Book introduction

　This book examines how George Grote and J.S. Mill, two prominent figures among the 19th-century British philosophical radicals, engaged with the politics and philosophy of ancient Greece to articulate their political thought. Both concentrated on Athens, particularly during the 5th century BC. This study explores their perspectives on fundamental topics for understanding the radical interpretation of antiquity, such as the history of democratic Athens, demagogues, sophists, Socrates, and Plato. Through a historical analysis of their writings on these subjects, it becomes clear that Grote and Mill enhanced their considerations on politics and philosophy through their “intoxication” with Greek thought. Consequently, this research illustrates that their engagement with ancient thought developed within the intellectual landscape of Victorian Britain and that their ideas were grounded in the philosophical radicalism of Jeremy Bentham. Namely, their reception of Greece has been distinguished in liberalism based on representative democracy and individual freedom.