Pericles and the Conquest of History: A Political Biography - Softcover

Samons II, Loren J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1107526027 ISBN 13: 9781107526020

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2016

Synopsis

As the most famous and important political leader in Athenian history, Pericles has featured prominently in descriptions and analysis of Athenian democracy from antiquity to the present day. Although contemporary historians have tended to treat him as representative of values like liberty and equality, Loren J. Samons, II demonstrates that the quest to make Athens the preeminent power in Greece served as the central theme of Pericles' career. More nationalist than humanist and less rationalist than populist, Pericles' vision for Athens rested on the establishment of an Athenian reputation for military success and the citizens' willingness to sacrifice in the service of this goal. Despite his own aristocratic (if checkered) ancestry, Pericles offered the common and collective Athenian people the kind of fame previously available only to heroes and nobleman, a goal made all the more attractive because of the Athenians' defensiveness about Athens' lackluster early history.

About this title

Review:

'To his credit, Professor Samons resolutely refuses to view Pericles with rose-colored glasses. Instead, he shatters the illusions entertained by his predecessors, emphasizing the degree to which the radical democracy in Athens fostered and was fostered by a brutal, ruthless, exploitative imperialism and exhibited a suicidal ambition for further expansion that, thanks in part to the vision of undying glory and grandeur deliberately projected by Pericles, knew no bounds.' Paul A. Rahe, Hillsdale College, Michigan

'Samons, like Thucydides, asks uncomfortable questions and seeks uncompromising answers. His motive, like Thucydides', is an honest desire to reach a deeper and 'truer' understanding of what made Pericles the politician he was, what drove him to pursue the policies he did, and what consequences this had for Athens, the Greek world, and far beyond. We may not always agree with Samons but we should not refuse his challenge to rethink radically what we took for granted.' Kurt Raaflaub, Professor Emeritus, Brown University, Rhode Island

'The Pericles Samons offers the readers of this book - the figure usually hailed as Athens' greatest statesman - was rather the best-ever rodeo rider of the vast brutal conglomerate beast formed by the reeking mass of his cruel and hungry Athenian countrymen. I do not imagine that I will ever read another book about classical antiquity at once as elegant in its learning, as pleasing in its prose, as pregnant with ideas, and as shocking in its conclusions.' J. E. Lendon, University of Virginia

Book Description:

Under the leadership of Pericles in the fifth century BC, the Athenians sought to become the preeminent power in Greece. How did Pericles become both the greatest and the most dangerous leader Athens ever produced? Loren J. Samons, II uses the events of Athenian history of the period to analyze the career and legacy of this pivotal historical figure.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1107526027
• ISBN 13: 9781107526020
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 346