Benjamin Gray
Biographic Data
| ID | 3587464 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Benjamin Gray |
| GIVEN NAMES | Benjamin |
| FAMILY NAME | Gray |
| SIGNATURE | GRAY B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Birkbeck, University of London |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5398-9559 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 85 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Hellenistic civic identities: Evolving intersections of Classical Athens, paideia and democracy
The Invention of the Social: Debating the Scope of Politics in the Greek Polis from the Later Classical to the Early Roman Period
This paper applies to ancient Greece an approach developed by Pierre Rosanvallon: the integration of philosophical texts with the most everyday documents to better grasp a society’s understanding of its political life. For the ancient polis, this means focusing on the more prosaic evidence offered by cities’ inscriptions, especially their collective decisions published on stone. It is used here to consider the changing ideas about the nature of p…
Civic and Counter-Civic Cosmopolitanism: Diodorus, Strabo and the Later Hellenistic Polis
This chapter explores the dialogue between civic rhetoric and literary texts, especially works of history and geography, in the later Hellenistic world. It argues for complex processes of mutual exchange and influence between the particularist civic ideology preserved in poleis’ inscribed decrees and the cosmopolitan ideas and projects of intellectuals. Citizens of some later Hellenistic poleis, such as Priene, strove to reconcile particularist a…
L'invention du social: Délimiter la politique dans la cité grecque (de la fin de la période classique au début de la période impériale)
Cet article applique à la Grèce antique une approche développée par Pierre Rosanvallon : l'intégration des textes philosophiques aux documents du quotidien pour mieux saisir la compréhension qu'une société a de sa vie politique. Ici, cela nécessite de se concentrer sur les sources plus pragmatiques que sont les inscriptions des villes, notamment celles portant sur les décisions civiques. Nous nous penchons sur l'évolution des idées sur la nature …
Historical Consciousness and Political Agency among Ancient Greek Refugees
This paper argues that ancient Greek refugees, like many of their modern counterparts, often made skilful use of history and memory in order to exercise political agency, which helped to compensate for their loss of conventional political power and status. The paper analyses the multiple ways in which ancient Greek refugees appealed to myth, history and memory to claim political legitimacy, build a meaningful exile community and develop diplomati…
Citizenship as Barrier and Opportunity for Ancient Greek and Modern Refugees
Some dominant traditions in Refugee Studies have stressed the barrier which state citizenship presents to the displaced. Some have condemned citizenship altogether as a mechanism and ideology for excluding the weak (G. Agamben). Others have seen citizenship as an acute problem for displaced people in conditions, like those of the modern world, where the habitable world is comprehensively settled by states capable of defending their territory and …
Ancient Greek History and Contemporary Social Science
Social scientists and political theorists have recently come to realize the potential importance of the classical Greek world and its legacy for testing social theories. Meanwhile, some Hellenists have mastered the techniques of contemporary social science. They have come to recognize the value of formal and quantitative methods as a complement to traditional qualitative approaches to Greek history and culture. Some of the most exciting new work …
Freedom, ethical choice and the Hellenistic polis
This paper examines ideas of individual freedom in the Hellenistic city-states (c. 323–31 BCE). It concentrates on the civic ideas expressed in the laws and decrees of Hellenistic cities, inscribed on stone, comparing them with Hellenistic historical and philosophical works. It places different Hellenistic approaches alongside modern liberal, neo-Roman republican and civic humanist theories of individual liberty, finding some overlaps with each o…
A Later Hellenistic Debate about the Value of Classical Athenian Civic Ideals
This chapter argues that the later Hellenistic period ( c .150 BCE–1 BCE) was a period of intense disagreement about Classical Athenian civic ideals, which can be partly reconstructed through comparison of epigraphic, historiographical, and philosophical sources. Some later Hellenistic Greeks championed the more community-centred and utopian aspects of Classical Athenian political culture, both democratic and philosophical, as a way of insisting …
Ancient Greek History and Contemporary Social Science
