An assessment of the ancient Greek city and its subsequent
influence. A masterwork of political theory and comparative
politics for the classroom.
"In a series of sketches touching on everything from the lust for
honor to the suspicion of commerce and philosophy, from the role of
homoerotic bonds in maintaining military formations to the distrust
of technological innovation, Rahe brilliantly reminds us how
utterly committed the Greeks were to a politics in which the
distribution of honors, education and culture in all their forms,
and economic activity were all designed to preserve civic
solidarity.--Jack N. Rakove,
American Historical Review
"[An] extraordinary book. . . . It is a great achievement and will
stay as a landmark.--Patrick Leigh Fermor,
The Spectator
(London)
"A work of magisterial erudition.--
Journal of American
History