The Discourse of Kingship in Classical Greece

This book examines how ancient authors explored ideas of kingship as a political role fundamental to the construction of civic unity, the use of kingship stories to explain the past and present unity of the polis, and the distinctive function or status attributed to kings in such accounts.

Carol Atack works on classical Greek political thought and intellectual history. She is currently a fellow of the Center for Hellenic Studies, Washington DC, and a bye-fellow and associate tutor at Newnham College, University of Cambridge. She holds a PhD in Classics from the University of Cambridge (2014), and undergraduate degrees in Classics (Cambridge) and Government (London School of Economics). Carol has held teaching positions in ancient history and classical literature at the University of Warwick and St Hugh's College, University of Oxford, and was recently a postdoctoral researcher on the Anachronism and Antiquity project at Oxford, contributing to the monograph Anachronism and Antiquity (written with Tim Rood and Tom Phillips; forthcoming) and preparing a monograph on the temporality of Platonic dialogue. Carol has published several articles and book chapters on topics in Greek political thought, including political thought in the pseudo-Platonic letters, Aristotle's thought on kingship, and Foucault on Plato on frank speech. She serves as associate editor for Greek political thought for the journal Polis. Her current research continues her work on fourth-century Greek political thought, with a particular focus on the political and ethical thought of Plato and Xenophon.

Introduction 1. King and Cosmos in Herodotus 2. Monarchy on the Democratic Stage 3. The Discourse of Kingship in Classical Athenian Thought 4. Kingship and Socratic Thought 5. Virtue and Monarchy 6. Kingship in Plato's Later Political Thought 7. 'Total Kingship' and the Rule of Law 8. Conclusion: the Imaginary King and the Metaphysics of Political Unity