Popular Political Participation from Archaic Greece to the Late Hellenistic Period
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- ISBN 9781350358461
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 01 Oct 2026
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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This volume studies popular assemblies in Greek cities from Homeric to late Hellenistic times. Greek poleis were among the most politically inclusive societies in premodern history, primarily because via their public assemblies, most or all adult male citizens beyond the elite could participate in politics. In those cities the Greeks called democracies, the assembly even functioned as the chief decision-making institution. In this volume, an international team of experts explores assemblies in Greek cities mostly beyond the already well-studied case of Classical Athens, focussing on topics like the origins of assembly politics in Homeric communities, the size of assemblies, assemblies in Classical oligarchic poleis, assemblies in Hellenistic cities (traditionally viewed as no longer fully democratic), and the comparative study of Greek assemblies and participatory institutions in other societies.
A companion volume (Popular Political Participation from the Early Roman Empire to Late Antiquity: The Assemblies of the Greek Cities beyond Athens Volume II) explores assemblies in Greek cities under Rome until the late third century CE. Throughout both volumes, the emphasis is on the notion that assemblies were an essential contributing factor to the surprising institutional success and longevity of the Greek city. Together they suggest that the assembly ought to be a key component of any explanation for the remarkable resilience of the polis as a system of government through more than a millennium of ancient history.
Thierry Oppeneer is a Senior Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Ghent University, Belgium. His work focuses on ancient forms of democracy and political communication. He has published several articles and book chapters on public discourse and the assemblies of the Greek cities under Rome.
Arjan Zuiderhoek is Full Professor of Ancient History at Ghent University, Belgium. His publications include The Politics of Munificence in the Roman Empire: Citizens, Elites and Benefactors in Asia Minor (2009), The Ancient City (2017) and Benefactors and the Polis: The Public Gift in the Greek Cities from the Homeric World to Late Antiquity (2021, co-edited with M. Domingo Gygax).
