Herodotus and the Birth of Freedom : Liberty in Ancient Greece and Persia (Edinburgh Studies in Comparative Political Theory and Intellectual History)

Reising, Matthew K.

Edinburgh University Press（2026/07発売）

• 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版／ページ数 192 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9781399558914

Full Description

Herodotus and the Birth of Freedom examines Herodotus' presentation of Persia in the History, arguing that Herodotus considered the Persians to be free rather than slaves and the Persian monarchs to be legitimate kings rather than oppressive tyrants. Matthew K. Reising offers a new interpretation of the History, supported by a variety of textual and archaeological case studies, drawing on research and secondary literature from across a range of disciplines, including comparative political theory, ancient Near Eastern studies, intellectual history and reception studies.

After making the case that Herodotus considered the Persians to be politically free, this book offers a comparative analysis of the diverging conceptions of freedom found in Greece, Persian, Babylonian and Egyptian sources, and argues that the comparison helps us to clarify the relationship of freedom to constitutional self-government, institutional accountability, political participation and civic equality.

Contents

Acknowledgements
Dedication

Introduction: Herodotus and the Case for Freedom
The Rise of Persia: Herodotus on Tyrants, Founders, and Champions
Rethinking the Persian Empire: The Case Against Persia as a Tyranny
Herodotus and the Case for Persian Freedom
Herodotus' Constitutional Individualism: Freedom and Equality in Greece
Herodotus' Persia and the Archaeological Record: Three Case Studies
Conclusion

Bibliography