Synopses & Reviews
The Athenian democracy of the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. is the most famous and perhaps the most nearly perfect example of direct democracy. Covering the period 403-322 B.C., Mogens Herman Hansen focuses on the crucial last thirty years, which coincided with the political career of Demosthenes. Hansen distinguishes between the cityandrsquo;s seven political institutions: the Assembly, the nomothetai, the Peopleandrsquo;s Court, the boards of magistrates, the Council of Five Hundred, the Areopagos, and ho boulomenos. He discusses how Athenians conceived liberty both as the ability to participate in the decision-making process and as the right to live without oppression from the state or other citizens.
Synopsis
The Athenian democracy of the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. is the most famous and perhaps the most nearly perfect example of direct democracy. Covering the period 403-322 B.C., Mogens Herman Hansen focuses on the crucial last thirty years, which coincided with the political career of Demosthenes.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [359]-384) and indexes.
About the Author
Mogens Herman Hansen is Director of the Copenhagen Polis Centre and author of Sovereignty of the People's Count in Athens, Demography and Democracy, The Athenian Assembly in the Age of Demosthenes, and Polis and City-State: An Ancient Concept and Its Modern Equivalent.