ENGLISH

Bread and circuses: historical sociology and political pluralism

Book information

Publisher
Penguin Books
Year
1990
ISBN
9780140124859, 0140124853, 9780713990034, 0713990031
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
52 MB (54195259 bytes)
Pages
491\514
Topic
History
DPI
300
Orientation
portrait
Paginated
yes
Scanned
yes
Time added
2015-12-03 12:21:31

Description

Translated by Brian PearceThe phenomenon, known as "euergetism", is one of the most striking features of the ancient world. It can be seen as a form of altruism, civic pride or wealth redistribution, a means of buying honour, prestige or political power, yet one thing is clear: it was long regarded as a duty and privilege of the wealthy to benefit their fellow citizens. To understand why, suggests Professor Veyne, we need to forget about abstract theories and modern economics. Rather, we should examine what really happened before the Christian era in Hellenistic Greece and the Rome of the Republic and the Emperors.

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