{"product_id":"hubris-pericles-the-parthenon-and-the-invention-of-athens-9780674258471","title":"Hubris: Pericles, the Parthenon, and the Invention of Athens","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA new perspective on ancient Athens at the height of its powers, reinterpreting the city's supposed \"Golden Age\" as a period of ruinous culture wars.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe age of Pericles, in the fifth century BC, is often described as the Golden Age of Athens. The city witnessed a flowering of philosophy, art, and architecture--including an ambitious building program, with the Parthenon its centerpiece. But as David Stuttard shows in this vivid account, the seemingly triumphant city was in fact riven by conflict and contradiction. Though nominally a democracy, Athens led a tyrannical empire. And for Pericles and his circle, the Parthenon was less a holy place than a propaganda vehicle. Its sculptures carried the message that Athenians, beloved by the gods, were nearly divine in their own right--which to many Greeks smacked of hubris. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs long as things went well, Athenian democracy appeared to prosper. But just a year after the Parthenon was finished, Athens was at war with Sparta; a plague killed a third of the population, including Pericles; and earthquakes razed much of the city. In the wake of what seemed like divine retribution, popular outrage against those accused of undermining state religion was so strong that it took the execution of Socrates to lance the boil. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eHubris\u003c\/i\u003e offers dramatic portraits of key figures like Pheidias, who sculpted the monumental statue of Athena yet fell prey to charges of impiety; Themistocles, who built the Athenian navy but died an exile in enemy lands; and Alcibiades, the psychopathic playboy whose mercurial ego hastened his city's defeat. To understand the Parthenon and the Athens that built it, Stuttard reasons, we must recognize the tensions among the city's rivalrous families, generations, and social classes, whose visions of their place in the world ultimately proved incompatible.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Stuttard\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Belknap Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/17\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 416\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.50w x 1.60d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674258471\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/26\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2026 pg. 68\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eStuttard, David:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - David Stuttard is an independent scholar, theater director, and Fellow of Goodenough College, London. He has written numerous books about Ancient Greece, including \u003ci\u003eNemesis: Alcibiades and the Fall of Athens\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePhoenix: A Father, a Son, and the Rise of Athens\u003c\/i\u003e.","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"David Stuttard \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47754039656605,"sku":"9780674258471","price":47.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_478a2d6e-04a8-445d-a734-07a298bd3f4d.jpg?v=1774331814","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/hubris-pericles-the-parthenon-and-the-invention-of-athens-9780674258471","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}