Phocion
good citizen in a divided democracy
- ISBN: 9780300256635
- Editorial: Yale University Press
- Fecha de la edición: 2025
- Lugar de la edición: New Haven. Estados Unidos de Norteamérica
- Encuadernación: Cartoné
- Medidas: 24 cm
- Nº Pág.: 240
- Idiomas: Inglés
Thomas R. Martin recounts the unmatched political and military career of Phocion of Athens, and his tragic downfall
Phocion (402-318 BCE) won Athens's highest public office by direct democratic election an unmatched forty-five times and was officially honored as a "Useful Citizen." A student at Plato's Academy, Phocion gained influence and power during a time when Athens faced multiple crises stemming from Macedonia's emergence as an international power under Philip II and his son Alexander the Great. Following Athens's defeat by Macedonia, Phocion unsuccessfully sought mild terms of surrender. Oligarchy was imposed on democratic Athens, and more than twelve thousand "undesirable" Athenians were exiled. When the oligarchic regime was overthrown and the exiles returned, dispossessed Athenians took out their volcanic anger on Phocion, who throughout his career had often been a harsh critic of the citizens' political decisions. His inflammatory rhetoric contributed to the popular conclusion that he lacked a genuine sense of belonging to the community he wished so desperately to preserve. When he was eighty-four, the Athenians convicted him of treason and condemned him to die by hemlock. In this fresh biography, Thomas R. Martin explores how and why Phocion ultimately failed as a citizen and as a leader. His story offers unsetting lessons for citizens in democracies today.
Chapter One. Phocion and the Ruin of Athenian Democracy
Chapter Two. Discovering a Dangerous World
Chapter Three. Meeting Expectations as a Teenage Boy
Chapter Four. Training for the Military
Chapter Five. Learning About Athenian Democracy
Chapter Six. Starting a Public Career
Chapter Seven. Winning Glory as a Young Naval Commander
Chapter Eight. Facing Midlife Challenges
Chapter Nine. Dealing with Macedon
Chapter Ten. Enduring a Catastrophe
Chapter Eleven. Approaching the Beginning of the End
Chapter Twelve. Confronting Disaster and Revenge
Chapter Thirteen. The Memory of Phocion, Ten, Later, Now