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This study is divided into two major parts. The first begins with an historical overview, followed by chapters devoted to the Lamian War, the food supply, and Demetrios of Phaleron. The major findings during the course of the work on this study have dictated these last three subjects. This entire section is written with a focus on the primary evidence, particularly the epigraphical texts. It is, after all, from the epigraphical evidence that we learn not only a great deal about Lykourgos' activities, but also (with virtual certainty) the identity of Leosthenes, the Athenian general, hero of the Lamian War.

Lisbeth S. Fried's insightful study investigates the impact of Achaemenid rule on the political power of local priesthoods during the 6th-4th centuries B.C.E. Scholars typically assume that, as long as tribute was sent to Susa, the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, subject peoples remained autonomous. Fried's work challenges this assumption. She examines the inscriptions, coins, temple archives, and literary texts from Babylon, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Judah and concludes that there was no local autonomy. The only people with power in the Empire were Persians and their appointees, and this was true for Judah as well. The Judean priesthood achieved its longed-for independence only much later, under the Maccabees