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Drawing Lots From Egalitarianism to Democracy in Ancient Greece
From Egalitarianism to Democracy in Ancient Greece
By: Irad Malkin, Josine Blok
Hardcover | 29 August 2024
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The authors explore the egalitarian, "horizonal," mindset expressed in using the lot instead of a top-down vision of authority and sovereignty. Drawing lots presupposed equality among participants deserving equal "portions" and was used for distributing land, inheritance, booty, sacrificial meat, selecting individuals, setting turns, mixing and reorganizing groups, and divining the will of the gods. Lot-oracles were used for divination; otherwise, the gods guarded the justice of the procedure but only rarely determined the outcome. It was a self-evident method broadly and ubiquitously applied. Drawing lots would crystallize community boundaries and emphasize its sovereignty. The book further investigates the transposition of the drawing of lots to the governance of the polis. The implied egalitarianism of the lot often conflicted with top-down perceptions of society and the values of inequality, status, and merit. Drawing lots was introduced into oligarchies and democracies at an uneven pace and scale. Its wide use in the democracy of classical Athens was an exceptional case, eye-catching both in antiquity and today.
The book concludes with a discussion about the meaning of the Greek examples for drawing lots today and the increasing interest in using random selection in politics as a possibility for modern democracies around the world. The appendix surveys the Greek vocabulary of lottery practices.
Industry Reviews
ISBN: 9780197753477
ISBN-10: 0197753477
Published: 29th August 2024
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number of Pages: 536
Audience: Professional and Scholarly
Publisher: Oxford University Press USA
Country of Publication: GB
Dimensions (cm): 24.3 x 16.9 x 11.6
Weight (kg): 0.91
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This product is categorised by
- Non-FictionHistoryRegional & National HistoryEuropean History
- Non-FictionPolitics & GovernmentPolitical Structure & ProcessesPolitical Structures & Democracy
- Non-FictionLawJurisprudence & General IssuesLegal Skills & Practice
- Non-FictionHistoryEarliest Times to Present DayAncient History to the Year 500
- Non-FictionReligion & BeliefsOther Non-Christian ReligionsAncient Religions & Mythologies
- Non-FictionLawJurisprudence & General IssuesSystems of LawRoman Law