The growth of Greek cities in the first millennium BC
In this paper I trace the growth of the largest Greek cities from perhaps 1,000- 2,000 people at the beginning of the first millennium BC to 400,000-500,000 at the millennium’s end.
The collapse and regeneration of complex society in Greece, 1500-500 BC
Greece between 1500 and 500 BC is one of the best known examples of the phenomenon of the regeneration of complex society after a collapse. I review 10 core dimensions of this process (urbanism, tax and rent, monuments, elite power, information- recording systems, trade, crafts, military power, scale, and standards of living), and suggest that punctuated equilibrium models accommodate the data better than gradualist interpretations.
Going with the Grain: Athenian State Formation and the Question of Subsistence in the 5th and 4th Centuries BCE
The questions I intend to ask in this paper focus on this very issue. My case study is 5th century BCE Athens. During this period, the so-called “Athenian Empire”, Athens experienced military growth, geographic expansion of its hegemony, and further population increase.
Texts, contexts, subtexts and interpretative frameworks. Beyond the parochial and toward (dynamic) modeling of the Ptolemaic state and the Ptolemaic economy
My concern in this paper is the historical interpretation of the Greek and demotic documentary papyri of the Ptolemaic period, the role of Archaeology in the context of Ptolemaic economic history, and the application of social science theory towards an understanding of Ptolemaic Egypt.
DEMOCRATISATION OF GREEK SOCIETY DURING THE ARCHAIC ERA?
In the modern scholarship of the Ancient Greek history there is a well known and well established conception of an universal democratisation of Greek society during the Archaic and Early Classical periods. It could be summarised roughly as follows:1 Af- ter the fall of the Bronze Age Mycenaean civilisation, in the so-called Dark Ages (11th to 8th centuries B.C.), the Greek communities were governed by the kings (basilees).
The origins, development and reliability of the ancient tradition about the formation of Spartan constitution
In addition to this what may be called contemporary and documentary data, there is the almost over-abundant tradition (most would say pseudo-tradition) about the beginnings of the Spartan state, especially about the great Spartan lawgiver Lykourgos
Modern States and Ancient Greek History
The problem is that there had already been a certain continuity of knowledge, in part of the Greek language but mostly of Greek history, thanks to historical works of Latin literature in general and along the lines of universal history. These had become the accepted version of history and of the Christian conception of human events; universal history is a model that lends itself perfectly to Christianity and was by then “exemplary”.
Women in Ancient Greece: a Political and Artistic Approach
If we consider the Greek civilisation from a strictly political angle, that is to say, looking at civil rights, or public activities inside well-established institutions, it is clear that the definition of women’s roles is very poor, even non-existent.
The maritime city in the Graeco-Roman perception. Carthage and Alexandria: two emblematic examples
In Ancient History, from the Bronze Age to the beginning of the Middle Ages, the sea, especially the Mediterranean, was the main instrument of communication between civilizations. But it was also the place of their conflicting interactions.