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Farming in the ancient Greek world: how should the small free producers be defined?

Farming in the ancient Greek world: how should the small free producers be defined?

By Julián Gallego

Studia Humaniora Tartuensia, Vol. 8 (2007)

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Abstract: In recent studies on the rural world in ancient Greece the application of the notion of peasant to the rural homestead has received several objections. Some scholars have preferred to use the notion of farmer to characterise the family smallholding. In this paper I first review these standpoints, and then reconsider the evidence concerning the Greek words georgos and autourgos and also concerning the patterns of settlement and agricultural systems produced by archaeological surveys. Finally, I offer my own view based on a model of multiple social and economic situations in which Greek smallholders could be involved along the family life cycle.

In recent times, the study of the rural world in ancient Greece has acquired an extraordinary relevance. This has allowed a more complete understanding of Greek agriculturalists. But the definition of their social situation has become a controversial subject. To some extent, the discussion of the agrarian basis of the polis has been linked to this matter, especially in English-language studies. Several debates have finally progressed throughout the notions of peasant and of farmer. It is not a mere question of names but a problem of definition of the social class and of the type of productive unit being analysed. Starting from a review of different positions, in this article I will offer an interpretation of Hellenic cultivators and of certain factors related to the working of the rural oikos.



The peasant is often defined as a small self-sufficient producer who employs family labour to work a mixed farm. Living in little rural communities and a specific traditional culture constitute other aspects of his specific situation. Agrarian societies often present social differentiations and involve several rapports between cultivators and the landed gentry. So, another important element is that peasants must transfer a regular surplus to the ruling elite.4 This is partly the picture of ancient paysans by Claude Mossé, who also maintains the idea that Hesiod’s Works and Days and Virgil’s Georgics reflect the common characteristics of peasant life in classical antiquity.

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