Fifth-Century Athenian History and Tragedy

History in [Demosthenes] 59

The Classical Quarterly ◽

10.1017/s0009838800042981 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 407-420 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jeremy Trevett

Keyword(s):

Fifth Century ◽

Detailed Account ◽

Peloponnesian War ◽

Main Interest ◽

Rhetorical Practice ◽

Historical Past ◽

Athenian History ◽

Scholarly Attention

It is well known that Athenian orators, when they made reference to the historical past, usually eschewed prolonged narrative in favour of brief allusions to familiar episodes from Athenian history. Perhaps the most striking exception to this custom is the long and detailed account of fifth-century Plataean history in the pseudo-Demosthenic speech Against Neaera (Dem. 59.94–103). The main interest of this passage, however, lies not in its divergence from contemporary rhetorical practice, but in its clear reliance on Thucydides for its account of the siege of Plataea during the Peloponnesian War. Indeed, it is unique in Attic oratory in the extent of its reliance on an identifiable historical work. Yet, considering its significance, this passage has received very little scholarly attention, and merits a closer reexamination.

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Critias and democracy

Balcanica ◽

10.2298/balc0839033j ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 33-46

Author(s):

Ivan Jordovic

Keyword(s):

Fifth Century ◽

Controversial Issue ◽

The Political ◽

Political Situation ◽

Athenian History

The majority of Critias? contemporaries and fellow citizens saw the leader of the most brutal regime in Athenian history as a ruthless oligarch, moreover as a tyrant. Many ancient sources share this view. It is somewhat surprising therefore to see the most famous of his victims, the controversial politician Theramenes, denouncing him as a supporter of democracy. This contradiction has given rise to different, even diametrically opposed modern interpretations. It is this variety of interpretations and the importance of this question for understanding the political situation in Athens at the end of the fifth century BC, as well as the rise of tyranny in Thessaly, that has prompted us to take yet another look at this controversial issue.

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Theseus the King in Fifth-Century Athens

Greece and Rome ◽

10.1017/s0017383500028291 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 25-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

John N. Davie

Keyword(s):

Analytical Method ◽

Fifth Century ◽

Classical Period ◽

Athenian History

Of all Greek heroes, Theseus, few would deny, has the greatest claim to enshrine all the best qualities of the Athenian citizen, not least in his championship of thedemos, celebrated by poets and painters alike of the classical period. It might seem at first sight contradictory to find in the same period in Athenian history an equally flourishing tradition concerning Theseus the heroic-age king. This ‘contradiction', however, as it might be perceived in abstract terms by a modern constitutional historian, would not have been felt so acutely, if at all, by a fifth-century Greek, for whom the ideas of monarchic rule and the heroic age were fundamentally connected. Our response to this type of problem owes more to the analytical method of such later works as Aristotle'sPolitics, with its thorough categorization of constitutions, and there is always the danger that we may impose on the Greek mythological imagination of the fifth century an unwarranted rigidity that fails to reflect the greater plasticity of the classical Greek mind. A review of the Theseus legend in fifth-century Athens reveals the extent to which such flexibility of attitude existed and throws some light on the classical attitude to one-man rule.

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The Dating of Fifth-century Attic Inscriptions

The Journal of Hellenic Studies ◽

10.2307/628996 ◽

1966 ◽

Vol 86 ◽

pp. 86-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Russell Meiggs

Keyword(s):

Fifth Century ◽

Peloponnesian War ◽

Athenian History

The study of Athenian history in the fifth century, and particularly in the period between the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars, derives much of its flesh and blood from inscriptions, but most inscriptions lose their full value if they cannot be dated. From the Peace of Nicias in 421 onwards it was customary to include the name of the archon in the prescript of decrees, but before the Peloponnesian War the practice was rare and random. The alliances with Egesta, Leontini and Rhegium (IG i2 19, 51, 52) were dated in this way, but not the treaty with Hermione (SEG × 15). The settlement imposed on Chalcis by Athens after the crushing of her revolt is not dated (IG i2 39), whereas earlier regulations for Miletus (IG i2 22) include the name of the archon of the year. Sometimes a single archon's name will date a whole series of records: the first tribute list, for example, is explicitly dated by archon, but the name is lost and the lists that follow are numbered only in relation to the first; the archon, however, is recorded in the thirty-fourth list, and the name is preserved, Aristion archon for 421/0, and from this we can safely infer that the first list records the payments of 454/3. Similarly the early accounts of the Parthenon, while recording the first secretary of the Boule, do not mention the archon and merely add the number in the series; but from 437/6 at least the archon's name was added, and the survival of the name of Crates, archon for 434/3, at the head of the thirteenth list enables us to date the remaining records in the series.

