Download or read book The Rise and Fall of States According to Greek Authors written by Jacqueline de Romilly and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A survey of how Greek historians explained the conditions of a state's success and the dangers of power
Download or read book The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece written by Josiah Ober and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major new history of classical Greece—how it rose, how it fell, and what we can learn from it Lord Byron described Greece as great, fallen, and immortal, a characterization more apt than he knew. Through most of its long history, Greece was poor. But in the classical era, Greece was densely populated and highly urbanized. Many surprisingly healthy Greeks lived in remarkably big houses and worked for high wages at specialized occupations. Middle-class spending drove sustained economic growth and classical wealth produced a stunning cultural efflorescence lasting hundreds of years. Why did Greece reach such heights in the classical period—and why only then? And how, after "the Greek miracle" had endured for centuries, did the Macedonians defeat the Greeks, seemingly bringing an end to their glory? Drawing on a massive body of newly available data and employing novel approaches to evidence, Josiah Ober offers a major new history of classical Greece and an unprecedented account of its rise and fall. Ober argues that Greece's rise was no miracle but rather the result of political breakthroughs and economic development. The extraordinary emergence of citizen-centered city-states transformed Greece into a society that defeated the mighty Persian Empire. Yet Philip and Alexander of Macedon were able to beat the Greeks in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE, a victory made possible by the Macedonians' appropriation of Greek innovations. After Alexander's death, battle-hardened warlords fought ruthlessly over the remnants of his empire. But Greek cities remained populous and wealthy, their economy and culture surviving to be passed on to the Romans—and to us. A compelling narrative filled with uncanny modern parallels, this is a book for anyone interested in how great civilizations are born and die. This book is based on evidence available on a new interactive website. To learn more, please visit: http://polis.stanford.edu/.
Download or read book Plato written by Robert Hall and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-08-02 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1981 this unique study discusses the evolution of Plato's thought through the actual developments in Athenian democracy, the book also demonstrates Plato's continuing responses to changes in political theory and argues for a new understanding of Plato's goals for the state and his ultimate concern for the moral well-being of the citizens.
Download or read book The Origins Of Western Warfare written by Doyne Dawson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-02-02 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the source of the uniquely Western way of war, the persistent militarism that has made Europe the site of bloodshed throughout history and secured the dominance of the West over the rest of the world? The answer, Doyne Dawson persuasively argues in this groundbreaking new book, is to be found in the very bedrock of Western civilization: ancient Greece and Rome.The Origins of Western Warfare begins with an overview of primitive warfare, showing how the main motivations of prehistoric combat?revenge and honor?set the tone for Greek thinking about questions of war and morality. These ideas, especially as later developed by the Romans, ensured the emergence of a distinctive Western tradition of warfare: dynamic, aggressive, and devastatingly successful when turned against non-Western cultures.Dawson identifies key factors that led Western culture down this particular path. First, the Greeks argued that war could be justified as an instrument of human and divine justice, securing the social and cosmic order. Second, war was seen as a rational instrument of foreign policy. This, probably the most original contribution of the Greeks to military thought, was articulated as early as the fifth century b.c. Finally, Greek military thought was dominated by the principle of ?civic militarism,? in which the ideal state is based upon self-governing citizens trained and armed for war.The Roman version of civic militarism became thoroughly imperial in spirit, and in general, the Romans successfully modified these Greek ideas to serve their expansionist policies. At the end of antiquity, these traditions were passed on to medieval Europe, forming the basis for the just war doctrines of the Church. Later, in early modern Europe, they were fully revived, systematized, and given a basis in natural law?to the benefit of absolute monarchs. For centuries this neoclassical synthesis served the needs of European elites, and echoes of it are still heard in contemporary justifications for war.Providing a careful reconsideration of what the classical sources tell us about Western thinking on fundamental questions of war and peace, The Origins of Western Warfare makes a lasting contribution to our understanding of one of the most persistent and troubling aspects of Western culture.
Download or read book Property and Wealth in Classical Sparta written by Stephen Hodkinson and published by Classical Press of Wales. This book was released on 2009-12-31 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The standard image of Sparta is of an egalitarian, military society which disdained material possessions. Yet property and wealth played a critical role in her history. Classical Sparta's success rested upon a compromise between rich and poor citizens. Economic differences were masked by a uniform lifestyle and a communal sharing of resources. Over time, however, increasing inequalities led to a plutocratic society and to the decline of Spartan power. Using an innovative combination of historical, archaeological and sociological methods, Stephen Hodkinson challenges traditional views of Sparta's isolation from general Greek culture. This volume is the first major monograph-length discussion of a subject on which the author is recognised as the leading international authority.
Download or read book War and Change in World Politics written by Robert Gilpin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1981 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: rofessor Gilpin uses history, sociology, and economic theory to identify the forces causing change in the world order.
Download or read book Reconfiguring the Imperial Past Narrative Patterns and Historical Interpretation in Herodian s History of the Empire written by Chrysanthos S. Chrysanthou and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2022-05-20 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that Herodian uses an orderly and coherent historiographical form to reconfigure and explicate a most chaotic period of Roman history. Through patterning he offers a distinctive interpretative framework in which successive reigns and individual emperors need to be read in a dovetailed way.
Download or read book Aristotle on Political Enmity and Disease written by Kostas Kalimtzis and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2000-11-02 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores Aristotle's theory of the causes that give rise to stasis ('civic disorder'), and provides an original and systematic account of his understanding of political justice and friendship.
