Explore the detailed and personal stories of real people living throughout the Hellenistic world
In A Social and Cultural History of the Hellenistic World, author Gillian Ramsey Neugebauer paints a vivid picture of the men and women of the Hellenistic period, their communities, and their experiences of life. Assuming only minimal knowledge of classical antiquity, this clear and engaging textbook brings to life the real people who lived in the Mediterranean region, the Balkans, around the Black Sea, across North Africa, and the Near East.
Rather than focusing on the elites, royals, and other significant figures of the period, the author draws from a wide range of ancient evidence to explore everyday Hellenistic people in their own context. Reader-friendly chapters offer fresh perspectives on well-studied areas of ancient Greek culture while providing new insights into rarely discussed aspects of day-to-day life in the Hellenistic world. Topics include daily technology, food, clothing, housing, travel, working life, slavery, education, temple economies, and more.
Containing numerous references, further readings, photographs, and figures, A Social and Cultural History of the Hellenistic World is an excellent textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses in Ancient History or Classical Studies programs, particularly those dedicated to Hellenistic history.
Inhoudsopgave
List of Figures x
Preface xi
Abbreviations xiii
Money and Weights xv
Maps xvi
1 Introduction 1
What Is Hellenistic? 2
Why Social History? 3
Mapping Out the Hellenistic World 5
A Polyglot World 7
Further Reading 8
2 Sources of Evidence 10
Written Sources 10
Numismatics 17
Archaeological Sources 20
Literary Sources 22
Further Reading 28
3 Chronological Patterns 30
Prevalence of Warfare 31
Alexander the Great’s Legacy 32
Successor States 35
Foreign Incursions 39
Civil Unrest 42
Growing Roman Involvement 43
Further Reading 46
4 People and Status 47
Slaves 48
People on the Land 55
Citizens 59
Further Reading 64
5 Making a Living 65
Wages 66
Agriculture 69
Crafts 74
Temple Economies 78
Further Reading 81
6 Government and Administration 82
A Citizen’s Duties 82
Paying Taxes 88
Law and Order 94
Further Reading 101
7 Sex and Gender 103
Sex 104
Gender 113
Further Reading 120
8 Daily Life 122
Eating and Drinking 122
Housing 133
Neighbourhoods 138
Further Reading 143
9 Art and Adornment 144
Adorning the Body 145
Art 154
Further Reading 161
10 Education 163
Primary Education 163
Training Young Citizens 168
Occupational Training 169
Higher Education 171
Exchange of Knowledge 174
Further Reading 178
11 Leisure and Entertainment 179
Opportunities for Leisure 180
Children’s Play 181
Contents ix
Games 182
Gambling 184
Sports 184
Feasts 186
Music and Dance 187
Dramatic Performances 190
Competitive Festivals 192
Being in the Audience at a Special Event 193
Further Reading 195
12 Religious Life 197
Traditional Religion 198
Religious Change 205
Divine Interventions and Interactions 212
Funerary Practices 214
Further Reading 215
13 Health 217
Disease in the Hellenistic World 217
Medical Knowledge and Craft 219
Public Physicians and Public Health 224
Treatments 226
Healing Sanctuaries 229
Further Reading 232
14 Technology 234
Devices and Machines 235
Chemical Processes 245
Further Reading 250
15 Travel 251
Journeys 252
Logistics 261
Further Reading 267
Afterword 269
Selected Bibliography 272
Index 317
Over de auteur
GILLIAN RAMSEY NEUGEBAUER is Assistant Professor of Classics at Campion College at the University of Regina, Canada. Her research covers Seleukid and Ptolemaic history, Hellenistic women and queens, and Hellenistic administration and geography. Her recent publications include chapters in Women and Monarchy in the Ancient Mediterranean and The Hellenistic and Roman Near East.
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