The controversial thesis at the center of this study is that; despite the importance of slavery in Athenian society; the most distinctive characteristic of Athenian democracy was the unprecedented prominence it gave to free labor. Wood argues that the emergence of the peasant as citizen; juridically and politically independent; accounts for much that is remarkable in Athenian political institutions and culture. From a survey of historical writings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the focus of which distorted later debates; Wood goes on to take issue with influential arguments; such as those of G.E.M. de Ste Croix; about the importance of slavery in agricultural production. The social; political and cultural influence of the peasant-citizen is explored in a way which questions some of the most cherished conventions of Marxist and non-Marxist historiography.
#498621 in Books Osprey 2014-06-17 2014-06-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 249.43 x 6.60 x 7.24l; #File Name: 178200350996 pages9781782003502
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