The Oxford Handbook of Greek Cities in the Roman Empire

This handbook provides the first comprehensive treatment of the Greek cities in the Roman Empire. The poleis are studied here both as urban forms, with a specific organization of space and specific public buildings, and as socio-political entities, with specific institutions and social hierarchies. The contributions cover all the important aspects of civic life and present the on-going debates on the degree of integration and autonomy, uniformization, and diversity of the Greek civic model in the Roman Empire. One of the main guidelines of the handbook is the issue of the impact of Roman rule on the long-lasting Greek model of political, social, and spatial organization. Geographically, the volume covers the whole Roman Empire, with a focus on regions where the Greek polis was the dominant form of organization, such as mainland Greece, the Aegean Islands, Asia Minor, Syria, and the Black Sea region. In addition to that, the Greek cities of Sicily and Egypt as well as more isolated Greek settlements such as Cyrene in North Africa are also considered. The chronological scope of the handbook runs from a community's integration into the Roman Empire (varying depending on the region) until the 3rd c. AD, when the epigraphic documentation strongly decreases and some important changes make way for the transition to Late Antiquity. Cover The Oxford Handbook of Greek Cities in the Roman Empire Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations and Conventions List of Figures Biographies Introduction 1. Sources and Methods 1.1. The Epigraphic Culture of the Greek Cities in the Roman East 1.2. Civic Coinage 1.3. Literary Sources for Greek Cities of the Roman Empire 1.4. Archaeological Sources and Civic Life 1.5. Onomastics and Prosopography 1.6. The Greek City of the Roman Empire: Questions of Identity 2. Civic Institutions 2.1. The Legal Status of the Greek Poleis in the Roman Empire 2.2. Greek and Roman Citizenships 2.3. Age Groups and Civic Subdivisions 2.4. The Deliberative Institutions: The Council and Assembly 2.5. Magistracies and Liturgies 3. Local Politics 3.1. Euergetism 3.2. Civic Honours under Roman Rule 3.3. Constructing Public Space: Political and Pragmatic Considerations 3.4. The Urban Economy 3.5. Security, Military Culture, and Public Order 3.6. Crises and Conflicts 3.7. Diplomacy and External Relations 3.8. Cities and Koina 4. Civic Societies 4.1. Civic Hierarchies 4.2. Civic Countryside and Rural Life 4.3. Women in Civic Societies 4.4. Clubs and Associations 4.5. Gymnasia and Baths 4.6. Necropoleis and Civic Funerary Culture 4.7. Slavery and the Polis 5. Religion and Culture 5.1. The ‘Religious Realm’ (ta theia) in the Eastern Mediterranean Cities 5.2. Oracles and the City 5.3. The Imperial Cults in the Greek Provinces 5.4. Festivals and Civic Culture 5.5. Intellectual Education and the City 6. Cities and Regions 6.1. Athens 6.2. Sparta and the Peloponnese 6.3. The Cities of Boeotia 6.4. The Cyclades 6.5. Thasos 6.6. The Cities of Bithynia 6.7. Ephesos 6.8. The Cities of Caria 6.9. The Cities of Lycia 6.10. The Cities of Lydia 6.11. The Cities of the Lykos Valley 6.12. The Greek Cities in Roman Syria 6.13. The Greek Cities of Sicily 6.14. The Greek Cities of the Black Sea 6.15. Cyrene and the Cities of Cyrenaica 6.16. The Cities of Egypt Epilogue: The End of Polis Culture? Index