Dangerous Counsel: Accountability and Advice in Ancient GreeceWe often talk loosely of the “tyranny of the majority” as a threat to the workings of democracy. But, in ancient Greece, the analogy of demos and tyrant was no mere metaphor, nor a simple reflection of elite prejudice. Instead, it highlighted an important structural feature of Athenian democracy. Like the tyrant, the Athenian demos was an unaccountable political actor with the power to hold its subordinates to account. And like the tyrant, the demos could be dangerous to counsel since the orator speaking before the assembled demos was accountable for the advice he gave. With Dangerous Counsel, Matthew Landauer analyzes the sometimes ferocious and unpredictable politics of accountability in ancient Greece and offers novel readings of ancient history, philosophy, rhetoric, and drama. In comparing the demos to a tyrant, thinkers such as Herodotus, Plato, Isocrates, and Aristophanes were attempting to work out a theory of the badness of unaccountable power; to understand the basic logic of accountability and why it is difficult to get right; and to explore the ways in which political discourse is profoundly shaped by institutions and power relationships. In the process they created strikingly portable theories of counsel and accountability that traveled across political regime types and remain relevant to our contemporary political dilemmas. |
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Contents
Introduction | 1 |
1 Accountability and Unaccountability in Athenian Democracy | 25 |
Unaccountabilitys Second Face | 59 |
3 The Accountable Adviser in Herodotus Histories | 83 |
4 Responsibility and Accountability in Thucydides Mytilenean Debate | 105 |
5 Parrhēsia across Politeiai | 129 |
6 Demagoguery and the Limits of Expert Advice in Platos Gorgias | 149 |
Conclusion | 179 |
Notes | 187 |
| 223 | |
| 235 | |
Other editions - View all
Dangerous Counsel: Accountability and Advice in Ancient Greece Matthew Landauer Limited preview - 2019 |
Dangerous Counsel: Accountability and Advice in Ancient Greece Matthew Landauer No preview available - 2019 |
Common terms and phrases
ability able accountability action activity actors advice advisers Aeschines Aeschylus analysis anger appeal argue argument Aristotle assembly assess Athenian Athenian democracy Athens attempt audience autocratic better called central chapter citizens claim Cleon’s collective consider context contrast counsel course courts criticism Cyrus debate decision decision-making deliberation democracy democratic demos Demosthenes depiction desires dialogue Diodotus discourse discussion example exercise face flattery follow give given Gorgias Greek Herodotus Histories hold important institutions interest Isocrates judge judgment jurors king least limits magistrates mass matter Mytilenean notes offers oligarchic orators ordinary parrhēsia perhaps Persian persuade Plato’s play political popular position possible practice problem proposal punishment question recognize reflections regime relationship responsibility revolt rhetoric role rule scholars seems serve Socrates speak speakers speech suggests things thought Thucydides tion translation trial turn tyranny tyrant unaccountability understanding vote wishes Xerxes
Bibliographic information
| Title | Dangerous Counsel: Accountability and Advice in Ancient Greece |
| Author | Matthew Landauer |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press, 2019 |
| ISBN | 022665379X, 9780226653792 |
| Length | 248 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Ancient / Greece Political Science / General Political Science / History & Theory |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |