A major new history of Athens' remarkably long and influential life after the collapse of its empire To many the history of post-Classical Athens is one of decline. True, Athens hardly commanded the number of allies it had when hegemon of its fifth-century Delian League or even its fourth-century Naval Confederacy, and its navy was but a shadow of its former self. But Athens recovered from its perilous position in the closing quarter of the fourth century and became once again a player in Greek affairs, even during the Roman occupation. Athenian democracy survived and evolved, even through its dealings with Hellenistic Kings, its military clashes with Macedonia, and its alliance with Rome. Famous Romans, including Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, saw Athens as much more than an isolated center for philosophy. Athens After Empire offers a new narrative history of post-Classical Athens, extending the period down to the aftermath of Hadrian's reign.

"Ian Worthington's Athens After Empire shows how there has been a tendency to fixate on the heyday of famous ancient cities while the events before or after have been unfairly and misleadingly eclipsed. Paul Cartledge's excellent Hellenistic and Roman Sparta presents how such an approach distorted Sparta's enduring importance. Now, Worthington's splendid, learned, and highly readable volume will achieve the same for Athens. Worthington's aim is to demonstrate that Athens did not fade away or drop off the historical radar or even decline into oblivion, and he successfully proves his thesis." - Georgina Longley, World History Encyclopedia

"Worthington skillfully steers a middle course between an optimistic picture of Athenian civic (or even democratic) vitality and sensitivity to realities of power.... Anyone curious to learn, for example, why the now most striking feature of the archaeological site of the Athenian agora is the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos, the gift of a Hellenistic king, will find reliable answers here.... An excellent guide to the complex entanglement of cities and kings in the Greek world from the Classical period on." - Times Literary Supplement

"a good summary of the large amount of work in recent decades on Hellenistic and Roman Athens" - Kostas Vlassopoulos, Greece & Rome

"An excellent guide to the complex entanglements of cities and kings in the Greek world from the Classical period on." - Times Literary Supplement