Overview

Ancient Greece first coined the concept of ""democracy,"" yet almost every major ancient Greek thinker-from Plato and Aristotle onwards- was ambivalent towards or even hostile to democracy in any form. The explanation for this is quite simple: the elite perceived majority power as tantamount to a dictatorship of the proletariat. In ancient Greece there can be traced not only the rudiments of modern democratic society but the entire Western tradition of anti-democratic thought. In Democracy, Paul Cartledge provides a detailed history of this ancient political system. In addition, by drawing out the salient differences between ancient and modern forms of democracy he enables a richer understanding of both. Cartledge contends that there is no one ""ancient Greek democracy"" as pure and simple as is often believed. Democracy surveys the emergence and development of Greek politics, the invention of political theory, and-intimately connected to the latter- the birth of democracy, first at Athens in c. 500 BCE and then at its greatest flourishing in the Greek world 150 years later. Cartledge then traces the decline of genuinely democratic Greek institutions at the hands of the Macedonians and-subsequently and decisively-the Romans. Throughout, he sheds light on the variety of democratic practices in the classical world as well as on their similarities to and dissimilarities from modern democratic forms, from the American and French revolutions to contemporary political thought. Authoritative and accessible, Cartledge's book will be regarded as the best account of ancient democracy and its long afterlife for many years to come.

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"""Cartledge reminds us that those we are led to believe played a major role in reviving democracy in the modern world, setting the standards the West has followed for the last 250 years, i.e. the Founding Founders of the American republic, were in fact vehement anti-democrats, fearing that Athenian direct democracy amounted to mob rule and devising a system to avoid such an unpalatable outcome."" -- John Akritas, Hellenic Antidote ""Paul Cartledge's Democracy: A Life is a fascinating read, looking at the origins of the democratic ideal in ancient Greece and... how it has fared historically."" --Times Higher Education Supplement ""A compact but rich education in classics and democracy, from a leading expert who delights in his subject... No library should be without this wonderful book, in which Cartledge has abundantly shared his love and knowledge of ancient Greece with us.""-Kirkus Reviews (starred) ""The huge value of Cartledge's book is the reminder that 2016 is merely a way-stop on a very long journey indeed.""-Tom Holland, The Guardian ""Thanks to Cartledge, Athenian democracy feels more vital than it has done for decades. It is a belter of a book.""-Peter Thonemann, Books of the Year 2016, Times Literary Supplement ""Paul Cartledge subtitles his new study Democracy (Oxford) A Life, and was right to do so.... The clarity and zest with which he pursues his Snark-like quarry, the breadth and variety of his reading, and his cheerful persistence against odds (matching that of his subject) combine to make this an unexpectedly enjoyable page-turner.""-Peter Green, Books of the Year 2016, Times Literary Supplement"

A compact but rich education in classics and democracy, from a leading expert who delights in his subject... No library should be without this wonderful book, in which Cartledge has abundantly shared his love and knowledge of ancient Greece with us. -Kirkus Reviews (starred) The huge value of Cartledge's book is the reminder that 2016 is merely a way-stop on a very long journey indeed. -Tom Holland, The Guardian Thanks to Cartledge, Athenian democracy feels more vital than it has done for decades. It is a belter of a book. -Peter Thonemann, Books of the Year 2016, Times Literary Supplement Paul Cartledge subtitles his new study Democracy (Oxford) A Life, and was right to do so.... The clarity and zest with which he pursues his Snark-like quarry, the breadth and variety of his reading, and his cheerful persistence against odds (matching that of his subject) combine to make this an unexpectedly enjoyable page-turner. -Peter Green, Books of the Year 2016, Times Literary Supplement A compact but rich education in classics and democracy, from a leading expert who delights in his subject... No library should be without this wonderful book, in which Cartledge has abundantly shared his love and knowledge of ancient Greece with us. --Kirkus Reviews, (starred review) Democracy: A Life is a magisterial and moving account of the fate of democracy, understood as the rule of the masses and political empowerment of the poor, on the basis of some workable definition of freedom and equality. In an easy, graceful style with flashes of revelatory personal expression, Paul Cartledge deploys his stunning mastery of several millennia of human history and deep knowledge of decades of scholarship to bring ancient democracy and its critics, modern as well as ancient, vividly to life. --Danielle Allen, author of Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality Democracy: A Life is a splendid match of author and subject. Paul Cartledge has been thinking deeply about the history and meaning of democracy for most of his own life. The impressive result is a passionate and erudite biography of a revolutionary idea that became a way of life, tracing the story from democracy's radical origins, to its early flourishing, multiple crises, many betrayals, and modern rebirth. Buoyed by Cartledge's engaging style and complete mastery of his subject, the reader returns to our own troubled present with new appreciation for democracy's deep history, and armed with fresh resources for building a more democratic future. --Josiah Ober, author of The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece The fruit of a lifetime's learning, this passionately argued book reveals what made ancient Greek democracy so remarkable and so different from the tamer version we have today. By showing how far we have come from the ancient Greeks, Paul Cartledge reminds us how much we still have to learn from them. --David Runciman, author of The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present Just what was ancient Greek democracy and why does it still matter? Scholarly giant Paul Cartledge answers those questions in this learned and readable book that glides gracefully from Aristotle and the stones of Athens to Rome, the Renaissance, the Age of Revolution, and today's era of globalization. --Barry Strauss, author of The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination [A] timely and eloquent book.... This book makes a clear contribution to our panoramic understanding of ancient Greek democracy. It's also a hugely valuable synthesis and an enjoyable read. Much of the argumentation -- particularly on points of ancient Greek politics -- is careful, compelling, and measured. The prose throughout is elegant, never patronizing. We are invited to step into Cartledge's thought world and he is a gracious host throughout the visit. --Eidolon

