Vices and virtues of discretion: inaccessible politicians between Persia, the Classical polis, and Hellenistic courts (5th-3rd century BC)

Abstract

This contribution focuses on the role played by discretion in the construction of the public image of politicians in the Greek and Greek-Macedonian world, between the 5^th and 3^rd century BC. By discretion, I refer to the deliberate choice by political leaders to avoid or reduce their accessibility in relationships with collaborators, rivals, and more generally with their fellow citizens or subjects. The case studies addressed reveal that the effect of this choice is not univocal: the politician’s decision not to be approachable can be understood as a sign of dignity and solemnity, of philosophically inspired moderation, but it can also be stigmatized as the expression of an aloof and arrogant character, or on the contrary of a fearful one. Ultimately, the reactions that we can trace in the sources vary depending on the contexts, purposes and reference values used to judge the behaviour of the protagonists of the political struggle. These differences allow us to better understand the reactions of different political and cultural systems when faced with the self-promotion strategies of figures invested with strong personal power.