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4 Athenian History and Historians in the Fifth Century B.C.

10.7560/702301-007 ◽

2004 ◽

pp. 67-103

Keyword(s):

Fifth Century ◽

Athenian History

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Gifts for Cyrus, Tribute for Darius

10.1093/oso/9780198803614.003.0007 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Kai Ruffing

Keyword(s):

Fifth Century ◽

Political Life ◽

Persian Empire ◽

The People ◽

Athenian History

In the introduction to the famous list of nomes Herodotus offers a rather idiosyncratic characterization of Darius I by means of calling him a huckster. Furthermore, he maintains that Cyrus II received gifts, whereas since the time of Darius the people of the Persian Empire had to pay tribute (phoros). Both issues are discussed against the background of Athenian history and political life in the fifth century BC. It is argued that Herodotus here as elsewhere in the Histories used the Persian Empire and its Kings as a mirror for the developments of his own times. In doing so he offers his opinions as to why the Persians failed in waging war against the Greeks, and consequently, the Athenians’ defeat in the war against the Spartans as well.

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Archons and Strategoi

Antichthon ◽

10.1017/s0066477400004081 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 1-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

E. Badian

Keyword(s):

Fifth Century ◽

Ancient History ◽

Historical Events ◽

Small Item ◽

The Past ◽

Grand Design ◽

Theory Of History ◽

State Of Affairs ◽

The One ◽

Athenian History

Athenian history in the fifth century B.C. has, on the whole, become a battlefield where only the trained hoplite ran compete. By contrast, the period from Cleisthenes down to 480 is one where the mere peltast still has an honest chance. There are—at least in internal history—practically no facts known, and ingenuity and imagination have been limited only by what the audience has been ready to believe. These limits have traditionally been generous. And the state of affairs has tended to permit and even to encourage what philosophers call the ‘conspiracy theory’ of history. This, of course, has many aspects; but the one that interests us here may be formulated as follows: ‘All historical events happen because someone planned that they should happen; and all historical events happen just as someone planned that they should happen, unless they are upset by the counter-plans of someone else. It is the duty of the historian to elucidate these plans and counter-plans, and in doing so he is explaining the events.’ Students of ancient history have always tended to adhere to this theory, perhaps because they are exceptionally rational people, or perhaps because most of them, in the past, grew up in an atmosphere like that of The Masters, where this theory can most profitably be applied. But in any case: the fewer the attested facts, the easier—and the more tempting—to combine them all in a grand design, successful or (at the worst) frustrated. And nowhere do these conditions more obviously obtain than in the period I have mentioned. The plans and counter-plans of Cleisthenes, Miltiades, Aristides and Themistocles fill the pages of our standard works with such exciting goings-on that the student ceases to be receptive to the still, small voice recalling him to the extent of our evidence. It is the purpose of this paper to examine one very small item of evidence, well known to us all, and to make as little as possible of it.

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Un intricato processo ad Atene: Eufileto uccide Eratostene, seduttore della moglie (Lysias, Or. I: De Eratosthenis caede apologia)

Vox Patrum ◽

10.31743/vp.4489 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 56 ◽

pp. 449-464

Author(s):

Orazio Antonio Bologna

Keyword(s):

Fifth Century ◽

Don Juan ◽

Young Wife

In Athens in the late and early fifth century B.C. Eratosthenes, a well-known real Don Juan was killed. He sets his eyes on a young wife and seduces her, she is the wife of Euphiletus, a modest farmer, who spent a lot of time in countryside, away from his wife. Euphiletus, after the birth of his (first) son, places full faith in his wife. Having been informed about the affair, he catches her in adultery and, in front of some witnesses, kills Eratosthenes. The victim’s relatives hold a trial against the murderer, who before the Court gives a brilliant oration, written by Lysia one of the greatest orators of Athens.

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