“Social Conflict in Archaic and Classical Greece”

The paper reflects on the study of politics in the Hellenistic polis (and by implication city-state regimes through Greco-Roman antiquity) in light of early modern and modern analyses of the democratic boundary problem. In short, most historical democracies have been numerical oligarchies. In scholarship outside classical antiquity, this problem has attracted considerable attention to the ideological operations where by the unity of the oligarchic demos is achieved (e.g., by assertions of notional juridical equality or by effacing issues of wealth inequality), in contradistinction to the disadvantaged and disenfranchised whom the demos dominates. I post on Academia a typescript of the paper. For a copy with the published pagination, please contact me directly ([email protected]).

The characterization of the world of the ancient Greek city states as relatively poor and economically static has been refuted by recent advances in Greek economic history. The Greek world grew dramatically, compared to other premodern societies, both in population and per capita consumption from the age of Homer to that of Aristotle. By the fourth century BCE the city-­‐state ecology was densely populated and median consumption was well above bare subsistence. Athenian income inequality can be roughly measured using income and population estimates from late fourth century BCE. This paper argues that, at least in Athens, economic growth was accompanied by historically low levels of income inequality. Both economic growth and low inequality are explained by the development of citizen-­‐centered political institutions. Growth, inequality, and institutions were important parts of the historical context in which Plato and Aristotle wrote. Attending to that context may elucidate some aspects of Greek political philosophy. The causes and consequences of political and material inequality and its relationship to economic growth are central questions for historians, social scientists, and political philosophers alike. 1 Classical Greek social theorists, notably Plato and Aristotle, were much concerned with these issues-­‐-­‐ as their successors have been in the early modern and modern eras. The literature on Greek political theories of equality, to which the other papers in this collection contributes, is, however, relatively little concerned with the actual conditions of material welfare and inequality in the Greek world. Recent work on the development of the ancient Greek economy clarifies the material conditions under which classical political thought developed, and to which the classical philosophical tradition responded. While estimating rates of growth, urbanization, per capita income, wealth distribution, and so on will not explain either the richness or the direction of classical political philosophy, a consideration of these issues can help us to better understand the situation in which Plato and Aristotle (among others) wrote, the background conditions they expected their original readers to take for granted, and

This paper contributes to the question of the relationship between democracy and economic inequality in ancient Greece by developing a realistic population and income model for late classical Athens. The model is evidence-­‐based, although hypothetical in many particulars. It aligns with other evidence suggesting that economic inequality in late classical Athens was low by historical standards. While no causal argument is made here, the model is consistent with the hypothesis that democracy tended to lower economic inequality over time, in part through progressive taxation. The model also helps to explain Athenian social stability: poorer Athenians, including many slaves, were beneficiaries of a system that enabled most Athenians to live well above the level of bare subsistence. Some slaves had some chance of earning their way out of slavery by, in effect, purchasing themselves. While taxation could be disruptively heavy for some estates, the overall tax burden on wealthy Athenians, as a class, was not high enough to trigger elite-­‐ level revolutionary cooperation against the democratic regime.

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.

2018

Social scientists and political theorists have recently come to realize the potential importance of the classical Greek world and its legacy for testing social theories. Meanwhile, some Hellenists have mastered the techniques of contemporary social science. They have come to recognize the value of formal and quantitative methods as a complement to traditional qualitative approaches to Greek history and culture. Some of the most exciting new work in social science is now being done within interdisciplinary domains for which recent work on Greece provides apt case studies. This book features essays examining the role played by democratic political and legal institutions in economic development; the potential for inter-state cooperation and international institutions within a decentralized ecology of states; the relationship between state government and the social networks arising from voluntary associations; the interplay between political culture, informal politics, formal institutio...

Constitutional Political Economy, 2006

From a beginning of small isolated settlements around 1000 B.C., the city-state (polis) emerged in Greece in the course of four centuries as a political, geographical and judicial unit, with an assembly, council, magistrates and written laws. Using a rational-actor perspective, it is shown how this process was driven by competition among the members of the elite. A crucial ingredient was the gradual consolidation of boundaries, which contributed to population growth, interstate conflicts, colonisation and competition for power. Variations over time in the conditions for competition explain both the introduction of formal political institutions and their overthrow by tyrants.

Klio, 2019

It is with great enthusiasm that ancient historians welcome this translation of Alain B(resson)'s two-volume "L'économie de la Grèce des cites" published ten years ago. The original was a synthesis of 30 years of research based on the author's unrivalled expertise in the economic history of the Classical and Hellenistic periods. The present volume is an updated, expanded, and revised version of this original. While the French volumes have had already significant impact on scholarship-adopting contemporaneously with the "Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World" a decisively neo-institutional approach to the ancient economy-one hopes that the translation will expand this impact further. Grasping the nuances of 450 pages of densely argued text in French can be challenging for anyone below C2 French reading proficiency. The excellent translation, now enhanced by chapter summaries and a more reader-friendly apparatus, will not only open the book to a new range of readers (including advanced undergraduates) but also encourage others to read the book in full. Parts of chapter

Alter Orient und Altes Testament 390/1, 2011, 2011