Athenian coup of 411 BC state of Athens remained an anomaly, however, as the rest of the Greek city states were run either as tyrannies or, most often, by oligarchies. Both Thucydides and Aristotle wrote that "the revolution was provoked by defeat in Sicily." Despite the democracy in Athens, Greek tradition remained aristocratic, and the works of Homer celebrated an aristocratic world view, where the nobles made decisions and the commoners obeyed. The poems of Theognis of Megara (from the sixth century BC) and the Theban poet Pindar (of the fifth century BC) were popular among the Athenian nobles at this time, casting democracy as
The Private Life of Helen of Troy (book) The Private Life of Helen of Troy (book) The Private Life of Helen of Troy by John Erskine was published in 1925 by Bobbs Merrill and became a bestseller the following year. The book was adapted from the Greek legend of Helen of Troy and follows the famous woman's life after the burning of Troy. In the beginning, Menelaus - Helen's husband - leaves Troy in search of her and plans to kill her for all the trouble her beauty has caused. Instead, the two set out on a week-long voyage back to Sparta. Menelaus questions why his wife ran