Greek City-states Research Articles

The Origins of Democracy: A Model with Application to Ancient Greece

This paper seeks to provide an improved understanding of the origins of democracy. It begins by developing a theoretical model to demonstrate how exogenous economic conditions can influence both the incentives to establish democratic institutions and the likelihood that such institutions survive. The model predicts that democratic institutions will expand where they mitigate important time-inconsistency problems and, therefore, encourage investment. Exogenous conditions determine the magnitude of those time-inconsistency problems and, hence, the likelihood of democracy. A comparison of ancient Greek city-states suggests that the conditions under which democracy first emerged support the model. Other potential applications are discussed.

Land of Sikyon: Archaeology and History of a Greek City-State by Yannis A. Lolos

Land of Sikyon: Archaeology and History of a Greek City-State by Yannis A. Lolos

Review: World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History, by Richard Ingersoll and Spiro Kostof

Richard Ingersoll and Spiro Kostof. World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History New York: Oxford University Press, 2012, 992 pp., 1,050 illus. $99.95. ISBN 9780195139570 Some books are usefully filled with facts and can be consulted when one needs information. They can properly sit on the library shelf and be taken down when the need arises. There are other books that go about their business in a different way, and by taking a hold on our imagination they leave us changed by our encounter with them. Spiro Kostof (1936–91) was attracted to drama, and saw buildings as the settings in which we perform our rituals, public and private. When A History of Architecture was published in 1985, this side of his approach was prominently signaled in his subtitle, Settings and Rituals . The book has been around for so long now that it is difficult to imagine architectural history without it. It joined the bookshelf alongside the dictionary-like Banister Fletcher, which had its origins in a text and drawings by the architect Sir Banister Fletcher, but through the twentieth century it went through many editions and editors, and has been updated and reconceived many times. Banister Fletcher has some interpretative essays, but its real strength is in the brief factual coverage of a vast array of buildings; it is to be consulted for a name or a date, but probably not for a narrative. Kostof’s narratives were his book’s great strength. His History was heavy with examples and illustrations, giving the impression that it touched on everything one might be expected to know, but of course that was an illusion, and any single-volume work, no matter how compendious, is bound to omit nearly everything. The point is not that everything should be included, but that the reader should be given a good overview: an orientation that allows independent exploration to go ahead without feeling utterly lost. Kostof managed to give an impression of a vast …

The Formation of Greek City-States: Status, Class, and Land Tenure Systems

Recent scholarship has often remarked on the opposition between two conceptions of Archaic Greek societies, relating either to a legal and static definition of status or to a notion of status as personal and fluid, linked to diversified strategies for obtaining social distinction. This article seeks to move beyond this opposition by examining the history of status groups in the Archaic period. After analyzing the key stages within the complex historiography devoted to this subject, it goes on to provide a history of status groups during the formative period of the city-states. The creation of new status groups was an essential feature of the city-states’ history and was primarily linked to indebtedness and war. Although statuses were collective and often imposed from the outside, they nevertheless display a historical development that is central to the formation of city-states. In the seventh century BCE, new groups were created in response to the aristocracy’s need for a workforce. The resulting conflict led to an evolution of the systems regulating access to land and food. This reorganization of entitlement, which was how communities responded to the social and economic crisis they faced, was in turn based on the creation of new status groups. Social conflict led to the definition of a new system of status groups.

Tangian, Andranik: Mathematical theory of democracy. Studies in social choice and welfare

A doctorate in one—albeit particularly prestigious—of the institutes of the USSR Academy of Sciences is an unlikely background for a democratic theorist. Yet, it is with this background that Andranik Tangian, now a resident of Germany, has taken up the task of writing a comprehensive treatise on the development of democratic thinking from its early beginnings ca. 500 BC to the modern days. Tangian’s is not the first attempt to cover the entire time span of democracy, but his is arguably one of the first works to delve into the mathematical principles underlying democratic theory in a systematic and comprehensive manner. While many previous works have dealt with the mathematics of democratic choice making institutions, a particularly valuable contribution of Tangian is the focus on principles of representation in general and of random sampling of decision makers, in particular. The book consists of three parts: history, theory and applications. The first deals in some detail with the main episodes in the development of democracy: the Greek city states, the republican period of Rome, the late medieval city states of northern Italy, the French thinkers of the Enlightenment and the emerging US and French constitutional principles. The thinkers Tangian mostly relies on in discussing the democratic developments in the antiquity are Polybius, Aristotle, Plato and Cicero. The theory of mixed forms of government is one of the upshots of the discussion. Another is the importance of choices by lotteries in the ancient Greek city states. Of Roman writers Pliny the Younger gets a rather extensive treatment because of his well-known role as the pioneer of strategic thinking in voting institutions. The discussion on medieval developments also singles out familiar names: Ramon Lull, Nicolaus Cusanus, Marsilius of Padova, William of Ockham, Francesco

