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Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens - Rhetoric, Ideology, and the Power of the People (Paperback, Reprint) Loot Price: R1,129
Discovery Miles 11 290
You Save: R329 (23%)
Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens - Rhetoric, Ideology, and the Power of the People (Paperback, Reprint): Josiah Ober

Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens - Rhetoric, Ideology, and the Power of the People (Paperback, Reprint)

Josiah Ober

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List price R1,458 Loot Price R1,129 Discovery Miles 11 290 | Repayment Terms: R106 pm x 12* You Save R329 (23%)

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This book asks an important question often ignored by ancient historians and political scientists alike: Why did Athenian democracy work as well and for as long as it did? Josiah Ober seeks the answer by analyzing the sociology of Athenian politics and the nature of communication between elite and nonelite citizens. After a preliminary survey of the development of the Athenian "constitution," he focuses on the role of political and legal rhetoric. As jurymen and Assemblymen, the citizen masses of Athens retained important powers, and elite Athenian politicians and litigants needed to address these large bodies of ordinary citizens in terms understandable and acceptable to the audience. This book probes the social strategies behind the rhetorical tactics employed by elite speakers.

A close reading of the speeches exposes both egalitarian and elitist elements in Athenian popular ideology. Ober demonstrates that the vocabulary of public speech constituted a democratic discourse that allowed the Athenians to resolve contradictions between the ideal of political equality and the reality of social inequality. His radical reevaluation of leadership and political power in classical Athens restores key elements of the social and ideological context of the first western democracy.

General

Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of origin: United States
Release date: July 1991
First published: July 1991
Authors: Josiah Ober
Dimensions: 235 x 152 x 26mm (L x W x T)
Format: Paperback - Trade
Pages: 408
Edition: Reprint
ISBN-13: 978-0-691-02864-4
Categories: Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Democracy
LSN: 0-691-02864-8
Barcode: 9780691028644

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