
Ancient Greek Democracies
Matthew Simonton(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Will be published approx. on 31. May 2026
Book
Hardback
238 pages
978-1-108-84454-3 (ISBN)
Description
Classical Athenian democracy is rightly famous but democracy flourished in other parts of the Greek world as well. In this clear and fascinating book, Matthew Simonton traces the emergence, growth, consolidation and decline of democratic city-states over the millennium down to the fifth century CE. He argues for the widespread and highly participatory nature of democratic constitutions across the Greek world, particularly in the fourth, third, and second centuries BCE. Readers will also learn to appreciate the characteristic ideological, institutional, and material-cultural features of democratic poleis. The evidence marshalled includes literary texts, inscriptions, coins, archaeological remains, and monumental art. The book does not shy away from the fact that ancient Greek democracies both empowered lower-class men but also rested on a series of exclusions (of women, enslaved people, and foreigners). Nevertheless, demokratia emerges as a major facet of ancient Greek culture and society.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
507 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-84454-3 (9781108844543)
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Matthew Simonton
Ancient Greek Democracies
Book
05/2026
Cambridge University Press
€35.50
Available immediately
Person
Matthew Simonton is Associate Professor of Classics at Princeton University, having previously worked at Arizona State University. His first book, Classical Greek Oligarchy: A Political History (2017), received the 2018 Runciman Award from the Anglo-Hellenic League. He is currently at work on a political and culture history of ancient Greek demagoguery.
Content
Introduction; 1. From Eunomia to Demokratia, 510-451/0 BCE; 2. A Contested Existence, 451/0-362 BCE; 3. The Heyday of Ancient Greek Democracies, 362-146 BCE; 4. (D)evolutions of Democracy, 146 BCE to Late Antiquity; Appendix. Instances of 'Democracy' on Stone.