A meta-critical study of Akachi Ezeigbos perspectives on childrens literature in Nigeria: Narratology as scientific instrument, morality and didactics in analysis

This paper conceptualizes the motif of morality as didactics in delineating the study of children’s literature in Nigeria. The work catapults the various tenets which govern the essence of literature and its social engineering devices. Children fictions and imaginary works have been employed by writers to propel the need to ‘do good’ and ‘shun bad devices’. From the time of Plato and Aristotle in the Greek city state, literatures have been used to illuminate treasure, lesson and good intentions in order to satisfy the yearnings of poetic justice. Even among the little children, mid-night stories, memoirs and short stories have been espoused to denote the concept of good over the bad. In Nigeria to be specific, the government has observed the intruding intricacies in man’s development by mandatorily making some selected children’s literatures a must read in order to rib corruption from the nib. The children fictions were concretized to underscore the motifs of morality and didactics in Nigerian children epoch. The paper surveys Akachi Ezeigbo’s ’50 Years of Children’s Literature in Nigeria: Prospects and Problems’ and makes a meta-critical analysis of the trends and generations of writers she portrays. The paper relies on narratology as theoretical framework using the meta-analysis as a paradigm. Tzvetan Todorov is the first scholar to use the term narratology in his book which is entitled Grammaire Du Decameron. Ever since then this term has gained frequency and prominence in the literary and critical meta-texts. Although narratology is a structural discipline, its applicability lends axiomatic credence to the analysis of other areas such as fabula, sjuzhet, technical, discourse, and narrative focalisation. The paper argues that the science of fiction is an instrument of portrayal of re-engineering of cultural ethos and the development of the mindset of the children and their exposure to literatures that teach morality. The paper calls for a concerted effort to develop the children through the imaginative science of literature in order to respond positively to the yearnings of globalization. Key words: Literature, morality, didactics, Children’s Literature, narratology, Akachi Ezeigbo, Nigeria.

A symposium of seven sages of the world in cardiovascular surgery; the revival of the ancient symposium

The wisdom of the Seven Sages of Antiquity, who were philosophers and scientists, played a catalytic role in the exchange of ideas and in bringing the people of different Greek city states together in the process of forming an organized society. In today’s world, facing the side effects of globalization (commercial exploitation, the influence of the internet and mass media, immigration, etc.) we should revive the ancient Symposium of the Seven Sages seeking to share the experience and the wisdom of the Sages of the modern world of all Arts and Sciences for guidance in solving the immense challenges of the third millennium. The theme of the cardiovascular surgery for the first Symposium was chosen because the heart symbolizes love and life, from time it first begins beating inside the mother’s womb, until it finally ceases to beat at death. Seven legends of cardiovascular surgery of the world were invited to participate in the symposium. They were innovators and great teachers who paved the way for the next generation of Cardiac Surgeons, enabling them to continue their efforts to improve and prolong life, and relieve pain and suffering. The Seven Sages, who participated in the first modern symposium, were, in alphabetical order: Alain Carpentier (France), Denton Colley (USA), Adib Jatene (Brazil), Donald Ross (UK), Albert Starr (USA), Juro Wada (Japan) and Magdi Yacoub (UK). In two round table panel discussions which took place in Athens and in Delphi on May 6 & 7, 2007, the seven wise men answered questions regarding general and medical issues like the environmental research, war, space exploration, to name a few, as well as answering questions related to Cardiovascular Surgery. The purpose of this communication is to present this unique event, particularly to young colleagues, giving an opportunity to share the wisdom of these seven legends of our specialty in a special forum. Secondly, the purpose is to revive the Symposium of the Seven Sages of Antiquity in our modern era, creating a forum by which to examine the wisdom of other individuals in all the Arts and Sciences.

POLITY, RELIGION AND SECULARISM IN INDIA: A STUDY OF INTERRELATIONSHIPS

POLITY, RELIGION AND SECULARISM IN INDIA: A STUDY OF INTERRELATIONSHIPS

Illness in Old Age Is Part of an Individual's Fate and Must Be Approached with Acceptance

Older members of the Greek community see aging and the ill health that may accompany it as an inevitable part of life. They associate illness very closely with God’s will, and largely believe their state of health is an aspect of fate and / or luck that they do not have control over and must simply accept. This paper, based on research conducted in Melbourne, Australia, describes the way in which the experience of old age is understood in the worldview of this group. The words fate and luck (τύχη = tyche; γραφτό = graphto) are often used by older Greeks to characterize their situation. Luck, to this group, is not random. The term (τύχη) was used in classical times to refer to a kind of minor deity that controlled the fortune of the Greek city states, and an element of this idea of intention remains today. In the modern context, luck comes from God, and for this group, is part of γραφτό, or destiny, something that is written. In its usual usage in Greek, γραφτό refers to something that must happen to a person because it is predetermined and cannot not occur. The meaning that these older Greek individuals give to the word luck in the modern world is manifested in their acceptance of the problems of aging and their approach to coping with their own experience.

