The Composition of Aristotle's Athenaion Politeia: Observation and Explanation.

From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT). - Slightly rubbed, pencil annotation on endpaper, overall very good and clean. / Leicht berieben, Bleistiftanmerkung auf Vorsatzblatt, insgesamt sehr gut und sauber. - Discovered one hundred years ago, Aristotle�s Athenaion Politeia is invaluable to contemporary understanding of Athenian democracy. As a historical record, however, it has been found to be so unreliable that some question its true authorship�proposing that it may be the work of one of Aristotle�s pupils�and it has remained largely ignored by those studying philosophy and literature. Keaney uses a literary approach to reassert Aristotle�s authorship and to present the Athenaion Politeia as a document that defies the constraints of any particular genre�probably never intended to be a piece of historical writing. Keaney goes beyond the traditional approach of historical analysis to consider the work as characteristic of a new and innovative genre created by Aristotle, that of empirically-based cultural history. In defining the methods of this new genre, Aristotle rejected the traditional conventions of historiography and concentrated on form and structure to convey his meaning. For example, Keaney shows how Aristotle used techniques such as chiastic structure, ring composition, and language repetition to create patterns, themes, and associations. He argues that while a superficial reading of what Aristotle had to say about Pericles might suggest that his opinion of the statesman was good, the language used to describe Pericles� measures associates him with a decidedly inferior group of politicians. This revisionist study seeks to solve the problems of true authorship, genre, and poor historical method which are traditionally associated with Aristotle�s constitution of the Athenians. Keaney asserts that the work, written by Aristotle, belongs to the genre of empirically-based cultural history which was invented by Aristotle, and that it is properly interpreted only if considerations of form, language, and structure are taken into account. - John J. Keaney is Professor of Classics at Princeton University. ISBN 9780195070323