Athenian Democratic Ideology and Herodotus' Histories

Forsdyke, Sara

doi:10.1353/ajp.2001.0038

Cited by 27 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…There is a possibility that the brash behavior of the early democracy is a retrojection from the period after the Persian Wars, cf. Forsdyke (2001). Also, the Cleisthenic programme significantly boosted the numbers of men Athens could utilize in wars: van Effenterre (1976); Frost (1984);Singor (2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Athens, Thebes and Plataia and the end of the sixth century BCE

Wijk

2017

Journal of Ancient History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:One of the key events in the relations between the Athenians and Thebans was the Plataian decision to align themselves with the Athenians at the end of the sixth century BCE.This decision shook up the contemporary political landscape and proved to be a source of hostility between the two neighbouring polities throughout the fifth and fourth centuries. The orthodox view holds that the original alignment took place in 519 during the Peisistratid tyranny, based on the date given by Thucydides 3.68.5. This date, in the mind of some scholars, seems contradictory with the story of the Plataian alignment as given by Herodotus (6.108.1-6.). This inconsistency resulted in a search for alternatives that fit the Herodotean narrative better. To accommodate this change, they relied on emendating the Thucydidean text, but there is no sign of corruption in this part. Emendation of a text is best avoided, although the controversy merits attention. Therefore, in this article it will be argued that the two narratives -the Thucydidean and the Herodotean -need to be separated. What follows is a renewed chronology of PlataianAthenian relations. The orthodox date (519) was the date of an original Peisistratid-Plataian alliance that did not lead to hostilities with Thebes. Instead, it is in the context of the foundation of the Athenian democracy and the subsequent clashes with Thebes after 507/6 that the Herodotean narrative should be placed.* First and foremost I would like express my gratitude to Albert Schachter, who made invaluable suggestions to improve this article. Another note goes out to Fabienne Marchand, who pointed to numerous mistakes in the article. A further acknowledgement is to professor Nikolaos Papazarkadas, who suggested the similarities between sympoliteia and the Eleutherai inscription mentioned later on. I would also to thank the audience at Durham, where an earlier version of this paper has been given, for their comments. A last note of gratitude goes to the anonymous reviewer, whose advice radically improved this article. Finally, I would like to thank the Swiss National Science Foundation for generously supporting me to carry out research on Athenian-Boiotian relations.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Athens, Thebes and Plataia and the end of the sixth century BCE

Wijk

2017

Journal of Ancient History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Artabanus’s opinion is daring; he speaks not to an audience of equals but in front of a despot. Therefore, his speech in defense of free debate is not itself free; he must flatter (Pelling 2006, 109), for speaking in front of despots is a fraught art (Forsdyke 2001; Gottesman 2021; Hohti 1975; Landauer 2019; Zali 2013). Despite this flattery, Xerxes is enraged: 14 “Artabanus, you are my father’s brother; that shall save you from a punishment adequate for your empty words” (7.11).…”

Section: The Marketplace and The Touchstonementioning

confidence: 99%

The Marketplace of Ideas and the Agora: Herodotus on the Power of Isegoria

Rathnam

2022

Am Polit Sci Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Popular discourse about freedom of speech tends to default to the metaphor of the marketplace of ideas, notwithstanding empirical evidence undermining this concept. Its persistence illustrates the profound attachment freedom of speech inspires, despite the difficulty of justifying it in epistemic terms. I suggest that the ancient Greek historian Herodotus offers a compelling alternative to the marketplace metaphor with his account of isegoria at Athens. In Herodotus’s telling, Athenian equal right of speech is worthwhile not because of its effects on speech but because of its effect on political culture; equal speech energizes the Athenians and Athens. He thus offers a nonepistemic defense of the right to speak, defending it instead in terms of power and belonging. Yet his account also highlights how Athenian equal speech unleashes political harms and therefore offers a way to defend free speech without minimizing its dangers. Herodotus thus helps us productively reframe contemporary free speech debates.

show abstract

“…Moretti dates Euagoras' victories to 548, 544 and 540. 8 For Athenian elite family traditions in Herodotus and other Classical authors, see Thomas (1989); Forsdyke (2001). There is an extensive and ongoing debate on Herodotus' sources and their evidentiary value.…”

Section: Cimon's Life and Olympic Victoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cimon the Elder, Peisistratus and the tethrippon Olympic Victory of 532 BCE

Papakonstantinou¹

2013

Journal of Ancient History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Herodotus' narrative of the life of Cimon the Elder (6.103.1-4) pays particular attention to Cimon's Olympic tethrippon victories and especially his arrangement with Peisistratus over the 532 BCE victory. It is the purpose of this paper to examine Cimon's athletic career as well as his deal with Peisistratus in the context of sport practices, ideologies and intra-elite conflict during the sixth century BCE. An analysis of known instances of civic affiliation changes of Olympic athletes throws light on the logistics of the arrangement between Cimon and Peisistratus. Moreover, the commoditization of an Olympic victory implicit in the Cimon-Peisistratus arrangement is symptomatic of a perception of sport victories as individual achievements and privileged possessions of elite athletes. After a review of the relevant evidence, I argue that this perception was shared by other socially prominent sixth-century Athenian athletes as well, especially members of the Alcmeonid and the Philaid clans, who often exploited sport victories and their commemorations for elite power struggles. This perception became increasingly at odds with a shift, detectible more clearly starting in the last quarter of the sixth century BCE, towards modes of elite victory commemoration that highlighted divinely endowed talent, personal accomplishments and familial traditions but also emphasized strongly the rewards that accrued to the city by the generosity and the athletic skills of the aristocratic victor.

show abstract

Athenian Democratic Ideology and Herodotus' Histories

Cited by 27 publications

References 40 publications

Athens, Thebes and Plataia and the end of the sixth century BCE

Athens, Thebes and Plataia and the end of the sixth century BCE

The Marketplace of Ideas and the Agora: Herodotus on the Power of Isegoria

Cimon the Elder, Peisistratus and the tethrippon Olympic Victory of 532 BCE

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About