This book presents a comprehensive series of readings that trace the Greeks path to democracy and examine the connection between the Greek polis as a citizen state and democracy from a comparative historical perspective.

Series Editor’s Preface vii Contributors viii Introduction 1Johann P. Arnason, Kurt A. Raaflaub, and Peter Wagner Part I The Greek Experience in Long-term Perspective 19 1 Exploring the Greek Needle’s Eye: Civilizational and Political Transformations 21Johann P. Arnason 2 Transformations of Democracy: Towards a History of Political Thought and Practice in Long-term Perspective 47Peter Wagner Part II Ways of Polis-making: Grasping the Novelty of the Political 69 3 To Act with Good Advice: Greek Tragedy and the Democratic Political Sphere 71Egon Flaig 4 Democracy and Dissent: the Case of Comedy 99Lucio Bertelli 5 Democracy, Oratory, and the Rise of Historiography in Fifth-century Greece 126Jonas Grethlein 6 Political Uses of Rhetoric in Democratic Athens 144Harvey Yunis 7 Law and Democracy in Classical Athens 163Adriaan Lanni 8 Democracy and Political Philosophy: Influences, Tensions, Rapprochement 181Ryan K. Balot 9 Inscriptions and the City in Democratic Athens 205Elizabeth A. Meyer Part III Changing a Way of Life: Democracy’s Impact on Polis Society 225 10 The Impact of Democracy on Communal Life 227Sara L. Forsdyke 11 The Demos’s Participation in Decision-making: Principles and Realities 260Claude Mossé 12 Democracy and Religion in Classical Greece 274Robin Osborne 13 Democracy and War 298Lawrence A. Tritle Part IV Political Concepts and Commitments 321 14 Perfecting the “Political Creature”: Equality and “the Political” in the Evolution of Greek Democracy 323Kurt A. Raaflaub 15 Tyranny and Tragedy in Nietzsche’s Understanding of the Greek Polis 351Tracy B. Strong 16 The Liberty of the Moderns Compared to the Liberty of the Ancients 371Nathalie Karagiannis and Peter Wagner Index 389

One of the hallmarks of Greek civilization was the polis – city-states that gave rise to the first democratic system of government. But was the polis of ancient Athens really the birthplace of what we now view as modern democracy? The Greek Polis and the Invention of Democracy presents a comprehensive series of essays that trace the Greeks’ path to democracy and examine the connection between the Greek polis as a citizen state and democracy from a comparative historical perspective, and with reference to recent debates on the Axial Age and its impact on world history. Written collaboratively by an international team of leading scholars in classics, ancient history, sociology, and political science, essays address the interaction between democracy and forms of cultural expression in Athens during the classical period, the place and role of politics in the ancient Greek world, and the place of Greek democracy in political thought and debates about democracy throughout the centuries. Scholarly and thought-provoking, The Greek Polis and the Invention of Democracy offers illuminating insights into our links to the past while revealing ways that the concept of ancient Greek democracy has shaped – or not shaped – modern democracy.

“This exciting and accessible collection of well-written essays, by a stellar group of international scholars, sheds new light on ancient democracy and its role in critical reassessments of contemporary democracy and liberalism. This book demonstrates anew the vibrancy and relevance of classical Greek politics, society, and culture. Essential reading for all students of democracy, ancient and modern.” - Josiah Ober, Stanford University “Kurt Raaflaub's distinguished 'The Ancient World: Comparative Histories' series acquires herewith another eminently worthy member, which bears his personal stamp both as inspirational co-editor and as contributor with a special interest and expertise in ancient Greek politics and political thought. From the sensitive introduction (by another of the co-editors) to the concluding essay on ideas of liberty ancient and modern the multinational cast of leading experts takes the longest possible view of what matters most about the ancient Greeks' invention of democracy from its original location within their peculiar polis state-form to its current, very different receptions around the world today. Students of Sophocles and Aristophanes, and of Schopenhauer, Wagner and Nietzsche, among many others, will find their tastes and interests equally well served.” - Paul Cartledge, University of Cambridge