The Athenians could not separate politics from the private sphere; indeed father-son conflict was a major public as well as private theme. This book explores the consequences of the powerful influence of familial ideology on politics.



As history's first democracy, classical Athens invited political discourse. The Athenians, however could not completely separate the politicals from the private sphere; indeed father-son conflict, from patricide to murdering one's son, was a major public as well as a private theme. In a fascinating historical reappraisal, the author explores the consequences, for Athens and us, of the powerful influence of familial ideology on politics.