Although the Greeks saw themselves as city folk, they were dependent on the rural hinterland of the polis for their livelihood. To those of us who are modern visitors from temperate zones, the Mediterranean may appear dry and poor, but in reality the cities of the Greeks were set in rich and variegated landscapes. For the most part the territories of Greek poleis were more than capable of supporting their people despite the vagaries of the weather and the hazards associated with semi-arid farming regimes.
For Greeks, taming the landscape was the first step towards civilization: the Athenians claimed cultural superiority over other Greeks because, according to the myth of Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries, they had served as the intermediaries through whom Demeter had bestowed on humans the divine gifts of cultivating cereals and enacting her mysteries.
And rich-crowned Demeter did not refuse but straightway made fruit to spring up from the rich lands, so that the whole wide earth was laden with leaves and flowers. Then she went, and to the kings who deal justice, Triptolemos and Diokles, the horse-driver, and to doughty Eumolpos and Keleus, leader of the people, she showed the conduct of her rites and taught them all her mysteries, to Triptolemos and Polyxeinos and Diokles also, awful mysteries which no one may in any way transgress or pry into or utter, for deep awe of the gods checks the voice. (Homeric Hymn to Demeter 2.470-9)
The Greeks saw themselves as human masters of the natural world around them, and exploited their landscapes, especially the lowlands, intensively. However, it is unlikely that that we can hold them to blame for any significant long-term damage to the Mediterranean lands they occupied. The city-states of the Greek world were small, and the technology by which they worked their lands had comparatively little impact, in contrast to the large-scale environmental changes wrought by later societies, most of all our own.
Further reading
Grove, A. T., & O. Rackham (2003) The nature of Mediterranean Europe: an ecological history (New Haven: Yale University Press) (2nd printing, with corrections)—provides the best, as well as the most amusing, readable and reliable, introduction to the study of Mediterranean environments and ecology, ancient and modern
Horden, P., & N. Purcell (2000) The corrupting sea: a study of Mediterranean history (Oxford: Blackwell)—a comprehensive and quite breathtaking work covering many aspects of the interaction of human and ‘natural’, environmental factors which shaped the Mediterranean world over the long term. Packed with brilliant ideas and useful information, but not always easy to read
Ancient Greek agriculture and countrysides
Isager, S., & J. E. Skydsgaard (1992) Ancient Greek agriculture: an introduction (London: Routledge)—an excellent introduction, mostly based on written sources
Osborne, R. (1987) Classical landscape with figures: the ancient Greek city and its countryside (London: George Philip)—also remains excellent and useful, and incorporates more archaeological evidence
Useful collections of papers on Greek countrysides include:
Doukellis, P. N., & L. G. Mendoni (1994) Structures rurales et socidtds antiques: actes du colloque de Corfou, 14-16 mai 1992 (Paris: Belles Lettres) (Annales litteraires de l’Uni-versite de Besancon = 508 Centre de recherches d’histoire ancienne 126)—many papers are in English
Shipley, G., & J. Salmon (eds) (1996) Human landscapes in classical antiquity: environment and culture (London: Routledge)
Wells, B. (ed.) (1992) Agriculture in ancient Greece: proceedings of the seventh international symposium at the Swedish Institute at Athens, 16-17 may, 1990 (Stockholm: iAstrom) (Acta Instituti Atheniensis Regni Sueciae ser. in 4° 42)
‘Farm houses’
The only two fully published ‘farm houses’ remain:
Jones, J. E., L. H. Sackett, A. J. Graham (1962) ‘The Dema house in Attica’ in: Annual of the British School at Athens 57: 75-114
Jones, J. E., A. J. Graham, L. H. Sackett (1973) ‘An Attic country house below the cave of Pan at Vari’ in: Annual of the British School at Athens 68: 355-452
Recent archaeological surveys
Useful reports of regional archaeological surveys, which provide primary data about Greek countrysides, include:
Bintliff, J., P. Howard, A. Snodgrass (eds) (2004) The Boeotia project, vol. 1: The Thespiae south and Leondari south-east sector (Cambridge) (Monograph Series of the MacDonald Institute, Archaeology Department of Cambridge University)
Cavanagh, W., J. Crouwel, R. W. V. Catling, G. Shipley (1996) Continuity and change in a Greek rural landscape. the Laconia survey, vol. 2: Archaeological data (London: British School at Athens) (Annual of the British School at Athens Suppl. 27)
