Phocion

Phocion is far less familiar to Chinese readers than Pericles or Demosthenes, yet his life is perhaps the sharpest mirror of the last years of the Athenian democracy: elected general forty-five times, repeatedly refusing Macedonian gold, he was finally condemned to death without trial by the assembly of citizens he had guarded. Yale University Press's Ancient Lives series excels at making ancient figures' predicaments clear in a compact format, and this volume is no exception; its modest octavo size, clear chronological signposts, and maps let readers unfamiliar with Greek history enter the story without difficulty. The author, Thomas R. Martin, has studied ancient Greece and Rome for many years, and his prose is restrained and perceptive. He does not turn Phocion into a simple moral exemplar, nor dismiss him as a defeatist; instead he carefully unpacks the practical dilemmas of a political figure: how a general of modest means was worn down by public office, how a man who despised flattery managed in a polity that required pleasing the people, and why a man who truly believed in Athens came to be seen by Athens as an outsider. The final chapter discusses the afterlife of Phocion's image, from Plutarch's biography to pseudonymous writings such as those of Hamilton, showing how ancient figures are repeatedly summoned back by later ages. For readers concerned with how democracies lose consensus, this book offers an ancient case that has lost none of its force. If you have time for only one modern work on Phocion, this is the best place to start.