Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens

''WE GREEKS ARE ONE IN BLOOD AND ONE IN LANGUAGE; WE HAVE TEMPLES TO THE GODS AND RELIGIOUS RITES IN COMMON, AND A COMMON WAY OF LIFE.'' So the fifth-century historian Herodotus has the Athenians ...

''WE GREEKS ARE ONE IN BLOOD AND ONE IN LANGUAGE; WE HAVE TEMPLES TO THE GODS AND RELIGIOUS RITES IN COMMON, AND A COMMON WAY OF LIFE.'' So the fifth-century historian Herodotus has the Athenians declare, in explanation of why they would never betray their fellow Greeks to their ''barbarian'' Persian enemy. And he could easily have added other common features to this list, such as clothing, culinary traditions, and political institutions. But if the Greeks understood their kinship to one another, why did so many of them fight for the invading Persians? And why, more generally, is ancient Greek