Greek Imperialism -- Shanghai Sanlian Humanities Classics Library.2

Author: (American) Ferguson, translated by Yan Shaoxiang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-12-01
Features: This book contains 7 lectures, 6 of which were delivered at the Lowell Institute in Boston in February 1913. The first chapter outlines the main lines of Greek imperialism, while the remaining chapters attempt to explain the development of imperialism in the process of the Greek city-state transforming from its original form into a political territorial unit. The focus is on clarity rather than novelty or completeness. I hope my discussions on the theories and practices of empire in Athens, Sparta, Alexander, Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Antigonus will be useful to general readers, especially to political and historical scholars. However, the idea I particularly wish to express is that the development of the state system throughout this period was continuous. Indeed, the Greek city-state reached the peak of its efficiency in the Periclean era, but in the two centuries that followed, the city-state league continued to evolve. In matters of the state system, as in scientific issues, the classical era was merely the flower-like youth of Greece, while its powerful maturity—interrupted by Rome—came with the rise of Macedon. To put it briefly, my argument is that the Greek city-state was a unicellular organism with a unique internal structure, which could only develop unless divided, and could replicate itself infinitely. But these cells, whether old or new, could not unite to form a strong nation-state. Therefore, after Athens and Sparta failed hopelessly in their attempts to transform their hegemony over Greece into an empire, Greece fell into a desperate situation. To save it, the appropriate remedy was not, as Plato and Aristotle taught, to change the internal political system of the city-state, but to change the structure of its cell walls so that they could be closely connected. Due to the conservatism, completely consistent with the Greek national character in later times, the Greeks resisted this inevitable and beneficial transformation. But finally they were forced to yield, preserving as much as possible the separateness of their cities. At the same time, by utilizing the federal system and the deification of rulers, they created semi-territorial states. Thus, these two designs represent opposite solutions to the same great political problem. It clearly demonstrates the limitations of Greek political theory, because political theory never considered either of these solutions or any relevant precedents. Cambridge, Massachusetts, June 1913
This book contains 7 lectures. The first chapter outlines the main lines of Greek imperialism, while the remaining chapters attempt to explain the development of imperialism in the process of the Greek city-state transforming from its original form into a political territorial unit. The author's discussions on the theories and practices of empire in Athens, Sparta, Alexander, Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Antigonus are believed to be useful to general readers, especially to political and historical scholars. This is a work published a century ago. In this era of knowledge explosion and rapid progress, translating such an ancient work is certainly worth reading.