Download or read book Must Global Politics Constrain Democracy written by Alan Gilbert and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2012-01-06 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As each power vies for its national interests on the world stage, how do its own citizens' democratic interests fare at home? Alan Gilbert speaks to an issue at the heart of current international-relations debate. He contends that, in spite of neo-realists' assumptions, a vocal citizen democracy can and must have a role in global politics. Further, he shows that all the major versions of realism and neo-realism, if properly stated with a view of the national interest as a common good, surprisingly lead to democracy. His most striking example focuses on realist criticisms of the Vietnam War. Democratic internationalism, as Gilbert terms it, is really the linking of citizens' interests across national boundaries to overcome the antidemocratic actions of their own governments. Realist misinterpretations have overlooked Thucydides' theme about how a democracy corrupts itself through imperial expansion as well as Karl Marx's observations about the positive effects of democratic movements in one country on events in others. Gilbert also explodes the democratic peace myth that democratic states do not wage war on one another. He suggests instead policies to accord with the interests of ordinary citizens whose shared bond is a desire for peace. Gilbert shows, through such successes as recent treaties on land mines and policies to slow global warming that citizen movements can have salutary effects. His theory of "deliberative democracy" proposes institutional changes that would give the voice of ordinary citizens a greater influence on the international actions of their own government.
Download or read book A Companion to Ancient History written by Andrew Erskine and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 738 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Companion provides a comprehensive introduction to key topics in the study of ancient history. Examines the forms of evidence, problems, approaches, and major themes in the study of ancient history Comprises more than 40 essays, written by leading international scholars Moves beyond the primary focus on Greece and Rome with coverage of the various cultures within the ancient Mediterranean Draws on the latest research in the field Provides an essential resource for any student of ancient history
Download or read book Diodorus Siculus and the First Century written by Kenneth S. Sacks and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2014-07-14 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Living in Rome during the last years of the Republic, Diodorus of Sicily produced the most expansive history of the ancient world that has survived from antiquity--the Bibliotheke. Whereas Diodorus himself has been commonly seen as a "mere copyist" of earlier historical traditions, Kenneth Sacks explores the complexity of his work to reveal a historian with a distinct point of view indicative of his times. Sacks focuses on three areas of Diodorus's history writing: methods of organization and style, broad historical and philosophical themes, and political sentiments. Throughout, Diodorus introduced his own ideas or refashioned those found in his sources. In particular, his negative reaction to Roman imperial rule helps to illuminate the obscure tradition of opposition historiography and to explain the shape and structure of the Bibliotheke. Viewed as a unified work reflecting the intellectual and political beliefs of the late Hellenistic period, the Bibliotheke will become an important source for interpreting first-century moral, political, and intellectual values. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Download or read book Polybius and Roman Imperialism written by Donald Walter Baronowski and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2013-11-20 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Polybius and Roman Imperialism explores in depth the complexity of the Greek historian Polybius' views on the expansion of Roman power. Although he considered imperialism intrinsically noble, and both admired and supported Roman domination, Polybius also evinced detachment from the ruling power. This detachment came in different forms: personal, cultural, patriotic and cultural. In general, he believed that the Romans cited morally acceptable pretexts for declaring war, observed justice in other aspects of foreign policy, and practised beneficence and moderation in their dealings with subject nations. Even with less than half of the original text surviving, the author reveals Polybius' personality and political philosophy.
Download or read book Thucydides and Political Order written by Christian R. Thauer and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-03-29 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, the first of two monographs exploring Thucydides, consists of contributions by world-class scholars on political order, using the Peloponnesian War to explore the historiography and political development of the ancient world. These scholars analyze the original source material of the Athenian order and interpretations of such material.
Download or read book Civic Obligation and Individual Liberty in Ancient Athens written by Peter Liddel and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2007-10-11 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peter Liddel offers a fresh approach to the old problem of the nature of individual liberty in ancient Athens. He draws extensively on oratorical and epigraphical evidence from the late fourth century BC to analyse the ways in which ideas about liberty were reconciled with ideas about obligation, and examines how this reconciliation was negotiated, performed, and presented in the Athenian law-courts, assembly, and through the inscriptional mode of publication. Using modern political theory as a springboard, Liddel argues that the ancient Athenians held liberty to consist of the substantial obligations (political, financial, and military) of citizenship.
Download or read book Carthage in Virgil s Aeneid written by Elena Giusti and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-03-29 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investigates the representation of the Carthaginian enemy and the revisionist history of the Punic Wars in Virgil's Aeneid.
Download or read book Rethinking Mao written by Nick Knight and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2007 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers a different perspective on Mao Zedong, the major architect of the Chinese Revolution and leader of the People's Republic of China until his death in 1976. Utilizing a number of documents written by Mao, here, the author 'rethinks' Mao by subjecting a number his controversial themes to fresh scrutiny.
Download or read book Thucydides written by Jeffrey S. Rusten and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2009-07-23 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thucydides' account of the war between Athens and Sparta is the first great work of political history and still a fundamental text for political science and international relations today; it is also a compelling story, full of vivid characters and tragic miscalculations. This collection of essays is designed to accompany, instruct, and stimulate readers of Thucydides by making accessible some classic and influential studies that are frequently cited but not always easy to access. (One-third of the essays appear here in English for the first time.) All Greek is translated, and an introductory chapter surveys the chronology and thematic controversies among Thucydides' readings from antiquity to the present.
