Social and Cultural History of the Hellenistic World

GILLIAN RAMSEY NEUGEBAUER is Assistant Professor of Classics at Campion College at the University of Regina, Canada. Her research covers Seleukid and Ptolemaic history, Hellenistic women and queens, and Hellenistic administration and geography. Her recent publications include chapters in Women and Monarchy in the Ancient Mediterranean and The Hellenistic and Roman Near East.

• List of Figures xPreface xiAbbreviations xiiiMoney and Weights xvMaps xvi1 Introduction 1What Is Hellenistic? 2Why Social History? 3Mapping Out the Hellenistic World 5A Polyglot World 7Further Reading 82 Sources of Evidence 10Written Sources 10Numismatics 17Archaeological Sources 20Literary Sources 22Further Reading 283 Chronological Patterns 30Prevalence of Warfare 31Alexander the Great’s Legacy 32Successor States 35Foreign Incursions 39Civil Unrest 42Growing Roman Involvement 43Further Reading 464 People and Status 47Slaves 48People on the Land 55Citizens 59Further Reading 645 Making a Living 65Wages 66Agriculture 69Crafts 74Temple Economies 78Further Reading 816 Government and Administration 82A Citizen’s Duties 82Paying Taxes 88Law and Order 94Further Reading 1017 Sex and Gender 103Sex 104Gender 113Further Reading 1208 Daily Life 122Eating and Drinking 122Housing 133Neighbourhoods 138Further Reading 1439 Art and Adornment 144Adorning the Body 145Art 154Further Reading 16110 Education 163Primary Education 163Training Young Citizens 168Occupational Training 169Higher Education 171Exchange of Knowledge 174Further Reading 17811 Leisure and Entertainment 179Opportunities for Leisure 180Children’s Play 181Contents ixGames 182Gambling 184Sports 184Feasts 186Music and Dance 187Dramatic Performances 190Competitive Festivals 192Being in the Audience at a Special Event 193Further Reading 19512 Religious Life 197Traditional Religion 198Religious Change 205Divine Interventions and Interactions 212Funerary Practices 214Further Reading 21513 Health 217Disease in the Hellenistic World 217Medical Knowledge and Craft 219Public Physicians and Public Health 224Treatments 226Healing Sanctuaries 229Further Reading 23214 Technology 234Devices and Machines 235Chemical Processes 245Further Reading 25015 Travel 251Journeys 252Logistics 261Further Reading 267Afterword 269Selected Bibliography 272Index 317

"The book is invaluable not only as a student-friendly complement to political and military narratives, but also as a reliable introduction for scholars seeking to engage with the fundamental themes of Hellenistic society. Ramsey Neugebauer’s book will doubtless become a standard reference for teaching the social and cultural history of the Hellenistic world."Elizabeth Kosmetatou, Bryn Mawr Classical Review