Spartan Oliganthropia (Brill Research Perspectives in Humanities and Social Sciences)

The population of the Spartiates declined from some 8,000 to fewer than 1,000 in the Classical and Hellenistic eras. The causes and consequences of this decline are impor- tant for an understanding not only of ancient Greek history, but also of the study of pre-industrial populations and population dynamics more generally. This work surveys a range of representative modern scholarship on this phenomenon and discusses topics such as family planning, elite under-reproduction, wealth polarization, and notions of eugenic exclusivity, and suggests avenues for further research. Sparta's dominance over other Greek states was greatly hampered and finally ended because of the impossibility of maintaining its power in the face of oliganthropia, an irreversible demographic shortfall of its citizen manpower. In Spartan Oliganthropia, Timothy Doran examines the population decline of the Spartiates in the Classical and Hellenistic eras, a reduction from 8,000 to fewer than 1,000. The causes and consequences of this decline are significant not only for ancient Greek history, but also for population studies of pre-industrial societies and population dynamics more generally. This work offers a fresh survey of representative modern scholarship on this phenomenon as well as its own conclusions, discussing topics such as elite under-reproduction, wealth polarization, the link between female empowerment and low birthrates, and ideological notions of eugenic exclusivity, suggesting avenues for further research.