Historical Agency and the Great Man'' in Classical Greece

Examines the evolution of 'great man theory' in classical Greece, not only in historical writing, but also in popular thought.

List of contents

1. The search for the 'great man'; 2. Man, myth, and memory under the early Athenian democracy; 3. Culture clash? Reading individuals and groups in the Histories of Herodotus; 4. Claims to immortality: memories of the Peloponnesian War; 5. Learning one's limits, knowing one's place; 6. Out beyond Athens; 7. A 'new world order'?; 8. Alexander 'the Great'; 9. Conclusion.

About the author

Sarah Brown Ferrario is Associate Professor of Greek and Latin at The Catholic University of America. She is a specialist in Greek history and literature, particularly of the fifth and fourth centuries BC.

Summary

'Great man' theories of history are at least as old as the foundations of ancient Greek democracy. This book uses historical writing, funerary monuments, and inscriptions from throughout the classical period to show how the Greeks thought about the roles of individuals and groups in significant historical events.

Product details

• Authors: Sarah Brown Ferrario, Sarah Brown (Catholic University of Amer Ferrario, Sarah Brown (Catholic University of America Ferrario
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 02.10.2014
• EAN: 9781107037342
• ISBN: 978-1-107-03734-2
• No. of pages: 420
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; European History, HISTORY / Ancient / General, Ancient Greece, Ancient World, Ancient History, Classical history / classical civilisation, Ancient history: to c 500 CE, BCE to c 500 CE, BCE period – Protohistory