Defines the cutting-edge of scholarship on ancient Greek history employing methods from social science There is a long history of successful engagement between social science and classical studies. Social science has been a source of new and productive approaches to understanding ancient Greece, while classical Greek history and culture has been a touchstone for social theorists since the 19th century. This new collection of essays surveys the cu…
The Hellenistic Reception of Classical Athenian Democracy and Political Thought
In the Hellenistic period, Greek teachers, philosophers, historians, orators, and politicians found an essential point of reference in the democracy of Classical Athens, and the political thought which it produced. This volume brings together historical, philosophical, and literary approaches to consider varied responses to, and adaptations of, the Classical Athenian political legacy across different Hellenistic contexts and genres. The volume ex…
Peace and Reconciliation in the Classical World
Exile, Refuge and the Greek Polis: Between Justice and Humanity
This article addresses the place of exiles and refugees in the Greek poleis (city-states), with a focus on the later Classical and Hellenistic periods (c. 400–100 bc). It examines the different forms of protection and aid granted by Greek poleis and their citizens to people displaced through war and civil strife. Its main focus is the range of arguments and ideals advanced by ancient Greeks as grounds for granting these forms of protection and ai…
Paradigms in Action
This chapter argues that the ‘Nakonian’ and ‘Dikaiopolitan’ paradigms examined in previous chapters exerted a strong influence on dynamic political interaction in Greek poleis, especially constructive political deliberation and debate. It first argues for the influence of radical principles of solidarity, reciprocity, and freedom in social and economic life. It then argues that Athenian orators commonly combined, balanced, and adapted ‘Nakonian’ …
Weimar thought: A contested legacy
Stasis and Stability: Exile, the Polis, and Political Thought, c. 404–146 BC
This book uses exile and exiles as a lens for investigating the later Classical and Hellenistic polis and the political ideas which shaped it. It discusses the rich evidence for varied forms of expulsion and reintegration of citizens of poleis across the Mediterranean, analysing the full range of relevant civic institutions, practices and debates. It also investigates civic activity and ideology outside the polis, addressing the complex and diver…
Justice or Harmony ? Reconciliation after Stasis in Dikaia and the Fourth-Century BC Polis
Une fois la paix rétablie après une période de guerre civile (stasis), les cités grecques se trouvaient confrontées à un choix difficile entre la justice et l’harmonie : soit les coupables, une fois désignés, devaient être punis, soit l’ordre civique et la concorde devaient être rétablies entre tous les citoyens, sans provoquer des récriminations. J’aborde cette problématique en me concentrant sur une inscription publiée récemment concernant les …
Scepticism about Community: Polybius on Peloponnesian Exiles, Good Faith ( Pistis ) and the Achaian League
This article examines the ethical foundations of Polybius’ political thought, taking as a case study Polybius’ ideological representations of groups of Peloponnesian exiles. It argues that relevant passages belong to a wider Greek tradition of paradigmatic representations of exile groups. When considered alongside that tradition and the rest of Polybius’ work, these passages show Polybius to be self-consciously sceptical of traditional Greek comm…
Actor-Networks, Farmer Decisions, and Identity
Climate change and industrial agricultural practices pose threats to the future of Kansas agriculture. To inform the debate about sustainable agriculture that must soon occur, we seek to illuminate the factors involved in the decision making of farmers in Kansas. Drawing from Actor-Network Theory, we consider how farmers' participation in the industrial agricultural network shapes their decisions, defines the types of knowledge and skills that ar…
Kritolaos of Phaselis
Kritolaos of Phaselis (second century BCE ) wrote and lectured on all aspects of Peripatetic philosophy and became head of the Peripatetic school at Athens.
Civil war, Hellenistic
Civil war (Stasis) , defined as war between parties claiming to be the legitimate members or rulers of a single political unit, was common in the Hellenistic period – in cities, leagues, and monarchies. This was a reflection of socio‐economic, political, and cultural tensions and a factor that weakened the Greek world in its relations with Rome.
Aratos of Sikyon
Aratos of Sikyon (271–213) was the leading figure of the Achaian League from 245 to 213, being instrumental to its development into a major political force.