Cavanagh, W., J. Crouwel, R. W. V. Catling, G. Shipley (2002) Continuity and change in a Greek rural landscape: the Laconia survey, vol. 1: Methodology and interpretation (London: British School at Athens) (Annual of the British School at Athens Suppl. 26)
Cherry, J. F., J. L. Davis, E. Mantzourani (eds) (1991) Landscape archaeology as long-term history: northern Keos in the Cycladic islands (Los Angeles: UCLA Institute of Archaeology) (Monumenta Archaeologica 16)
Jameson, M. H., C. N. Runnels, T. H. van Andel (1994) A Greek countryside: the southern Argolid from prehistory to the present day (Stanford: Stanford University Press)
Lohmann, H. (1993) Atene: Forschungen zur Siedlungs - und Wirtschaftsstruktur des klassischen Attika, 2 vols (Cologne: Bohlau)
Mee, C. B., & H. A. Forbes (eds) (1996) A rough and rocky place: settlement and land use in the peninsula of Methana, Greece; results of the Methana Survey Project sponsored by the British School at Athens and the University of Liverpool (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press) (Liverpool Monographs in Ancient and Oriental Studies)
‘The Pylos Regional Archaeological Project: Internet Edition’, access: Http://classics. uc. edu/ prap/
Runnells, C. N., D. J. Pullen, S.. Langdon (eds) (1995) Artifact and assemblage: the finds from a regional survey of the southern Argolid, Greece, vol. 1: The prehistoric and early Iron Age pottery and lithic artefacts (Stanford CA: Stanford University Press)
Wells, B., & C. Runnels (1996) The Berbati-Limnes archaeological survey, 1988-1990 (Stockholm: iAstrcim) (Acta Instituti Atheniensis Regni Sueciae ser. in 4° 44)
Bibliography
Alcock, S. E. (2002) ‘A simple case of exploitation? The helots of Messenia’ in: Cartledge, P., E. E. Cohen, L. Foxhall (eds) (2002) Money, labour and land: approaches to the economies of ancient Greece (London: Routledge) 185-99
Alcock, S. E., J. F. Cherry, J. L. Davis (1994) ‘Intensive survey, agricultural practice and the classical landscape of Greece’ in: Morris, I. (ed.) (1994) Classical Greece: ancient histories and modern archaeologies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) 137-70 Amyx, D. A. (1958) ‘The Attic stelai, III: vases and other containers’ in: Hesperia 27: 163-310 Bintliff, J. S., & A. Snodgrass (1985) ‘The Cambridge/Bradford Boeotian expedition: the first four years’ in: JFA 12: 123-61
Bintliff, J. S., & A. Snodgrass (1988) ‘Mediterranean survey and the city’ in: Antiquity 62: 57-71 Bintliff, J. S., C. Farinetti, P. Howard, K. Sarri, K. Sbonias (2002) ‘Classical farms, hidden prehistoric landscapes and Greek rural society: a response and an update’ in: JMA 15.2: 259-65
Bintliff, J., P. Howard, A. Snodgrass (eds) (2004) The Boeotia project, vol. 1: The Thespiae south and Leondari south-east sector (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) (Monograph Series of the MacDonald Institute, Archaeology Department of Cambridge University)
Bommelj{;, S., P. Doorn, M. Deylius, J. Vroom, Y. Bommelj{;, R. Fagel, H. van Wijngaarden (1987) Aetolia and the Aetolians: towards the interdisciplinary study of a Greek region (Utrecht: Parnassus) (Studia Aetolica 1)
Carter, J. C. (1990) ‘Metapontum—land, wealth and population’ in: Descoeudres, J.-P. (ed.) Greek colonists and native population: proceedings ofthe First Australian Congress ofClassical Archaeology held in honour of emeritus Professor A. D. Trendall, Sydney, 9-14 July 1985 (Canberra: Humanities Research Centre & New York: Oxford University Press) 405-41 Cavanagh, W., J. Crouwel, R. W. V. Catling, G. Shipley (1996) Continuity and change in a Greek rural landscape. the Laconia survey, vol. 2: Archaeological data (London: British School at Athens) (Annual of the British School at Athens Suppl. 27)
Cavanagh, W., J. Crouwel, R. W. V. Catling, G. Shipley (2002) Continuity and change in a Greek rural landscape: the Laconia survey, vol. 1: Methodology and interpretation (London: British School at Athens) (Annual of the British School at Athens Suppl. 26)
Cherry, J. F., J. L. Davis, E. Mantzourani (eds) (1991) Landscape archaeology as long-term history: northern Keos in the Cycladic islands (Los Angeles: UCLA Institute of Archaeology) (Monumenta Archaeologica 16)
Davis, J. L., S. E. Alcock, J. Bennet, Y. G. Lolos, C. W. Shelmerdine (1997) ‘The Pylos Regional Archaeological Project 1’ in: Hesperia 66: 391-494 Forbes, H. (1995) ‘The identification of pastoralist sites within the context of estate-based agriculture in ancient Greece: beyond the ‘‘transhumance versus agro-pastoralism’’ debate’ in: Annual of the British School at Athens 90: 325-38 Foxhall, L. (1996) ‘Feeling the earth move: cultivation techniques on steep slopes in antiquity’ in: Shipley, G., & J. Salmon (eds) (1996) Human landscapes in classical antiquity: environment and culture (London: Routledge) 44-67
