Économie et finances publiques des cités grecques, vol. 2 : Choix d'articles publiés de 2002 à 2014 by Léopold Migeotte

Abstract

196 PHOENIX an argument for the continuing relevance of the Athenian conception of courage. By presupposing a less sharp distinction between individual and community, and emphasizing the importance of deliberation, Athenian democratic courage can inform contemporary discussions about the scope of courage and its connection to violence and justice in modern democracies. As is evident from the summary of this rather long book, Balot has mastered an impressive amount and range of primary sources, including historiography, oratory, tragedy, comedy, and philosophy, and provides an all-encompassing account of the ideology of democratic courage. The author does a masterful job in contextualizing Athenian courage, but his study goes beyond being a narrow analysis of the workings of a particular virtue in its cultural context. On the one hand, without ever losing focus on his central theme, Balot offers critical insights into wider aspects of Greek ethical thinking, such as the nature of human flourishing (eudaimonia) and the importance of shame as a motivating factor. On the other hand, by drawing on modern political theory, Balot highlights the universal significance of courage as a virtue and suggests ways in which Athenian courage may become relevant to modern political debates. The author offers novel and stimulating readings of well-known texts (the discussions of Plato’s Laches and Aristophanes ’ Lysistrata through the lens of democratic courage are two prominent examples), and though not all of his conclusions will satisfy all scholars (Balot’s insistence on the superiority of democratic courage as opposed to other forms may be a case in point), this is to be expected for a work on such a complex and contested topic. A major contribution of the book is the explicit link it draws between democratic ideology and the concept of eudaimonia, which was later to become a focal point in Plato and Aristotle, stressing thus the influence that Athenian democratic discourse had on the work of the philosophers, despite their critical stance towards democracy itself (that said, I would have expected a separate discussion of Aristotle’s account of courage in Balot’s book, although, of course, the author does often refer to the discussion of andreia in the Nicomachean Ethics). The writing is admirably clear throughout, the level of analysis is consistently high, and the meticulous and thoughtful analysis of the ancient sources is informed by a wealth of scholarly literature on a number of topics ranging from Greek ethics and social history to modern political theory and theories of emotion. Balot’s book is an important contribution that deepens our understanding of the workings of courage in democratic Athens and will therefore be of value to students and scholars in the fields of classics and ancient history, philosophy, and political theory. University of St Andrews Kleanthis Mantzouranis  Economie et finances publiques des cit es grecques, vol. 2 : Choix d'articles publi es de 2002 Á a 2014. Par L eopold Migeotte. Lyon : Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée–Jean Pouilloux, Collection de la Maison de l’Orient 54. Pp. 466. Ce volume 2, qui rassemble un choix d’articles de Léopold Migeotte publiés de 2002 à 2014, fait suite au volume 1 (Lyon, 2010), qui rassemblait les articles du même savant publiés de 1976 à 2001. Aux trente-cinq articles du premier volume succèdent les trentedeux du second. Après L’emprunt public dans les cités grecques : recueil des documents et analyse critique (Québec et Paris, 1976) et Les souscriptions publiques dans les cités grecques (Genève BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS 197 et Québec, 1992), Léopold Migeotte a récemment publié son opus magnum, Les finances des cités grecques aux périodes classique et hellénistique (Paris, 2014). Au fil des années, pour mieux asseoir les raisonnements de ses divers ouvrages et pour s’éviter des démonstrations détaillées qui n’y auraient pas trouvé place, l’auteur a publié une impressionnante série d’articles et de comptes rendus dont la plupart se retrouvent dans les deux volumes de choix d’articles. Les études sont regroupées en six chapitres : « Gestion financière » (onze articles) ;« Taxation...