Cartledge reminds us that those we are led to believe played a major role in reviving democracy in the modern world, setting the standards the West has followed for the last 250 years, i.e. the Founding Founders of the American republic, were in fact vehement anti-democrats, fearing that Athenian direct democracy amounted to mob rule and devising a system to avoid such an unpalatable outcome. -- John Akritas, Hellenic Antidote Paul Cartledge's Democracy: A Life is a fascinating read, looking at the origins of the democratic ideal in ancient Greece and... how it has fared historically. --Times Higher Education Supplement A compact but rich education in classics and democracy, from a leading expert who delights in his subject... No library should be without this wonderful book, in which Cartledge has abundantly shared his love and knowledge of ancient Greece with us.-Kirkus Reviews (starred) The huge value of Cartledge's book is the reminder that 2016 is merely a way-stop on a very long journey indeed.-Tom Holland, The Guardian Thanks to Cartledge, Athenian democracy feels more vital than it has done for decades. It is a belter of a book.-Peter Thonemann, Books of the Year 2016, Times Literary Supplement Paul Cartledge subtitles his new study Democracy (Oxford) A Life, and was right to do so.... The clarity and zest with which he pursues his Snark-like quarry, the breadth and variety of his reading, and his cheerful persistence against odds (matching that of his subject) combine to make this an unexpectedly enjoyable page-turner.-Peter Green, Books of the Year 2016, Times Literary Supplement

"""Cartledge reminds us that those we are led to believe played a major role in reviving democracy in the modern world, setting the standards the West has followed for the last 250 years, i.e. the Founding Founders of the American republic, were in fact vehement anti-democrats, fearing that Athenian direct democracy amounted to mob rule and devising a system to avoid such an unpalatable outcome."" -- John Akritas, Hellenic Antidote""Paul Cartledge's Democracy: A Life is a fascinating read, looking at the origins of the democratic ideal in ancient Greece and... how it has fared historically."" --Times Higher Education Supplement""A compact but rich education in classics and democracy, from a leading expert who delights in his subject... No library should be without this wonderful book, in which Cartledge has abundantly shared his love and knowledge of ancient Greece with us.""-Kirkus Reviews (starred) ""The huge value of Cartledge's book is the reminder that 2016 is merely a way-stop on a very long journey indeed.""-Tom Holland, The Guardian""Thanks to Cartledge, Athenian democracy feels more vital than it has done for decades. It is a belter of a book.""-Peter Thonemann, Books of the Year 2016, Times Literary Supplement ""Paul Cartledge subtitles his new study Democracy (Oxford) A Life, and was right to do so.... The clarity and zest with which he pursues his Snark-like quarry, the breadth and variety of his reading, and his cheerful persistence against odds (matching that of his subject) combine to make this an unexpectedly enjoyable page-turner.""-Peter Green, Books of the Year 2016, Times Literary Supplement"

Author Information

Paul Cartledge is A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture Emeritus at the University of Cambridge. He is an honorary citizen of modern Sparta and holds the Gold Cross of the Order of Honor awarded by the President of Greece. His previous books include The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece (Cambridge, 1997, 2002), The Spartans (Random House, 2004), Alexander the Great (Random House, 2005), Thermopylae (Random House, 2007), Ancient Greece (OUP, 2009), and After Thermopylae: The Oath of Plataea and the End of the Graeco-Persian Wars (OUP, 2013).

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