ABSTRACT
This book began with the conviction that by studying Athens after the Peloponnesian War, we could understand an important and absorbing 20 year period, and, as well, reach general conclusions about the nature of politics in classical Athens. It is time to summarize those conclusions. In the preceding chapters it was necessary to define terms and propose a theory before considering the details; here, we may begin with the specific and proceed to the general. Hence, the following conclusions are divided into four main subjects: unity and disunity in Athens during the period 403–386, the relation of socioeconomic to political developments in the period 403–386, the light shed by this period on the nature of Athenian politics, and the importance of the period in the broad sweep of classical Athenian history.
