A consideration of how modern revolutions have employed tropes of classical antiquity.
Despite its Latin etymology, "revolution" in its modern understanding arguably did not exist in antiquity, and revolution as we know it today is considered by many theorists to be a term born in modernity. While they certainly had times of momentous political upheaval, the Greeks and Romans tended to understand such events as part of a narrative of political continuity rather than novelty or rupture. Nevertheless, modern revolutions have repeatedly appropriated tropes of classical discourse, such as freedom, tyranny, tragedy, and fraternity.
With this book, Miriam Leonard offers a conceptual history of revolution, unraveling modernity's yearning for the new and questioning why ancient concepts continue to play such an important role in political uprisings. Leonard looks at examples of appeals to antiquity during the French and Haitian Revolutions, in anticolonial struggles, and feminist and queer movements and considers works of theorists such as Karl Marx, Hannah Arendt, and Sigmund Freud that foreground an engagement with antiquity.
| ISBN: | 9780226843032 |
| Publication date: | 24th November 2025 |
| Author: | Miriam Leonard |
| Publisher: | The University of Chicago Press an imprint of University of Chicago Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 140 pages |
| Series: | Critical Antiquities |
| Genres: |
National liberation and independence Revolutions, uprisings, rebellions Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy General and world history Ancient history |
A consideration of how modern revolutions have employed tropes of classical antiquity.
Despite its Latin etymology, "revolution" in its modern understanding arguably did not exist in antiquity, and revolution as we know it today is considered by many theorists to be a term born in modernity. While they certainly had times of momentous political upheaval, the Greeks and Romans tended to understand such events as part of a narrative of political continuity rather than novelty or rupture. Nevertheless, modern revolutions have repeatedly appropriated tropes of classical discourse, such as freedom, tyranny, tragedy, and fraternity.
With this book, Miriam Leonard offers a conceptual history of revolution, unraveling modernity's yearning for the new and questioning why ancient concepts continue to play such an important role in political uprisings. Leonard looks at examples of appeals to antiquity during the French and Haitian Revolutions, in anticolonial struggles, and feminist and queer movements and considers works of theorists such as Karl Marx, Hannah Arendt, and Sigmund Freud that foreground an engagement with antiquity.
Revolution features in the following genres: National liberation and independence, Revolutions, uprisings, rebellions, Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, General and world history, Ancient history
Revolution is available in Hardback, Paperback
Revolution was written by Miriam Leonard and published by The University of Chicago Press an imprint of University of Chicago Press
Revolution has 140 pages
Yes it is part of Critical Antiquities series