1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910450409203321

Autore

Hesk Jon

Titolo

Deception and democracy in classical Athens / / Jon Hesk [[electronic resource]]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2000

ISBN

1-107-11656-2

1-280-41753-6

0-511-17413-6

1-139-14598-3

0-511-06625-2

0-511-05994-9

0-511-32803-6

0-511-48302-3

0-511-06838-7

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (viii, 336 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Disciplina

306.2/0938/5

Soggetti

Democracy - Greece - Athens

Deception - Greece - Athens

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 299-320) and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Contents; Preface; Prologue; 1 Deception and the rhetoric of Athenian identity; 2 Deceiving the enemy: negotiation and anxiety; 3 Athens and the 'noble lie'; 4 The rhetoric of anti-rhetoric: Athenian oratory; 5 Thinking with the rhetoric of anti-rhetoric; Epilogue; Bibliography; Index locorum; Index

Sommario/riassunto

This book, first published in 2000, is a full-length study of the representation of deceit and lies in classical Athens. Dr Hesk traces the ways in which Athenian drama, democratic oratory and elite prose-writing construct and theorize a relationship between dishonesty and civic identity. He focuses on the ideology of military trickery, notions of the 'noble lie' and the developing associations of rhetorical language with deceptive communication. Deception and Democracy in Classical Athens combines close analysis of Athenian texts with lively critiques of



modern theorists and classical scholars. Athenian democratic culture was crucially informed by a nuanced, anxious and dynamic discourse on the problems and opportunities which deception presented for its citizenry. Mobilizing comparisons with twentieth-century democracies, the author argues that Athenian literature made deception a fundamental concern for democratic citizenship. This ancient discourse on lying highlights the dangers of modern resignation and postmodern complacency concerning the politics and morality of deception.