Reconstructing Damon
Fifth-century Athens' most important music theorist and the teacher and political counselor of Perikles, Damon was the first to study music's psychological, behavioural, and political effects, profoundly influencing debates on music theory throughout antiquity. Called by Isokrates the most intelligent Athenian of his age, Damon worked alongside Perikles during the most vibrant decades of Athens' democracy, promoting democratic political reforms and the role of music in the polis. Among other consequences, Damon's musical and political entanglements caused him to be ostracized from Athens for ten years, at the height of Perikles' power. Reconstructing Damon is the first comprehensive study of this major Athenian theorist of music, poetic meter, and democratic politics, detailing his extensive influence, and providing the first systematic collection, translation, and critical examination of all ancient testimonia for him. In doing so, this volume makes an important contribution to a number of key fields, including classical Greek theories of music and poetic meter, fifth-century philosophy (particularly developments often linked with the sophists), political history including the growth of democracy, and the life and career of Perikles.