The Athenian Empire Restored

About this book

One of the most important periods of Greek history lies between the Persian king Xerxes' defeat at Greek hands in 479 B.C.E. and the destruction of the power of Athens in 404 B.C.E. A major problem in the era is how and when Athens managed to transform the free alliance against Persia into an empire of Athenian subjects. The Athenian Empire Restored presents a sustained challenge to the dating and interpretation of this process. This volume offers Harold B. Mattingly's most important essays on the question, presented in updated form together with a new introduction and notes and concordance of inscriptions. A foreword by Mortimer Chambers helps place the volume amid the decades-long controversy about events in and around Athens and describes the scientific technique that has proven Mattingly's argument. Drawing on meticulous study of ancient coins, civic or religious inscriptions, and political decrees, Mattingly contends that the historical record has been badly muddled by over-reliance on 'letter forms,' or the 'handwriting' on inscriptions made by stonecutters, as a criterion for dating fifth century inscriptions from the district of Attica. In the process of establishing a sounder methodology for investigating this crucial period of Greek and Western history, Mattingly in these groundbreaking essays turns a beacon of light on many aspects of Greek and Athenian society and history.