Overview

A concise introduction to the workings of ancient democracy, The Athenian Citizen has been a bestseller since the original edition was first published almost 60 years ago by Mabel Lang. Using archaeological evidence from excavations at the heart of ancient Athens, this volume shows how tribal identity was central to all aspects of civic life, guiding the reader through the duties of citizenship as soldier in times of war and as juror during the peace. The checks and balances that protected Athenian society from tyrants, such as legal assassination and ostracism, are described. Selected inscriptions are illustrated and discussed, as are ingenious devices such as allotment machines and water clocks, which ensured fairness in the courts. The book ends with some of the lasting products of classical administration: the silver coins accepted around the known world and the standard weights and measures that continue to protect the consumer from unscrupulous merchants. Illustrated entirely in colour, with updates and revisions by the current director of excavations at the Agora, this edition of an acknowledged classic will inform and fascinate visitors and students for many years to come.

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9780876616420

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Reviews

Camps new edition of this little gem improves on Mabel Langs simple but superb 1987 original[...]The illustrations, now mostly in color, with crisp resolution and almost no glare, are a most welcome improvement. Camp offers appropriate new additions, substitutions, and in some cases, a reordering or recasting of Langs original images. These changes make the text more memorable and the illustrations more vital to the book as a whole[...]<br> <br> This slim volume is thus well-worth including as required reading for almost any introductory undergraduate course to Greek civilization, as this reviewer intends to do at Bucknell University. The book will likewise be attractive to the interested layperson as a brief and general introduction to some of the most important issues of Athenian political life. In short, this little volume is everything an Agora Picture Book should be: concise but informative, easy to read (and to carry), and, now, pretty.<br> <br> Read the full review at the BMCR website: http: //ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2005/2005-08-12.html--Stephanie Larson, Bucknell University The Bryn Mawr Classical Review (01/01/0001)

Camps new edition of this little gem improves on Mabel Langs simple but superb 1987 original[...]The illustrations, now mostly in color, with crisp resolution and almost no glare, are a most welcome improvement. Camp offers appropriate new additions, substitutions, and in some cases, a reordering or recasting of Langs original images. These changes make the text more memorable and the illustrations more vital to the book as a whole[...] This slim volume is thus well-worth including as required reading for almost any introductory undergraduate course to Greek civilization, as this reviewer intends to do at Bucknell University. The book will likewise be attractive to the interested layperson as a brief and general introduction to some of the most important issues of Athenian political life. In short, this little volume is everything an Agora Picture Book should be: concise but informative, easy to read (and to carry), and, now, pretty. Read the full review at the BMCR website: http: //ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2005/2005-08-12.html--Stephanie Larson, Bucknell University The Bryn Mawr Classical Review (01/01/0001)

Camps new edition of this little gem improves on Mabel Langs simplebut superb 1987 original[...]The illustrations, now mostly in color, with crisp resolution and almost no glare, are a most welcome improvement. Camp offers appropriate new additions, substitutions, and in some cases, areordering or recasting of Langs original images. These changes makethe text more memorable and the illustrations more vital to the book asa whole[...] This slim volume is thus well-worth including as required reading for almost any introductory undergraduate course to Greek civilization, as this reviewer intends to do at Bucknell University. The book will likewise be attractive to the interested layperson as a brief and general introduction to some of themost important issues of Athenian political life. In short, this littlevolume is everything an Agora Picture Book should be: concise butinformative, easy to read (and to carry), and, now, pretty. Read the full review at the BMCR website: http: //ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2005/2005-08-12.html-- (08/01/2005)

... This little volume is everything an Agora Picture Book should be: concise but informative, easy to read (and to carry), and ... pretty. Stephanie Larson, BMCR 2005.08.12

Author Information

Mabel Lang (1917-2010) was the Katharine E. McBride Professor Emeritus and Paul Shorey Professor Emeritus of Greek at Bryn Mawr College. She authored or coauthored nine books published by the ASCSA.

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