Persönliche Frömmigkeit und religiöses Erlebnis Wesenszüge der griechischen Religion am Beispiel von Heilkulten

Abstract Ancient Greek healing cults can be studied in the context of “personal piety.” This article emphasizes personal aspects of the Greek religion. It shows that the concept of “polis religion” does not embrace major aspects of ancient Greek piety. I analyze the direct and personal relation of worshippers in healing cults, especially that of Apollo, with the deity. By doing so, I put forward a new reading of Greek religion in the context of the concept of “personal piety” developed in Egyptology. The well-known “embeddedness” of religion in the structures of the Ancient Greek city-state led to a one-sided view of ancient Greek religion, as well as to aspects of ritual and “cult” predominating in research. Simultaneously, aspects of “belief ” are often labelled as inadequate in describing Greek (and Roman) religion. Religion as ritual and cult is simply one side of the coin. Personal aspects of religion, and direct contact with the deity, based on “belief,” are thus the other side of the coin. It follows that they are also the fundament of ritual. It is necessary to combine “polis religion” with “personal piety” to display a complete picture of Greek religion. The Isyllos inscription from Epidaurus is presented here as a final and striking example for this view. It reports the foundation of a cult of the polis on behalf of a personal religious experience.

Radiology Lessons From Greek History

most prominent 100 Athenian citizens was paid 6,000 drachmas in return for the production of a ship. Given the competitive spirit of the ancient Greeks, each wanted to build the fastest and best ship, at the lowest cost. This was not a government program, as the democracy of Athens really had no formal government at the time. By the time of the Persian invasion of Greece 3 years later, Athens had 200 warships and was well on its way to newfound prosperity. Although not the stated goal of his proposal, Themistocles had envisioned a need for Athens to have a fleet for defense, as another Persian invasion was almost inevitable after the Persians were defeated in a previous attempted invasion of Greece in 492 BC. With the now strong Athenian fleet, a coalition of Greek city-states engaged in taking on the Persians, with real hope of victory, although against daunting odds. The Persians fielded well over a million men, perhaps over 2 million, and had a fleet of 1,200 ships. Even with the 200 ships from Athens, the combined Greek fleet was less than 500, but was more disciplined, better trained, and cohesive in battle strategy. The Greeks did succeed in defeating the Persians in the Battle of Salamis in 480. Before the climactic battle, Athe

Susanne Carlsson, Hellenistic Democracies. Freedom, Independence and Political Procedure in Some East Greek City States

Susanne Carlsson, Hellenistic Democracies. Freedom, Independence and Political Procedure in Some East Greek City States

Land of Sikyon: archaeology and history of a Greek city-state

Land of Sikyon: archaeology and history of a Greek city-state

Olympian Dreams

Olympian Dreams

The Dialectic of Pre-Socratic Philosophy and its Basis in the Civilization of Antiquity

Pre-Socratic philosophy is really quite remarkable. It furnished us with the first theory of a heliocentric universe, the first theory of evolution and the first form of atomic theory. All this in a time before microscopes or telescopes! It was during this epoch too that the mode and form of philosophy attained a clear and definite character. From within the miasma of religious feeling and thought, certain coherent and explicitly rational notions begin to emerge. Being, nothingness, becoming, quantity, quality: in pre-Socratic philosophy the most fundamental categories of existence, those which underwrite all things, were brought into a conscious and sober interrelation. It was a single precious flashpoint in time where myth mutated into science, where naturalism superseded religion and philosophy experienced its first glorious dawn. A comprehension of pre-Socratic philosophy is essential to the dialectician. Over two thousand years later, Hegel was to comment on the pre-Socratic Heraclitus—‘there is not a proposition of [his] I have not adopted in my Logic’. Marx's doctoral dissertation was written on the difference between the Democritean and Epicurean philosophies of nature. More importantly still, the dialectic which runs through pre-Socratic philosophy in many ways anticipates the course of classical German philosophy over two thousand years later. The author seeks to trace this dialectic, and to show how it was grounded in the forms and structures of social existence of the Greek city state more broadly.

