On the Mysteries

More than any other work, the speech of Andokides, On the Mysteries, provides an intimate and vivid glimpse of Athenian political life during and directly after the Peloponnesian War. This new paperback version of MacDowell's standard edition (first published in hardcover in 1962) is intended for both undergraduates and scholars. It includes a full introduction surveying Andokides's life, trial, and literary style; a note on the basis of the text; and a detailed commentary and appendices that discuss Andokides' innocence or guilt, the chronology and political significance of events in 415 B.C., the legal revision ordered by the decree of Teisamenos, the date of the trial and speech, and aspects of the historical and stylistic background relevant to the work.