A History Of Political Thought From Ancient Greece To Early Christianity

Janet Coleman's two volume history of European political theorising, from the ancient Greeks to the Renaissance is the introduction which many have been waiting for.

In this volume, Coleman discusses the acknowledged great works of Greek, Roman, and early Christian writers to show how the historical contexts in which certain ideas about ethics and politics became dominant or fell from dominance, help to explain the ideas themselves. Throughout she draws on recent scholarly commentaries written by specialists in philosophy, contemporary political theory, classical languages and cultures, and on ancient and early Christian history and theology. Janet Coleman shows that the Greeks and Romans' arguments can be seen as logical and coherent if we can grasp the questions they thought it important to answer.

Janet Coleman is the Professor of Ancient and Medieval Political Thought in the Government Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Previously she taught in the Politics Department at Exeter University and for the History Faculty of Cambridge University. She Studied at Yale University and at L'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris. Her numerous publications include The Individual in Political Theory and Practice (ed. 1996), Ancient and Medieval Memories: Studies in the Reconstruction of the Past (1992), Against the State: Studies in Sedition and Rebellion (1990) and English Literature in History 1350-1400: Medieval Readers and Writers (1981). She is co-founder and co-editor of the international journal History of Political Thought.