Public Spending and Democracy in Classical Athens

Public Spending and Democracy in Classical Athens
Author :
Publisher : University of Texas Press
Total Pages : 161
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780292772052
ISBN-13 : 029277205X
Rating : 4/5 (52 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Public Spending and Democracy in Classical Athens by : David M. Pritchard

Download or read book Public Spending and Democracy in Classical Athens written by David M. Pritchard and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2015-07-01 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his On the Glory of Athens, Plutarch complained that the Athenian people spent more on the production of dramatic festivals and “the misfortunes of Medeas and Electras than they did on maintaining their empire and fighting for their liberty against the Persians.” This view of the Athenians’ misplaced priorities became orthodoxy with the publication of August Böckh’s 1817 book Die Staatshaushaltung der Athener [The Public Economy of Athens], which criticized the classical Athenian dēmos for spending more on festivals than on wars and for levying unjust taxes to pay for their bloated government. But were the Athenians’ priorities really as misplaced as ancient and modern historians believed? Drawing on lines of evidence not available in Böckh’s time, Public Spending and Democracy in Classical Athens calculates the real costs of religion, politics, and war to settle the long-standing debate about what the ancient Athenians valued most highly. David M. Pritchard explains that, in Athenian democracy, voters had full control over public spending. When they voted for a bill, they always knew its cost and how much they normally spent on such bills. Therefore, the sums they chose to spend on festivals, politics, and the armed forces reflected the order of the priorities that they had set for their state. By calculating these sums, Pritchard convincingly demonstrates that it was not religion or politics but war that was the overriding priority of the Athenian people.


Public Spending and Democracy in Classical Athens Related Books

Public Spending and Democracy in Classical Athens
Language: en
Pages: 161
Authors: David M. Pritchard
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2015-07-01 - Publisher: University of Texas Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In his On the Glory of Athens, Plutarch complained that the Athenian people spent more on the production of dramatic festivals and “the misfortunes of Medeas
War, Democracy and Culture in Classical Athens
Language: en
Pages: 479
Authors: David Pritchard
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2010-12-23 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Analyses how the democracy of the classical Athenians revolutionized military practices and underwrote their unprecedented commitment to war-making.
What's Wrong with Democracy?
Language: en
Pages: 328
Authors: Loren J. Samons
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2007-04-23 - Publisher: Univ of California Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"This is unlike any recent work I know of. It offers a challenging, often refreshing, and what will certainly be a controversial assessment of classical Athenia
Democracy and Money
Language: en
Pages: 342
Authors: George C. Bitros
Categories: Business & Economics
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-07-12 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The authors of this book argue that post-war fiscal and monetary policies in the U.S. are prone to more frequent and more destabilizing domestic and internation
Athenian Democracy at War
Language: en
Pages: 313
Authors: David Pritchard
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Studies all four branches of the Athenian armed forces to show how they helped make democratic Athens a superpower.