Foxhall, L. (2001) ‘Colouring in the countryside: response to David K. Pettegrew, ‘‘Chasing the classical farmstead’’’ in: JMA 14.2: 216-22 Foxhall, L. (2003) ‘Cultures, landscapes and identities in the Mediterranean world’ in: Mediterranean Historical Review 18.2: 75-92
Grove, A. T., & O. Rackham (2003) The nature of Mediterranean Europe: an ecological history (New Haven: Yale University Press) (2nd printing, with corrections)
Hanson, V. D. (1999) The other Greeks: the family farm and the agrarian roots of western civilization (Berkeley: University of California Press 21999)
Hodkinson, S. (1988) ‘Animal husbandry in the Greek polis’ in: Whittaker 1988: 35-74 Horden, P., & N. Purcell (2000) The corrupting sea: a study of Mediterranean history (Oxford: Blackwell)
Jameson, M. H., C. N. Runnels, T. H. van Andel (1994) A Greek countryside: the southern Argolid from prehistory to the present day (Stanford: Stanford University Press)
Jones, J. E., L. H. Sackett, A. J. Graham (1962) ‘The Dema house in Attica’ in: Annual of the British School at Athens 57: 75-114
Jones, J. E., A. J. Graham, L. H. Sackett (1973) ‘An Attic country house below the cave of Pan at Vari’ in: Annual of the British School at Athens 68: 355-452 Lloyd, J. A., E. J. Owens, J. Roy (1983) ‘The Megalopolis survey in Arcadia’ in: Keller, D. R., & D. W. Rupp (eds) Archaeological survey in the Mediterranean area (Oxford: British Archaeological Reports) 267-9 (British Archaeological Reports International Series 155) Lohmann, H. (1992) ‘Agriculture and country life in classical Attica’ in: Wells 1992: 29-57 Lohmann, H. (1993) Atene: Forschungen zur Siedlungs - und Wirtschaftsstruktur des klassischen Attika, 2 vols (Cologne: Bohlau)
Mee, C. B., & H. A. Forbes (eds) (1996) A rough and rocky place: settlement and land use in the peninsula of Methana, Greece; results of the Methana Survey Project sponsored by the British School at Athens and the University of Liverpool (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press) (Liverpool Monographs in Ancient and Oriental Studies)
Mikalson, J. D. (1975) The sacred and civil calendar of the Athenian year (Princeton: Princeton University Press)
Morris, I. (1994) ‘The Athenian economy twenty years after The Ancient Economy'in: CPh 89: 351-66
Nixon, L., J. Moody, S. Price, O. Rackham (2000) Sphakia Survey: the internet edition, access: Http://sphakia. classics. ox. ac. uk/; a two-volume print edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press) is promised)
Osborne, R. (2001) ‘Counting the cost: comments on David K. Pettegrew, ‘‘Chasing the classical farmstead’” in: JMA 14.2: 212-16
Pettegrew, D. K. (2001) ‘Chasing the classical farmstead: assessing the formation and signature of rural settlement in Greek landscape archaeology’ in: JMA 14: 189-209 Pettegrew, D. K. (2002) ‘Counting and colouring classical farms: a response to Osborne, Foxhall and Bintliff et al.’ in: JMA 15.2: 267-73 Pritchett, W. K. (1956) ‘The Attic stelai, II’ in: Hesperia 25: 178-317
‘The Pylos Regional Archaeological Project: Internet Edition’, access: Http://classics. uc. edu/ prap
Skydsgaard, J. E. (1988) ‘Transhumance in ancient Greece’ in: Whittaker 1988: 75-86 Wells, B. (ed.) (1992) Agriculture in ancient Greece: proceeding of the seventh international symposium at the Swedish Institute at Athens, 16-17 May, 1990 (Stockholm: iAstrom) (Acta Instituti Atheniensis Regni Sueciae ser. in 4° 42)
Wells, B., & C. Runnels (1996) The Berbati-Limnes archaeological survey, 1988-1990 (Stockholm: iAstrom) (Acta Instituti Atheniensis Regni Sueciae ser. in 4° 44)
Whittaker, C. R. (ed.) (1988) Pastoral economies in classical antiquity (Cambridge: Cambridge Philological Society) 35-74 (PCPhS Suppl. 14)
Appendix to further reading
The following important works appeared too late for the author to incorporate their results into the text of this chapter:
Morris S. P., & J. K. Papadopoulos (2005) ‘Greek towers and slaves: an archaeology of exploitation’ in: American Journal of Archaeology 109: 155-225 - An extremely useful survey of work on ‘farmhouse’ sites, with excellent bibliography. It focuses on those with towers and their potential range of functions, especially their possible association with the use of slave labour.
Price, S., & L. Nixon (2005) ‘Ancient Greek agricultural terraces: evidence from texts and archaeological survey’ in: American Journal of Archaeology 109: 665-94 - An excellent survey, with a full and useful bibliography, of the evidence for pre-modern terracing in Greece. The article documents many good examples of post-classical but pre-modern terracing (only the excavated examples from Delos are securely dated to classical/Hellenistic times). The appendix of ancient literary references to possible field walls and terraces is exceptionally helpful.
World History
