Unthinking the Greek polis : ancient Greek history beyond Eurocentrism / Kostas Vlassopoulos.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vlassopoulos, Kostas, 1977-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

City-states--Greece--History--To 1500.

City-states.

History.

Greece--Historiography.

Greece.

Historiography.

Greece--History--To 146 B.C.

Physical Description:

xiv, 288 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Summary:

This study explores how modern scholars came to write Greek history from a Eurocentric perspective and challenges orthodox readings of Greek history as part of the history of the West. Since the Greeks lacked a nation state or a unified society, economy or culture, the polis has helped to create a homogenizing national narrative. This book re-examines old polarities such as those between the Greek poleis and Eastern monarchies, or between the ancient consumer and the modern producer city, in order to show the fallacies of standard approaches. It argues for the relevance of Aristotle's concept of the polis, which is interpreted in a novel way. Finally, it proposes an alternative way of looking at Greek history as part of a Mediterranean world-system. This interdisciplinary study engages with modern debates on globalization, nationalism, Orientalism and history writing, while also debating recent developments in classical studies.

Contents:

Part I Defining the Contexts of Thinking About the Polis 11

1 An archaeology of discourses 13

2 The ancient discourses on the polis 68

3 Making use of Aristotle: concepts and models 85

Part II Rethinking the Contexts. the Polis as an Entity: A Critique 97

4 East and West, Greece and the East: the polis vs. Oriental despotism 101

5 The consumer city: ancient vs. medieval/modern 123

Part III Beyond the Polis: The Polis as Part of a Systeme-Monde 143

6 The polis as a unit of analysis: poleis and koinoniai 147

7 Poleis and space 156

8 Poleis and polities 190

9 Poleis and time 203

10 Towards new master narratives of Greek history? 221.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780521877442

052187744X

OCLC:

154682286