City and Country in the Ancient World

by Rich,John; Rich,John

• ISBN13: 9780415082235
• ISBN10: 0415082234
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1992-09-16
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The ancient Greco-Roman world was a world of cities, not in the modern sense of massive urban conglomerates, but in the distinctive sense of communities that embraced the surrounding countryside. Interest in the special relationship of town and country in the ancient world goes back to Max Weber and beyond. Now available in paperback, this collection of essays by influential archaeologists and historians seeks to bring together the two disciplines in exploring the city-country relationship and its impact on social, political, economic, and cultural conditions in classical antiquity. Topics include the rise of the polis in ancient Greece, the economic and cultural role of city elites in Asia Minor, Spain and Britain, and the role of taxation in subordinating country to town. Amply illustrated, the book offers new research into a variety of areas and opens a familiar subject to fresh approaches. It will interest professional archaeologists and historians as well as students and the generalreader.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Introduction	ix
Andrew Wallace-Hadrill
Archaeology and the study of the Greek city	1	(24)
A.M. Snodgrass
The early polis as city and state	25	(34)
Ian Morris
Modelling settlement structures in Ancient Greece: new approaches to the polis	59	(38)
T.E. Rihll
A.G. Wilson
Surveys, cities and synoecism	97	(22)
W.G. Cavanagh
Pride and prejudice, sense and subsistence: exchange and society in the Greek city	119	(28)
Robin Osborne
Settlement, city and elite in Samnium and Lycia	147	(22)
John R. Patterson
Roman towns and their territories: an archaeological perspective	169	(22)
Martin Millett
Towns and territories in Southern Etruria	191	(20)
T.W. Potter
City, territory and taxation	211	(30)
Mireille Corbier
Elites and trade in the Roman town	241	(32)
Andrew Wallace-Hadrill
Spatial organisation and social change in Roman towns	273	(22)
Dominic Perring
Index	295	(11)
List of contributors	306