The heroic rulers of archaic and classical Greece

Lead Research Organisation: University of Exeter
Department Name: Classics and Ancient History

Abstract

It is generally assumed that the so-called age of the tyrants ended in the sixth century, and that legitimate personal rule had died out in most cities by the middle of the fifth century in the heartland of Greece. Furthermore it is also often argued (as most recently by Paul Cartledge in his Ancient Greek Political Thought and Practice, Cambridge, 2009) that the trajectory of developments in Greek politics and political thought were towards rule by the people, of which the most complete form was Athenian democracy. In contrast to this received view, this project will ask new questions about the nature of personal rule in archaic and classical Greece, what its relationship was to power and authority, what the ideologies of ruling were, and what the relationship of personal rule was to the rule of law in order to show that not only personal rule, but an heroic ideology of ruling, persisted throughout the archaic and classical period and provided the background for the Hellenistic kingdoms.

This project ranges broadly across Greek history and political thought from the early archaic period to the fourth century and beyond (suggesting links with the Hellenistic and Roman worlds), as well as relevant fields within political theory and social anthropology, and draws on comparative examples from medieval Europe and the Near East. The basic methodology is the evaluation of primary sources set properly within the appropriate scholarly and critical frameworks, but this project will also apply a radical new hypothesis about the nature of rule and ruling in archaic and classical Greece in order to interrogate the evidence. As a result, this monograph will amount to a major study which challenges the orthodox views and will create a new understanding of both political processes and the development of political thought in archaic and classical Greece.

Planned Impact

Public lectures proposed for British Museum and Royal Albert Memorial Museum (Exeter)
Talks to be given for school children at Exeter Cathedral School and St Peter's High School
Articles to be published in Omnibus (a magazine for school students studying classics) and BBC History Magazine
 
Description This project examined the nature of ruling in archaic and classical Greece. The project has been successful in achieving its original aims and objectives, and produced a monograph which argued that rule by one man remained a dominant thread in both Greek political thought and practice throughout the archaic and classical periods. It also attempts to re-frame our understanding of the phenomenon of Greek tyranny, which has misleadingly been coloured by late fifth- and fourth-century thinkers and writers. Further, it argues that ruling was understood as a heroic activity, and was based upon the abundance of arete, or excellence, which was understood in the first instance as military excellence, but which later in the fifth and fourth centuries, as arete itself came to be understood in ethical terms, also developed ethical connotations. Drawing on evidence from Corinth, Sicily and Macedonia, it shows that rule by a family or clan, in which rule was in some sense shared by the clan, was common across the Greek world. However, it also argues that one of the principal reasons why personal rule and clan-based rule tended to be unstable was because it was in tension with both the competitive nature of Greek society (so that the question of who had the most arete was an issue of debate), and the ideology of equality, which at first obtained among the elite, but became diffused throughout Greek society. Finally, the monograph argues that law, which was personified as 'king' (nomos basileus), was seen as the ultimate source of sovereignty and was part of the ordering of the cosmos, and legitimate rule was seen as 'rule under law'. As a result law became an important balance and constraint for personal rule (so that personal rule outside the constraint of law was tyranny), and it was important for rulers to show that they were ruling under the constraints of law. In this sense, the notion of absolute rule was not a possible for those who sought to rule legitimately, as most rulers in archaic and classical Greece did.
Exploitation Route As well as opening up questions about what makes good rule, this project also addresses issues surrounding monarchy and tyranny in Greek political thought. For that reason, it will be of interest not only to ancient historians, but also those interested in the reception of ideas of monarchy, tyranny and democracy, especially historians medieval and early modern political thought, but political scientists working on the history of ideas and how they shape modern cultural and political debates.
Sectors Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy
 
Description The impact for this project is likely to be on-going and long term. I have given presentations on this material at various colloquia outside my discipline, and with public policy implications. I have also given workshops based on this material in school settings. It has led to presentations in 2015 at the Royal Geographic Society in London.
First Year Of Impact 2010
Sector Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism
Impact Types Cultural,Societal
 
Description Lectures at Royal Geographical Society 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Two lectures on Persian kingship and Persian palaces
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015