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Using all available evidence - literary, epigraphic, numismatic, and archaeological - this study offers a new analysis of the early Hellenistic Peloponnese. The conventional picture of the Macedonian kings as oppressors, and of the Peloponnese as ruined by warfare and tyranny, must be revised. The kings did not suppress freedom or exploit the peninsula economically, but generally presented themselves as patrons of Greek identity. Most of the regimes characterised as 'tyrannies' were probably, in reality, civic governorships, and the Macedonians did not seek to overturn tradition or build a new imperial order. Contrary to previous analyses, the evidence of field survey and architectural remains points to an active, even thriving civic culture and a healthy trading economy under elite patronage. Despite the rise of federalism, particularly in the form of the Achaean league, regional identity was never as strong as loyalty to one's city-state (polis).
Existing treatments of Peloponnesian history are fragmented by poleis and period. This book offers a comprehensive narrative of the political history of the entire Peloponnese from 371 to 146 BC, using both literary and epigraphic evidence. In the Hellenistic Peloponnese a long shadow was cast by the geo-political changes of the 4th century. Many continuities trace back to the forty years after Leuktra (371-330). Internal divisions and alliances are interwoven with the interventions of external powers: Thebans, Macedonian rulers, and finally the Romans. The author's findings reveal remarkable consistencies in the history of the Peloponnese. After Sparta's long-invincible army was defeated at the battle of Leuktra, there was much in Sparta's influence which was far from crushed. Not only did Sparta's confidence persist, as she agitated for centuries to renew her power; other states of the Peloponnese conducted their own foreign policies in reaction either to Sparta's decline or, especially, to her resurgence - and to the prospect of further resurgence still. The book reveals continuity as regards Sparta in the foreign policies of Elis, most of Arkadia, Messenia, and the Achaian Confederacy. These definite patterns formed Peloponnesian history far beyond the narrow relation of each community to Sparta: they also shaped the relation of most major Peloponnesian powers to each other.
Examines developments in the heartland of Greece after the reign of Alexander the Great, and rejects the usual pessimistic picture.
Tracing social and economic developments from 200 B.C. to A.D. 200, the particular emphasis of this study lies in the use of archaeological surface survey data, a form of evidence only recently available to examine the countryside and demographic change of the ancient world.
This fresh and thought-provoking book deepens our understanding of the dynamic relationship between the creation of myth and the development of the ancient Greek polis, or city-state, during crucial periods in archaic and classical Greece. Examining the diverse texts which crystallized Greek oral tradition, nine chapters by a multidisciplinary group of scholars focus both on the role of the community as the shaper and transmitter of myth and on the function of myth and ritual in the development of political authority in Greek society. Myth and the Polis draws upon current research in such fields such as ancient history, philology, social anthropology, ethnomusicology, comparative literature, psychoanalysis, folklore, and political theory. Taken together, the essays highlight the continuos struggle of Greek archaic and classical communities to keep their myths "true" in spite of the pull of pan-Hellenism. Shedding new light on the beginnings of Western civilization, Myth and the Polis will be of interest to a wide range of readers, including scholars and students of classics, folklore, myth, and ancient religion, politics, and history.
This book aims to employ and illustrate the unique strengths of burial evidence and its contribution to the understanding of social identity and status in the Classical and Hellenistic Northern Peloponnese.
In this revisionist study of Roman imperialism in the Greek world, Gruen considers the Hellenistic context within which Roman expansion took place. The evidence discloses a preponderance of Greek rather than Roman ideas: a noteworthy readiness on the part of Roman policymakers to adjust to Hellenistic practices rather than to impose a system of their own.
A Spartan lifestyle proverbially describes austerity; ancient Greek luxury was associated with Ionia and the oriental world. The contributions to this book, first presented at a conference held by the University of Nottingham's Centre for Spartan and Peloponnesian Studies, reverse the stereotype and explore the role of luxury and wealth at Sparta and among its Peloponnesian neighbors from the Iron Age to the Hellenistic period. Using literary, archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic evidence, an international team of specialists investigates the definition and changing meanings of the term luxury and its nearest ancient Greek equivalents, providing new insights into Sparta's supposed abstention from luxury, and the way that this was portrayed by ancient writers. They analyse wealth production and private and public spending, emphasising features that were distinctive to Sparta and the Peloponnese compared with other parts of ancient Greece. Other chapters investigate issues still familiar in the contemporary world: economic crisis and debt, austerity measures, and relief provisions for the poor.
The diplomatic tool known as isopolity is a testament to Greek ingenuity and is attested all over the Mediterranean from the 4th to 1st century B.C., mainly epigraphically. “Isopoliteia” was a popular way to establish new relashionships, reinforce old ones or to regulate difficult situations among communities in the Hellenistic Period. This book offers close scrutiny of potential citizenship between communities as well as a fresh examination of new evidence which has emerged since the publication of the only monograph written on the topic by Wilfried Gawantka in 1975. The book brings together all the evidence for isopolity in the Hellenistic world and demonstrates that communities used this diplomatic tool across different kinds of agreements and through a range of different ways.
Elis examines the city of Elis from its earliest history, through the Archaic period and the Classical period where it reached its zenith, to its decline in the Hellenistic, Roman and later periods. Through examining this prominent city-state, its role in contemporary politics and the place of Olympia in its territory, Graeme Bourke allows the reader to explore broader issues, such as the relationship between the Spartans and their various allies, often collectively referred to as ‘the Peloponnesian League’, the connection between political structures and Panhellenic sanctuaries, and the network of relationships between various ancient sanctuaries throughout the Greek-speaking world. The volume, which makes available in English for the first time much of the debate about the city, provides a valuable resource for students and academics studying the city of Elis, the Peloponnese and the relationships within it, and pre-Hellenistic Greece as a whole.