Rethinking Revolutions through Ancient Greece (review)

The chapters in this volume address various aspects of Greek history and culture, spanning a period of roughly seven centuries, from the fifth B.C.E. to the fourth C.E. The volume concentrates mainly on the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.E., traditionally seen as the classical age of Greek civilization, leaving a gaping hole between the fourth century B.C.E. and the second C.E. The thread that connects the chapters is the focus on phenomena or complexes of phenomena that reveal radical discontinuities within a given field of Greek culture, be it political practice or discourse, iconography, science, or the arts. Osborne's introduction would seem to indicate that the book offers a discussion of the "Greek miracle" and its functions in modern scholarship and culture, but the contributions contain little more than a few vague gestures in this direction. On the whole, the history of scholarship does not feature prominently in the book. Instead, it provides a series of disparate studies of central aspects of classical and imperial Greece. The close attention to areas and periods in which the most innovative sides of Greek civilization have traditionally been seen is probably responsible for the absence of chapters on the Hellenistic period.

The scholarly quality of the individual contributions is mostly high. Some of them stake radical claims in a sophisticated way. Danielle Allen observes the transition in Athenian political practice from leadership based on military success to civilian leadership based on political competence and how Athenian politicians were able to make the new style of leadership culturally plausible. Given her sustained engagement with Kuhn's concept of scientific revolution, this is one of the essays that more directly address concerns shared among students of other periods and cultural contexts.¹ James Davidson's analysis of the age-class structure in classical Athens, based on a solid grip of the relevant anthropological literature, is a true eye opener about a phenomenon that ancient historians have often approached with inadequate instruments. Carolyn Dewald deftly depicts the emergence of historiography in fifth-century Greece as an aspect of Greek cultural history, analyzing the ways in which Herodotus' and Thucydides' prose historical narratives created a space in which to conceptualize human action via a dialogue with the audience. Goldhill's essay on the "Christian revolution" offers penetrating observations on how radical cultural discontinuities play out on the ground.

Many of these chapters could become highly influential, though collecting them between the covers of this book might not have been the best way to make sure that they reach their key audience, scholars of Greek culture. On the other hand, the methodologies displayed in some of the papers will make of them precious comparative reading for those who reflect about cultural change in other contexts.