The Classical Athenian Democracy

By David Stockton

Book Overview

This critical study, designed for the modern reader, explains what the institutions of the classical Athenian democracy were, how they worked, and on what assumptions they were founded. Incorporating important recent work by historians, epigraphists, and archaeologists, Stockton traces thebroad development of the Athenian constitution from the reforms of Solon in the early sixth century to those of Ephialtes in the late 460s B.C., carefully examining the fully-developed democratic system of the post-Ephialtic period. Stockton translates all Greek terms and explains difficult essaysmaking the volume highly accessible to students of ancient and modern history, and to the general reader.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198146973
• ISBN13: 9780198146971
• Release Date: August 1990
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 214 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.9" x 5.7"

Customer Reviews

Highly informative, but somewhat dry

This wonderfully informative book is the work of author and Oxford lecturer David Stockton. In it, the author explains the evolution of the Athenian democracy, from the reforms of Solon in early 6th century BC to the reforms of Ephialtes in the middle of the 5th century BC. After that, there is an in-depth examination at the Classical post-Ephialtic Athenian system of government, including its forms, its politicians, and even its critics. Overall, I found this to be a highly informative book. I always knew that the Athenian democracy functioned quite differently than modern democracies, but now I fully understand how the Athenian system actually worked. Now, this book was written to be a textbook, so you will find it somewhat dry and academic in tone. But, that said, this book has everything you need to understand the Classical Athenian system of government. I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in ancient Greece.