Between Polis and Empire: Aristotle's Politics

Aristotle lived during a period of unprecedented imperial expansionism initiated by the kings of Macedon, but most contemporary political theorists confine his political theorizing to the classical Greek city-state. For many, Aristotle's thought exhibits a parochial Hellenocentric “binary logic” that privileges Greeks over non-Greeks and betrays a xenophobic suspicion of aliens and foreigners. In response to these standard “polis-centric” views, I conjure a different perceptual field—“between polis and empire”—within which to interpret Aristotle'sPolitics. Both theorist and text appear deeply attentive to making present immediate things “coming to be and passing away” in the Hellenic world. Moreover, “between polis and empire,” we can see thePoliticsactually disturbing various hegemonic Greek binary oppositions (Greek/barbarian; citizen/alien; center/periphery), not reinforcing them. Understanding thePoliticswithin the context of the transience of the polis invites a new way of reading Aristotle while at the same time providing new possibilities for theorizing problems of postnational citizenship, transnational politics, and empire.

ZACK SNYDER, FRANK MILLER AND HERODOTUS: THREE TAKES ON THE 300 SPARTANS

The heroic defence of the Greeks at the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, in particularly the 300 Spartans who stood to the last man against the much larger Persian force, prompted comic book writer and illustrator Frank Miller to retell this story from a purely Spartan perspective. This version was retold once again when director Zack Snyder created a filmed version of the graphic novel named 300. Despite the film’s achievements at the box office, it was attacked for being, amongst others, historically incorrect and ideologically biased. In the graphic novel Frank Miller tells the tale of the battle at Thermopylae through the eyes of a Spartan warrior who bore the responsibility of spreading their tale so that the Spartans’ sacrifice might compel other Greek city-states to stand together against the Persians. Therefore the graphic novel and especially the film are drenched with Spartan superiority and Persian inferiority. Despite the inaccuracies and ideological bias, there are a few moments in the graphic novel and film that are notably historically correct.

In defence of personal autonomy

In their Principles of biomedical ethics , Tom L Beauchamp and James F Childress take ‘respect for autonomy’ to be one basic principle of contemporary biomedical ethics. There is widespread...

DEMOCRATIC CITIZENSHIP BETWEEN THE MODERN STRATEGY OF LEARNING AND ANCIENT EXPERIENCE

Education for democratic citizenship, within the conditions of democracy, should occupy a more decisive role in the school system. Modern strategies of learning and teaching should not exclude ancient experiences and roots. In democratic conditions, which retain ties to the ancient ones, oratory is an important factor of political life. This is precisely why the art of speaking can be relocated to the centre of attention. The importance of political speech, in the broadest sense of the word, is identical to that in Greek citystates. The teachings of Aristotle and Quintilian show how nothing has changed significantly during the last century and the millennium, at least when we speak of the human spirit and man's most basic skill. It is therefore possible to draw ties between education for the democratic citizenship and rhetoric, in the positive sense. Basic democratic values and tolerance can be best developed through discussion and persuasion, and not through simply learning the formal foundations of a democratic organisation. In this work we will depict that the strategy of learning, in terms of democratic citizenship and history, which are tightly bound, is in fact the strategy of selection, just as it is in the case of oratory education.

From exile of citizens to deportation of non-citizens: ancient Greece as a mirror to illuminate a modern transition

This article is an ancient Greek historian's response to an invitation to reflect upon modern liberal democratic deportation. The article identifies a revealing contrast between ancient Greek city-states and their modern republican successors. In ancient Greece, institutionalised lawful expulsion of non-citizens was not a major concern. Rather, it was lawful expulsion of citizens which was a prominent political issue, comparable to modern liberal democratic deportation. Indeed, modern liberal democratic deportation and associated rhetoric were significantly foreshadowed in the ancient Greek politics of expulsion: Greeks used and justified lawful expulsion of citizens as a means of constructing and reinforcing both state power and abstract, rationalistic norms of citizenship. The article suggests the hypothesis that the contrast between the ancient and the modern situations can be explained by the modern prevalence of universalist human rights norms, not politically influential in ancient Greece. First, human rights norms exert pressures on modern liberal democratic states, unparalleled in ancient Greece, to integrate and assist outsiders. Deportation is partly a reaction against those pressures, of a type unnecessary in the ancient Greek world. Second, although the modern liberal democratic analogues of Classical republican ideas, partly derived from their Classical antecedents, encourage lawful citizen expulsion, the modern citizen's inalienable human right to residence in his home state militates against it. Modern liberal democratic deportation of non-citizens, and associated rhetoric, can thus be interpreted partly as alternative outlets for the use of expulsion and exclusionary rhetoric to construct and reinforce complex norms of citizenship.