From exile of citizens to deportation of non-citizens: Ancient Greece as a mirror to illuminate a modern transition
This article is an ancient Greek historian's response to an invitation to reflect upon modern liberal democratic deportation. The article identifies a revealing contrast between ancient Greek city-states and their modern republican successors. In ancient Greece, institutionalised lawful expulsion of non-citizens was not a major concern. Rather, it was lawful expulsion of citizens which was a prominent political issue, comparable to modern liberal…
The Rise of Voluntary Work in Higher Education and Corporate Social Responsibility in Business: Perspectives of Students and Graduate Employees
Emotional labour and befriending in family support and child protection in Tower Hamlets
This paper describes the emotional labour and befriending of families in East London by Family Support Workers (FSWs). The study is derived from an evaluation of the Family Welfare Association's Tower Hamlets Family Support Service. A key finding is that engaging the emotions of families enables high quality and effective support in the family home. FSWs win trust and elicit narratives from families, particularly from mothers and children. The na…
Stasis and Stability: Exile, the Polis, and Political Thought, c. 404–146 BC
This book uses exile and exiles as a lens for investigating the later Classical and Hellenistic polis and the political ideas which shaped it. It discusses the rich evidence for varied forms of expulsion and reintegration of citizens of poleis across the Mediterranean, analysing the full range of relevant civic institutions, practices and debates. It also investigates civic activity and ideology outside the polis, addressing the complex and diver…
Actor-Networks, Farmer Decisions, and Identity
Climate change and industrial agricultural practices pose threats to the future of Kansas agriculture. To inform the debate about sustainable agriculture that must soon occur, we seek to illuminate the factors involved in the decision making of farmers in Kansas. Drawing from Actor-Network Theory, we consider how farmers' participation in the industrial agricultural network shapes their decisions, defines the types of knowledge and skills that ar…
Emotional labour and befriending in family support and child protection in Tower Hamlets
This paper describes the emotional labour and befriending of families in East London by Family Support Workers (FSWs). The study is derived from an evaluation of the Family Welfare Association's Tower Hamlets Family Support Service. A key finding is that engaging the emotions of families enables high quality and effective support in the family home. FSWs win trust and elicit narratives from families, particularly from mothers and children. The na…
Exile, Refuge and the Greek Polis: Between Justice and Humanity
This article addresses the place of exiles and refugees in the Greek poleis (city-states), with a focus on the later Classical and Hellenistic periods (c. 400–100 bc). It examines the different forms of protection and aid granted by Greek poleis and their citizens to people displaced through war and civil strife. Its main focus is the range of arguments and ideals advanced by ancient Greeks as grounds for granting these forms of protection and ai…
Ancient Greek History and Contemporary Social Science
Defines the cutting-edge of scholarship on ancient Greek history employing methods from social science There is a long history of successful engagement between social science and classical studies. Social science has been a source of new and productive approaches to understanding ancient Greece, while classical Greek history and culture has been a touchstone for social theorists since the 19th century. This new collection of essays surveys the cu…
The Hellenistic Reception of Classical Athenian Democracy and Political Thought
In the Hellenistic period, Greek teachers, philosophers, historians, orators, and politicians found an essential point of reference in the democracy of Classical Athens, and the political thought which it produced. This volume brings together historical, philosophical, and literary approaches to consider varied responses to, and adaptations of, the Classical Athenian political legacy across different Hellenistic contexts and genres. The volume ex…
From exile of citizens to deportation of non-citizens: Ancient Greece as a mirror to illuminate a modern transition
This article is an ancient Greek historian's response to an invitation to reflect upon modern liberal democratic deportation. The article identifies a revealing contrast between ancient Greek city-states and their modern republican successors. In ancient Greece, institutionalised lawful expulsion of non-citizens was not a major concern. Rather, it was lawful expulsion of citizens which was a prominent political issue, comparable to modern liberal…
Historical Consciousness and Political Agency among Ancient Greek Refugees
This paper argues that ancient Greek refugees, like many of their modern counterparts, often made skilful use of history and memory in order to exercise political agency, which helped to compensate for their loss of conventional political power and status. The paper analyses the multiple ways in which ancient Greek refugees appealed to myth, history and memory to claim political legitimacy, build a meaningful exile community and develop diplomati…
Scepticism about Community: Polybius on Peloponnesian Exiles, Good Faith ( Pistis ) and the Achaian League
This article examines the ethical foundations of Polybius’ political thought, taking as a case study Polybius’ ideological representations of groups of Peloponnesian exiles. It argues that relevant passages belong to a wider Greek tradition of paradigmatic representations of exile groups. When considered alongside that tradition and the rest of Polybius’ work, these passages show Polybius to be self-consciously sceptical of traditional Greek comm…
