Patronage and Clientelism in Archaic & Early Classical Greece: A Hypothesis
Monday, OctoberÌý16, 5:00Ìýp.m.
Eaton Humanities Building, #125
³§±è±ð²¹°ì±ð°ù:Ìý²Ñ²¹°ù±ð°ìÌý°Â±ðç´Ç·É²õ°ì¾±, University of Warsaw
SponsoredÌýby ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder's , theÌý, and the Department of Classics
Free and open to the public
As John K. Davies observed in 2005, ‘the informal networks of influence’ and ‘social control,’ in other words, Greek and especially Athenian ‘patronage’ (broadly conceived), ‘has only recently begun to attract the attention it deserves.’ÌýTo this date, ‘interpersonal relations between unequal parties’ and, in particular, politicalÌý‘clientelism’ in archaic & classical Greece seems a deeply understudied issue. TheÌýlocus classicusÌýin this respect is the much-discussed passage of Theopompus (FGrHist 115 F 89), the anecdote referred to also in Plutarch'sÌýLife of CimonÌý(10.1-2; cf. AP 27.3), about Cimon's magnanimity towards his (most probably) fellow-»å±ð³¾´Ç³Ù²¹¾±Ìýand Athenian citizens at large. In this paper, I will argue that several strangely neglected episodes of the Persian Wars and its aftermath, such as Herodotus 8.17, may serve as a good starting point for reassessing our scattered pieces of historical evidence regarding archaic and classical Greek history - on the basis of sources ranging from Hesiod to Athenaeus.