
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Introduction Introduction
-
Disasters, crises, and resilience Disasters, crises, and resilience
-
Internal conflicts Internal conflicts
-
Conclusion Conclusion
-
Suggested Reading Suggested Reading
-
References References
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3.6 Crises and Conflicts
Get accessArjan Zuiderhoek is Professor of Ancient History at the Department of History of Ghent University. He has published widely on the social, political, and economic history of Imperial Greek cities, and on ancient urbanism more generally. He is the author of The Politics of Munificence in the Roman Empire: Citizens, Elites and Benefactors in Asia Minor (Cambridge 2009) and The Ancient City (Cambridge 2017). Recent publications include Benefactors and the Polis: The Public Gift in the Greek Cities from the Homeric World to Late Antiquity (co-edited with M. Domingo Gygax, Cambridge 2020).
-
Published:18 December 2024
Cite
Abstract
This chapter deals with the twin potential calamities facing Greek cities throughout their history, the Roman period included: external existential threats (epidemics, food shortages, natural disasters) and internal conflicts. The focus is primarily on the kinds of threats the poleis faced, on the social, political, and institutional mechanisms they developed to deal with them, and on the ways in which the imperial authorities might become involved. First the poleis’ responses to existential threats such as epidemic diseases, food shortages, and natural calamities (earthquakes) are discussed. This is followed by an analysis of the reasons for their vulnerability to internal conflicts (stasis) and the measures they took to prevent these. It is argued that the participatory and inclusive political practices of the poleis, which continued into the Imperial period, provided them with a measure of resilience against external existential crises but at the same time made them vulnerable to internal conflicts.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
December 2024 | 2 |
January 2025 | 13 |
February 2025 | 3 |
March 2025 | 9 |
April 2025 | 5 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.