The Rise of Voluntary Work in Higher Education and Corporate Social Responsibility in Business: Perspectives of Students and Graduate Employees
Working with families in Tower Hamlets: An evaluation of the Family Welfare Association’s Family Support Services
This paper describes an evaluation carried out by South Bank University of the work of the Family Welfare Association's (FWA's) Family Support Services (FSSs) in Tower Hamlets, London. Tower Hamlets is a multi-racial area in east London that, according to the 1991 census, has high levels of poverty, overcrowding and unemployment. Increasing poverty and social exclusion, which further entrench inequalities in health, are reported by sources such a…
A Later Hellenistic Debate about the Value of Classical Athenian Civic Ideals
This chapter argues that the later Hellenistic period ( c .150 BCE–1 BCE) was a period of intense disagreement about Classical Athenian civic ideals, which can be partly reconstructed through comparison of epigraphic, historiographical, and philosophical sources. Some later Hellenistic Greeks championed the more community-centred and utopian aspects of Classical Athenian political culture, both democratic and philosophical, as a way of insisting …
Weimar thought: A contested legacy
Social Science and Healthcare: Nursing Applications in Clinical Practice
Emotional labour and befriending in family support and child protection in Tower Hamlets
This paper describes the emotional labour and befriending of families in East London by Family Support Workers (FSWs). The study is derived from an evaluation of the Family Welfare Association's Tower Hamlets Family Support Service. A key finding is that engaging the emotions of families enables high quality and effective support in the family home. FSWs win trust and elicit narratives from families, particularly from mothers and children. The na…
Working with families in Tower Hamlets: An evaluation of the Family Welfare Association’s Family Support Services
This paper describes an evaluation carried out by South Bank University of the work of the Family Welfare Association's (FWA's) Family Support Services (FSSs) in Tower Hamlets, London. Tower Hamlets is a multi-racial area in east London that, according to the 1991 census, has high levels of poverty, overcrowding and unemployment. Increasing poverty and social exclusion, which further entrench inequalities in health, are reported by sources such a…
The Rise of Voluntary Work in Higher Education and Corporate Social Responsibility in Business: Perspectives of Students and Graduate Employees
From exile of citizens to deportation of non-citizens: Ancient Greece as a mirror to illuminate a modern transition
This article is an ancient Greek historian's response to an invitation to reflect upon modern liberal democratic deportation. The article identifies a revealing contrast between ancient Greek city-states and their modern republican successors. In ancient Greece, institutionalised lawful expulsion of non-citizens was not a major concern. Rather, it was lawful expulsion of citizens which was a prominent political issue, comparable to modern liberal…
Kritolaos of Phaselis
Kritolaos of Phaselis (second century BCE ) wrote and lectured on all aspects of Peripatetic philosophy and became head of the Peripatetic school at Athens.
Civil war, Hellenistic
Civil war (Stasis) , defined as war between parties claiming to be the legitimate members or rulers of a single political unit, was common in the Hellenistic period – in cities, leagues, and monarchies. This was a reflection of socio‐economic, political, and cultural tensions and a factor that weakened the Greek world in its relations with Rome.
Aratos of Sikyon
Aratos of Sikyon (271–213) was the leading figure of the Achaian League from 245 to 213, being instrumental to its development into a major political force.
Justice or Harmony ? Reconciliation after Stasis in Dikaia and the Fourth-Century BC Polis
Une fois la paix rétablie après une période de guerre civile (stasis), les cités grecques se trouvaient confrontées à un choix difficile entre la justice et l’harmonie : soit les coupables, une fois désignés, devaient être punis, soit l’ordre civique et la concorde devaient être rétablies entre tous les citoyens, sans provoquer des récriminations. J’aborde cette problématique en me concentrant sur une inscription publiée récemment concernant les …
Scepticism about Community: Polybius on Peloponnesian Exiles, Good Faith ( Pistis ) and the Achaian League
This article examines the ethical foundations of Polybius’ political thought, taking as a case study Polybius’ ideological representations of groups of Peloponnesian exiles. It argues that relevant passages belong to a wider Greek tradition of paradigmatic representations of exile groups. When considered alongside that tradition and the rest of Polybius’ work, these passages show Polybius to be self-consciously sceptical of traditional Greek comm…
Actor-Networks, Farmer Decisions, and Identity
Climate change and industrial agricultural practices pose threats to the future of Kansas agriculture. To inform the debate about sustainable agriculture that must soon occur, we seek to illuminate the factors involved in the decision making of farmers in Kansas. Drawing from Actor-Network Theory, we consider how farmers' participation in the industrial agricultural network shapes their decisions, defines the types of knowledge and skills that ar…
Paradigms in Action
This chapter argues that the ‘Nakonian’ and ‘Dikaiopolitan’ paradigms examined in previous chapters exerted a strong influence on dynamic political interaction in Greek poleis, especially constructive political deliberation and debate. It first argues for the influence of radical principles of solidarity, reciprocity, and freedom in social and economic life. It then argues that Athenian orators commonly combined, balanced, and adapted ‘Nakonian’ …
Weimar thought: A contested legacy
Stasis and Stability: Exile, the Polis, and Political Thought, c. 404–146 BC
