Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens: Rhetoric, Ideology, and the Power of the People

Josiah Ober

Published by Princeton University Press 1989

Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens

Rhetoric, Ideology, and the Power of the People

Josiah Ober

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400820511

Overview
Contents

About this book

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.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xiii
Abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xvii
CHAPTER I. Democracy: Athenian and Modern Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
CHAPTER II. History of the Athenian “Constitution”: A Diachronic Survey Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	53
CHAPTER III. Public Speakers and Mass Audiences Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	104
CHAPTER IV. Ability and Education: The Power of Persuasion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	156
CHAPTER V. Class: Wealth, Resentment, and Gratitude Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	192
CHAPTER VI. Status: Noble Birth and Aristocratic Behavior Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	248
CHAPTER VII. Conclusions: Dialectics and Discourse Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	293
Appendix: Catalogue of Speeches and Citation Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	341
Select Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	364
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	383

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