Athenian Democracy

Arlene W. Saxonhouse is the Caroline Robbins Collegiate Professor of Political Science, Emerita, at the University of Michigan. She is the author of numerous books and articles dealing with ancient Greek political thought, including Free Speech and Democracy in Ancient Athens and Fear of Diversity: The Birth of Political Science in Ancient Greek Thought.

• Preface1. The Mythmakers2. Herodotus, Democracy, and Equality3. Thucydides, Communal Decision-Making, and the Capacity for Change4. Plato and the Problematical Gentleness of Democracy5. Aristotle: Democracy and the Ambiguities of NatureEpilogueNotesBibliographyIndex

"Arlene W. Saxonhouse's lively and entertaining discussion . . . is ably conducted by a master teacher who has succeeded in conquering the ancient and modern teachings about democracy." —Perspectives on Political Science"In this clearly written volume [Saxonhouse] searches for those largely untapped veins of ore overlooked by the majority of scholars who have been misdirected in their own pursuits of the ancients by the modern mythmakers of her subtitle." —Ethics"Saxonhouse's contribution both forces classicists to think carefully about ingrained presuppositions and habits of reading and also provokes further reflection upon the timely question of what we can learn about our own democratic culture from studying ancient authors who analyzed democracy." —Bryn Mawr Classical Review"By scrupulously insisting on understanding the Greek theorists as they understood themselves, Saxonhouse's lively, engaging book develops fresh perspectives on modern as well as ancient politics." —Stephen G. Salkever, author of Finding the Mean"In this helpful meditation, an open-minded book, Saxonhouse wonders how the ancient theorists can be brought to the understanding and aid of modern democracy." —American Political Science Review"Saxonhouse's judicious account is always interesting and the book abounds in useful insights." —The Review of Politics