We analyze the political actions of Theramenes as described by Thucydides (during the coup of 411 BCE) and Xenophon (under the Thirty, 404-403 BCE) to map the features that converged to make him a paradigmatic character in the ancient Greek political imaginary. Xenophon, at least, may have been an eyewitness to the facts reported and both historians have conditioned Theramenes’ portrayal by later authors. We highlight the traits of Theramenes that fostered his identification as either the quintessence of the turncoat or as a role-model for moderate politics. Our goal is also to discuss the implications of his political stances for the configuration of Athenian democracy in the last quarter of the 5th century and how this may still help us consider our own democratic system and its flaws.
University of Sao Paulo, Brazil - ORCID: 0000-0003-3928-4277
University of Sao Paulo, Brazil - ORCID: 0000-0002-3777-6086
Chapter Title
Democracy under the kothornos: Thucydides and Xenophon on Theramenes
Authors
Lucia Sano, Breno Battistin Sebastiani
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-612-4.06
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Crises (Staseis) and Changes (Metabolai)
Book Subtitle
Athenian Democracy in the Making
Editors
Breno Battistin Sebastiani, Delfim Ferreira Leão
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
140
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-612-4
ISBN Print
978-88-5518-611-7
eISBN (pdf)
978-88-5518-612-4
eISBN (epub)
978-88-5518-613-1
eISBN (xml)
978-88-5518-614-8
Series Title
Studi e saggi
Series ISSN
2704-6478
Series E-ISSN
2704-5919