Greeks Bearing Gifts: The Public Use of Private Relationships in the Greek World, 435-323 BC

by Lynette G. Mitchell

Overview

Using models from social anthropology as its basis, this book takes a new look at the political role of personal relationships in classical Greece. It examines what friendship and exchange meant in classical Greece, how this differed from gift giving and exchange in non-Greek societies, and what the impact of friends and friendship was on domestic and interstate politics and how the differences in understanding affected Greek relations with their non-Greek neighbors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521554350
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/08/1998
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.75(d)

Table of Contents

1. Philia; 2. Philia and the polis; 3. Philia and political activity; 4. Magisterial appointments: Sparta; 5. Magisterial appointments: Athens; 6. Persia and the Greeks; 7. Athenians and Thracians; 8. Philip and the Greeks; 9. Alexander; 10. Friendship and ideology; Appendix I. Magistrates with connections; Appendix II. Notes on magistrates for the years 435–323 BC.

Editorial Reviews

"Along with classical scholars, the book will be especially valuable for biblicists interested in the Persian Period and early Hellinism. It clarifies the Hellenistic moorings of what it meant to be a ‘friend of Caesal' or to call Abraham ‘the friend of God'." Religious Studies Review

From the Publisher