Economic and social inequality is frequently the subject of headlines today, and major interdisciplinary efforts are now underway to extend our understanding of inequality into the human past. This seminar, co-taught by a historian and an archaeologist, explores the dynamics of inequality in a particular time and place: the Greek Mediterranean in the first millennium BCE (ca. 800 to 100 BCE). We begin with a theoretical and methodological introduction, asking a series of questions: how should we define inequality? How did inequality originate? Can inequality be measured, and if so, what are the appropriate metrics to use? What are the effects of inequality on human societies? The accentuation or muting of social difference was a major concern in ancient Greek communities, and we will seek to understand a variety of Greek perspectives on inequality through careful reading of primary sources. We will also examine archaeological data that have been used as proxy measures of wealth and status difference, including house size, land allotments, storage capacity, household assemblages, burial treatment, and osteological indicators of nutrition and health. We will consider the evidence for gender-based inequality; the social and financial institutions (marriage, inheritance, banking) that may have perpetuated and magnified economic inequality; and the relationship between inequality, democracy, and empire. Throughout, we will consider how comparative evidence from other world regions and time periods can help us to contextualize the Greek case.

Also listed as AHMA 210 and HISTORY 285