Even Greeks in later times saw Athens as 'the Hellas of Hellas', the moral standard-bearer of Greek civilisation. But in the classical period many Athenians thought otherwise: Athens might be a school of Hellas, but the school of Hellas was Sparta. Spartan soldiers dominated the Greek mainland and beyond, and in 404 bc Sparta enforced the total military surrender of Athens. The cause of this supremacy was seen as the uniquely harmonious subordination of Sparta's citizens to their city's interest. This book explores Athenians' thinking about Sparta's military and moral ascendancy. In nine new studies from a distinguished international cast, the works of Athenian politicians, writers and artists are examined so as to reveal mentalities in the wider city which, at the extreme, might cause Athenians to revere Sparta even as they fought her. Such respect culminated not only in Plato's literary creation of fantasy cities (in the Republic and Laws) which imitated Spartan methods, but even in a short-lived claim by ruling Athenian politicians that Athens, after its military surrender, was to be remodelled as itself a New Sparta.
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This impressive volume complements its congeners. * Classical Journal *
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This book explores how Athenians ordinary citizens as well as writers and politicians thought about Sparta's superiority.
| Introductory Note |
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vii | |
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| Foreword |
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ix | |
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1 Sparta in Pericles' Funeral Oration |
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1 | (32) |
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2 Athens, Sparta, and the τεΧνη of deliberation |
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33 | (28) |
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3 Athens as New Sparta? Lakonism and the Athenian revolution of 404-3 BC |
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61 | (26) |
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4 Viewing Sparta through Athenian engagement with art and architecture |
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87 | (28) |
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5 Euripides, Sparta and the self-definition of Athens |
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115 | (24) |
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6 Sparta and Spartans in Old Comedy |
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139 | (18) |
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7 Imagined superpowers: Isocrates' opposition of Athens and Sparta |
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157 | (28) |
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8 Spartan echoes in Plato's Republic |
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185 | (30) |
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9 Aristotle's critique of Spartan imperialism |
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215 | (20) |
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| Index |
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235 | |
Paul Cartledge is A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at Cambridge University, UK, and a Fellow of Clare College. He has published extensively on Greek history over several decades, including The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece (1997, new edition 2002), Alexander the Great: The Hunt for a New Past (2004, revised edition 2005), Ancient Greek Political Thought in Practice (2009), and Democracy: A Life (2016). Paul Cartledge is A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at Cambridge University, UK, and a Fellow of Clare College. He has published extensively on Greek history over several decades, including The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece (1997, new edition 2002), Alexander the Great: The Hunt for a New Past (2004, revised edition 2005), Ancient Greek Political Thought in Practice (2009), and Democracy: A Life (2016).
