Xenophon and the Athenian democracy : the education of an elite citizenry / Matthew R. Christ.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Christ, Matthew R., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Xenophon.

Elite (Social sciences)--Greece--Athens.

Elite (Social sciences).

Democracy--Greece--Athens.

Democracy.

Leadership--Greece--Athens.

Leadership.

Athens (Greece)--Politics and government.

Athens (Greece).

Athens (Greece)--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 215 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Summary:

This book seeks to understand Xenophon as an elite Athenian writing largely for an elite Athenian audience in the first half of the fourth century BC. It argues that Xenophon calls on men of his own class to set aside their assumptions of superiority based on birth or wealth and to reinvent themselves as individuals who can provide effective leadership to the democratic city and serve it as good citizens. Xenophon challenges, criticizes, and sometimes satirizes the Athenian elite, and seeks to instruct them concerning the values, knowledge, and practical skills they will need to succeed as civic leaders. Xenophon is thus best understood not as an aristocratic dinosaur who is out of place in a democratic setting, as some have assumed, but as a thoughtful and pragmatic reformist who seeks to ensure that meritorious members of the elite step forward to lead within the democracy.

Contents:

Introduction : Xenophon the Athenian

Athens in crisis in the Hellenica

Politics and the gentleman in the Memorabilia

Work, money, and the gentleman in the Oeconomicus

The education of Callias

Xenophon as expert, adviser, and reformer in the Hipparchus and Poroi

Xenophon the democratic orator : the politics of mass and elite in the Anabasis

Conclusions : elite readers, elite citizens.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 07 Sep 2020).

ISBN:

1-108-85243-2

1-108-85273-4

1-108-86299-3