How might our understanding of ancient Athens be shaped through the lives of particular individuals?While ‘great man’ approaches to history are less common today, this short online course uses a series of compelling figures – Solon, Peisistratos, Aspasia, Perikles, and, into the Hellenistic age, Demetrios Poliorcetes – to explore the city in its complexity.

Through their controversies, political engagements, philosophical entanglements, religious roles, and networks of family and rivalry, we will consider how these individuals both inhabited and helped define Athenian life. At the same time, we will examine how the image and cult of Athena herself were invoked, adapted, and sometimes contested by powerful figures such as these. The course offers a nuanced, human-centred way into Athens as a dynamic and ever-evolving community.