of education and literacy in the ancient Greek world across the whole of society. It revolutionizes our understanding of the impact this literacy had on the development of government structures and daily life. -- Gil Davis, Associate Professor in Archaeology, Australian Catholic University, Australia
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: The Origin and Early Development of the City-State Chapter 2: Economic Growth: A Necessary Condition for the City-State Chapter 3: The Spear: Warfare and the City-State Chapter 4: The Pebble: Collective Decision Making and the City-State Chapter 5. The Scroll: Literacy and the City-State Conclusion: The Literate Citizen Appendix 1: Aristotle’s
Politeiai Appendix 2: Colonies and
Metropoleis Notes Bibliography Index
