The formation of Ancient City-States - text, Oxford 03.2017 (original) (raw)
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This research examines the relationship between palatial institutions and local communities in ancient city-states, focusing on their social structure and economic interactions. It highlights the role of local leaders in tax collection and land distribution, as well as the significance of community organization and autonomy. The study concludes that understanding these dynamics is crucial for comprehending the evolution and eventual decline of palatial power in the context of ancient Greek economies.
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1986
The magistrates, priests and families attested between 167/6 B.C. and A.D. 13/4 belong to a governing class which may be regarded as a large civic class and several partly overlapping elites: a political elite, comprised of the members of the Areopagus, as well as a religious elite, a liturgical elite, a military (or ephebic elite) and a cultural-educational elite. The political elite is the most exclusive segment of the governing class. The other elites and the civic class form a descending hierarchy of peripheral families. In the course of seven chapters, the following conclusions are presented: (1) the governing class is in a constant state of flux as new families are recruited from below or through the admission of new citizens to Athens; (2) the analysis of the careers (or sequence of offices held by the members of the governing class) shows that certain types of offices are usually held at a particular age or point in an individual's public life, and changes in the number and type of offices available to an individual reflect changes in the nature of political life at Athens during this period; (3) during the generation following the acquisition of Delos in 167/6 B.C., pro-Roman families of the established aristocracy are predominant in the ranks of the governing class at both Athens and on Delos; (4) these families soon decline and the recruitment and composition of the governing class evolve during the transition to the second generation following c. 130 B.C.; (5) the revolution of 88/7 B.C. is an indirect consequence of demographic changes at Athens during the preceding generation; (6) during the Roman civil wars the governing class is found to be divided into competing factions; (7) finally, the emergence of a new and primarily hereditary governing elite may be documented during the reign of Augustus. An appendix tabulates all dated Athenian magistrates (and inscriptions) during this period. Other appendices discuss several chronological difficulties, the ephebic instructors and undated archons. i i i I must first thank Dr. D.J. Geagan, who suggested this topic for my dissertation and directed me in its completion; I especially thank him for his critical and careful reading of the final drafts. I would also like to thank Dr. J. Trueman, who chaired the supervisory committee, and Dr. T. Hoey of the Department of Classics, who has always been very helpful. The assistance of the following institutions is also gratefully acknowledged: The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for a doctoral fellowship in 1983-84; the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, where, in 1984-85, the research for this dissertation was completed; the Thompson-Waisglass Fund for a bursary which paid my fees at the American School; the Program Committee of the Canadian Archaeological Institute at Athens for awarding a fellowship which enabled me to reside in Athens during 1984-85; and Memorial University of Newfoundland. I would also like to mention here Dr. A.G. McKay of the Department of Classics, whose support and kindness helped make my graduate study at McMaster University both challenging and rewarding. Finally, I thank my wife, Anne-Marie Lewis, for all her help. iv Table of Contents Preface 1. The Nature of the Governing Class 2. The Offices of the Governing Class 3. Governing Families and the Cleruchy on Delos 4. The Governing Class in Transition 5. The Revolution of 88/7 B.C. 6. Athens During the Roman Civil Wars 7. Conclusion: The Governing Class Under Augustus Appendix A.
Pnyx: Journal of Classical Studies, 2024
The main concern of this research is the distribution of land carried out by Athens outside Attica during the fifth century BCE, which mostly favoured poor Athenians according to the perspective held in this article. The basic assumption is that most of the colonists and cleruchs came from the Athenian lower classes, which encompassed all the thetes and the bulk of the zeugitai, keeping in mind the Solonian census classes. It is argued that in the colonisation process, a hoplite farm model operated as a reference pattern for the Athenian state to distribute plots and/or collect rents in favour of its citizens. In order to sustain this, it is first defined the situation of the zeugitai and the thetes during the sixth and fifth centuries; secondly, it is presented some rough figures of the total male citizen population and of the number of Athenian hoplites, to imagine the possible number of citizens available to emigrate; thirdly, it is analysed three situations that show, in one way or another, the validity of the hoplite farm model for land allocations in Athenian settlements and the beneficiaries of this founding policy: the colony of Brea, the cleruchy on Lesbos, and the colony of Melos; finally, it is proposed some concluding remarks about the Athenian land distribution policy that favoured the lower classes.
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