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Democracy's Slaves : A Political History of Ancient Greece

by: Ismard, P.

Price: 33,39 EURO

1 copy in stock
 
Category: Greek History
Code: 22406
ISBN-13: 9780674660076 / 978-0-674-66007-6
ISBN-10: 0674660072 / 0-674-66007-2
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Publication Date: 2017
Publication Place: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Binding: Cloth
Pages: 188
Book Condition: New
Comments: Translated by Jane Marie Todd

 The toga-clad statesman of ancient Greece is a familiar figure in the Western political tradition. Less well known is the administrator who ran the state but who was himself a slave. Challenging the modern belief that democracy and bondage are incompatible, Paulin Ismard directs our attention to the cradle of Western democracy, ancient Athens, where the functioning of civic government depended crucially on highly skilled experts who were literally public servants--slaves owned by the city-state rather than by private citizens. Known as demosioi, these public slaves filled a variety of important roles in Athenian society. They were court clerks, archivists, administrators, accountants, and policemen. Many possessed knowledge and skills beyond the attainments of average citizens, and they enjoyed privileges, such as the right to own property, that were denied to private slaves. In effect, demosioi were Western civilization's first civil servants--though they carried out their duties in a condition of bound servitude. Ismard detects a radical split between politics and administrative government at the heart of Athenian democracy. The city-state's managerial caste freed citizens from the day-to-day responsibilities of running the state. By the same token, these public servants were unable to participate in the democratic process because they lacked the rights of full citizenship. By rendering the state's administrators politically invisible, Athens warded off the specter of a government capable of turning against the citizens' will. In a real sense, Ismard shows, Athenian citizens put the success of their democratic experiment in the hands of slaves.


Genesis
Servants of the city
Strange slaves
The democratic order of knowledge
The mysteries of the Greek state

Subjects:
Administration publique (Science) Grèce Histoire
Esclavage Grèce Histoire
Greece
Greece Social conditions To 146 B.C
Grèce Conditions sociales Jusqu'à 146 av. J.-C
HISTORY / Ancient / Greece
History
POLITICAL SCIENCE Public Policy Cultural Policy
Public administration
Public administration Greece History
SOCIAL SCIENCE Anthropology Cultural
SOCIAL SCIENCE Popular Culture
Slavery
Slavery Greece History
Slavery Philosophy
Social conditions
To 146 B.C

 

 
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Democracy's Slaves : A Political History of Ancient Greece

by: Ismard, P.

  • ISBN-13: 9780674660076 / 978-0-674-66007-6
  • ISBN-03: 0674660072 / 0-674-66007-2
  • Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2017

Price: 33,39 EURO

1 copy in stock