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The Greek demographic expansion: models and comparisons*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2012

Walter Scheidel
Walter Scheidel
Affiliation:
Stanford University
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Abstract

For much of the first millennium BC, the number of Greeks increased considerably, both in the Aegean core and in the expanding periphery of the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions. This paper is the first attempt to establish a coherent quantitative framework for the study of this process. In the first section, I argue that despite the lack of statistical data, it is possible to identify a plausible range of estimates of average long-term demographic growth rates in mainland Greece from the Early Iron Age to the Classical period. Elaborating on this finding, the second section offers a comprehensive rebuttal of the notion of explosive population growth in parts of the eighth and seventh centuries BC. In the third section, I seek to determine the probable scale and demographic consequences of Greek settlement overseas. A brief preliminary look at the relationship between population growth and the quality of life concludes my survey. The resultant series of interlocking parametric models is meant to contextualize the demographic development of ancient Greece within the wider ambit of pre-modern demography, and to provide a conceptual template for future research in this area.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Hellenic Studies , Volume 123 , November 2003 , pp. 120 - 140
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 2003

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