This book uses exile and exiles as a lens for investigating the later Classical and Hellenistic polis and the political ideas which shaped it. It discusses the rich evidence for varied forms of expulsion and reintegration of citizens of poleis across the Mediterranean, analysing the full range of relevant civic institutions, practices and debates. It also investigates civic activity and ideology outside the polis, addressing the complex and diver…
Exile, Refuge and the Greek Polis: Between Justice and Humanity
This article addresses the place of exiles and refugees in the Greek poleis (city-states), with a focus on the later Classical and Hellenistic periods (c. 400–100 bc). It examines the different forms of protection and aid granted by Greek poleis and their citizens to people displaced through war and civil strife. Its main focus is the range of arguments and ideals advanced by ancient Greeks as grounds for granting these forms of protection and ai…
Peace and Reconciliation in the Classical World
Citizenship as Barrier and Opportunity for Ancient Greek and Modern Refugees
Some dominant traditions in Refugee Studies have stressed the barrier which state citizenship presents to the displaced. Some have condemned citizenship altogether as a mechanism and ideology for excluding the weak (G. Agamben). Others have seen citizenship as an acute problem for displaced people in conditions, like those of the modern world, where the habitable world is comprehensively settled by states capable of defending their territory and …
Ancient Greek History and Contemporary Social Science
Social scientists and political theorists have recently come to realize the potential importance of the classical Greek world and its legacy for testing social theories. Meanwhile, some Hellenists have mastered the techniques of contemporary social science. They have come to recognize the value of formal and quantitative methods as a complement to traditional qualitative approaches to Greek history and culture. Some of the most exciting new work …
Freedom, ethical choice and the Hellenistic polis
This paper examines ideas of individual freedom in the Hellenistic city-states (c. 323–31 BCE). It concentrates on the civic ideas expressed in the laws and decrees of Hellenistic cities, inscribed on stone, comparing them with Hellenistic historical and philosophical works. It places different Hellenistic approaches alongside modern liberal, neo-Roman republican and civic humanist theories of individual liberty, finding some overlaps with each o…
A Later Hellenistic Debate about the Value of Classical Athenian Civic Ideals
This chapter argues that the later Hellenistic period ( c .150 BCE–1 BCE) was a period of intense disagreement about Classical Athenian civic ideals, which can be partly reconstructed through comparison of epigraphic, historiographical, and philosophical sources. Some later Hellenistic Greeks championed the more community-centred and utopian aspects of Classical Athenian political culture, both democratic and philosophical, as a way of insisting …
Ancient Greek History and Contemporary Social Science
Defines the cutting-edge of scholarship on ancient Greek history employing methods from social science There is a long history of successful engagement between social science and classical studies. Social science has been a source of new and productive approaches to understanding ancient Greece, while classical Greek history and culture has been a touchstone for social theorists since the 19th century. This new collection of essays surveys the cu…
The Hellenistic Reception of Classical Athenian Democracy and Political Thought
In the Hellenistic period, Greek teachers, philosophers, historians, orators, and politicians found an essential point of reference in the democracy of Classical Athens, and the political thought which it produced. This volume brings together historical, philosophical, and literary approaches to consider varied responses to, and adaptations of, the Classical Athenian political legacy across different Hellenistic contexts and genres. The volume ex…
Historical Consciousness and Political Agency among Ancient Greek Refugees
This paper argues that ancient Greek refugees, like many of their modern counterparts, often made skilful use of history and memory in order to exercise political agency, which helped to compensate for their loss of conventional political power and status. The paper analyses the multiple ways in which ancient Greek refugees appealed to myth, history and memory to claim political legitimacy, build a meaningful exile community and develop diplomati…
Civic and Counter-Civic Cosmopolitanism: Diodorus, Strabo and the Later Hellenistic Polis
This chapter explores the dialogue between civic rhetoric and literary texts, especially works of history and geography, in the later Hellenistic world. It argues for complex processes of mutual exchange and influence between the particularist civic ideology preserved in poleis’ inscribed decrees and the cosmopolitan ideas and projects of intellectuals. Citizens of some later Hellenistic poleis, such as Priene, strove to reconcile particularist a…
L'invention du social: Délimiter la politique dans la cité grecque (de la fin de la période classique au début de la période impériale)
Cet article applique à la Grèce antique une approche développée par Pierre Rosanvallon : l'intégration des textes philosophiques aux documents du quotidien pour mieux saisir la compréhension qu'une société a de sa vie politique. Ici, cela nécessite de se concentrer sur les sources plus pragmatiques que sont les inscriptions des villes, notamment celles portant sur les décisions civiques. Nous nous penchons sur l'évolution des idées sur la nature …
Political science (19 works) · Law (16 works) · Classical Antiquity Studies (15 works) · Politics (15 works) · Sociology (14 works) · History (12 works) · Philosophy (11 works) · Art (10 works) · Law (10 works) · Classics (9 works)