Pity and Power in Ancient Athens

AncientAtheniansresemblemodernAmericansintheirmoraldiscomfortwithempire.Athenianshadpoweranduseditruthlessly,buttheinflictionofsufferingdidnotmeshwellwiththeircivicself-image.Embracingtheconceptsofdemocracyandfreedom,theyproudlypittedthemselvesagainsttyrannyandoppression,butinpracticetheywerecapableofbeingtyrannical.Originallypublishedin2005,PityandPowerinAncientAthensarguesthattheexerciseofpowerindemocraticAthens,especiallyduringitsbrieffifth-centuryempire,raisedtroublingquestionsaboutthealleviationandinflictionofsuffering,andpityemergedasatopicinAtheniancultureatthistime.Thetenessayscollectivelyexaminetheroleofpityintheliterature,art,andsocietyofclassicalAthensbyanalysingevidencefromtragedy,philosophy,historiography,epic,oratory,vasepainting,sculpture,andmedicalwritings.