Πολιτική «μετριοπάθεια» και «μετριοπαθείς» στην αθηναϊκή δημοκρατία. O Αρχίνος από την Κοίλη
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Αναστασιάδης, Βασίλης
Archinus of Koile has been repeatedly praised in our sources for his prudent contribution in consolidating democratic restoration in Athens after the expulsion of the Thirty. He provides an excellent case study for examining the concept of political «moderation» and «mοderates», from an inductive perspective, when applied to the juxtaposition between democrats and oligarchs. Both ancient writers and modern scholars often fail, or rather avoid, to acknowledge that all Archinus’ political initiatives, undertaken in the name of the reconciliation agreement, aimed at protecting and strengthening the oligarchs remaining in the city, regardless of their active involvement or tacit tolerance under the tyrants’ regime. At any rate, «moderation» and «mοderates» prove to be too elusive and volatile terms to illustrate in a clear and precise manner an Athenian politician’s stance in the midst of the crisis of 403/2 and its aftermath; all the more so as they obscure both the likelihood of mere political manοeuvring and the odd affinity of «moderation» to opportunism.
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