The Urban/Rural Divide in Athenian Political Thought

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3552104
AutoresCharles Nathan (0000-0002-4290-9162, Duke University, autor correspondente)
Ano2022
Volume116
Fascículo4
Páginas1490-1502
Data de publicação2022-11-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAmerican Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s000305542200017x
OpenAlexW4224283740
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas4
Referências citadas57

Contemporary analyses of Athenian democracy have focused on binaries such as mass/elite, free/slave, and male/female, overlooking the urban/rural divide. In this article, I argue that urban/rural was a central cleavage in the Athenian demos. Ancient thinkers including Thucydides, Aristophanes, Plato, Xenophon, and Aristotle paid close attention to urban/rural differences and their consequences during the fifth century. Plato and Aristotle in particular developed sophisticated institutions and strategies to mitigate urban/rural divisions. Attending to the Athenian urban/rural divide deepens our understanding of the demos and highlights the importance of attachments to place, home, and customary ways of life for democratic stability

Cleavage (geology · Democracy · Elite · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Rural area · Sociology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Engineering · History · Law · Religion and Society Interactions · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory