Table of Contents

Preface Introduction Chapter 1. Athenian Society and Government Chapter 2. Democracy and Demagogues: Election, Voting, and Qualifications for Citizenship Chapter 3. Public Finance: Democracy and the People's Purse Chapter 4. Foreign Policy I: Democracy Imperial Chapter 5. Foreign Policy II: The Peloponnesian War Chapter 6. National Defense: Democracy Defeated Chapter 7. Democracy and Religion Conclusion Bibliography

About the Author

Loren J. Samons II is Associate Professor of Classical Studies and Associate Dean for Students, College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University. He is author of Empire of the Owl (2000), editor of Athenian Democracy and Imperialism (1998), and coauthor, with Charles W. Fornara, of Athens from Cleisthenes to Pericles (California, 1991).

Reviews

"In this marvelously unfashionable book, Samons debunks much of what passes in the current-day academy as scholarship on classical Athens.... In the process, he casts light on the perspicacity of America's founding fathers and on the unthinking populism that threatens in our own day to ruin their legacy." - Paul A. Rahe, author of Republics Ancient and Modern "This is unlike any recent work I know of. It offers a challenging, often refreshing, and what will certainly be a controversial assessment of classical Athenian democracy and its significance to modern America. Samons is willing to tread where few other classicists are willing to go in print." - James Sickinger, author of Public Records and Archives in Classical Athens; "Samons's lively and challenging account of ancient Athens raises important questions about democracy, ancient and modern. It will surely arouse keen interest and debate." - Donald Kagan, author of The Peloponnesian War; "Samons presents a penetrating analysis of ancient Athenian democracy's dark sides. Whether or not we agree with his critique and conclusions, this book is not merely thought-provoking: it is annoyingly discomforting." - Kurt A. Raaflaub, Brown University"