Tyranny and Political Culture in Ancient Greece

Why were tyrants included among the Seven Sages' By what paradoxical twist of history did Peisistratos, Athenian tyrant extraordinaire, not only lay the foundations of democratic Periclean Athens (drama included), but also leave the memory of his reign—despite philosophical and political rant against tyranny in all its aspects—as a Golden Age? These are among the fundamental questions that McGlew sets out to solve.... Brilliant and groundbreaking.... Compulsively readable.

J. M. Balcer, Ohio State University, Religious Studies Review:

This new and fascinating approach, unlike but very complementary to traditional studies... focuses upon how the Greeks experienced contemporary autocrats and their reactions to that experience.

"A stimulating and tightly argued bookwhich sheds genuinely new light on a notoriously problematic area of Greek history." —Robert Garland, Colgate University