Athens, Thrace, and the shaping of Athenian leadership / Matthew A. Sears, Wabash College.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sears, Matthew A., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Athens (Greece)--Politics and government.

Athens (Greece).

Athens (Greece)--Relations--Thrace.

Thrace--Relations--Greece--Athens.

Thrace.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 328 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Other Title:

Athens, Thrace, & the Shaping of Athenian Leadership

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

From the mid-sixth to the mid-fourth century BCE a nexus of connections to Thrace defined the careers of several of Athens' most prominent figures, including Pisistratus, Miltiades, Alcibiades and Iphicrates. This book explores the importance of Thrace to these individuals and its resulting significance in the political, cultural and social history of Athens. Thrace was vitally important for Athens thanks to its natural resources and access to strategic waterways, which were essential to a maritime empire, and connections to the area conferred wealth and military influence on certain Athenians and offered them a refuge if they faced political persecution at home. However, Thrace's importance to prominent individuals transcended politics: its culture was also an important draw. Thrace was a world free of Athenian political, social and cultural constraints - one that bore a striking resemblance to the world of Homeric epic.

Contents:

Introduction: egalitarianism, ambition, and the disciples of Thrace

Thrace as resource and refuge I: the Pisistratids to Thucydides

Thrace as resource and refuge II: Alcibiades to Iphicrates

Athenian ambivalence towards Thracians and Thracophiles

The cultural appeal of Thrace for the Athenian elite

Thrace as military academy

Epilogue: Chares and Charidemus in the Macedonian world.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-139-61106-2

1-107-23755-6

1-139-62594-2

1-139-60927-0

1-139-61292-1

1-139-61664-1

1-299-40571-1

1-139-62222-6

1-139-34381-5

OCLC:

830627927