Popular Political Participation from the Early Roman Empire to Late Antiquity
The Assemblies of the Greek Cities beyond Athens
Popular Political Participation from the Early Roman Empire to Late Antiquity
The Assemblies of the Greek Cities beyond Athens
Description
This edited volume offers a study of the popular assemblies of the ancient Greek cities, beyond Athens, from Augustus to Constantine. It explores the idea that these assemblies were an essential element of the institutional structure of thousands of cities across the eastern Mediterranean. In this way, the assembly is shown not to be a typically Athenian or even democratic institution (since poleis with a non-democratic politeia also had assemblies), but rather a common factor in the constitution of Greek cities spanning centuries.
Although several chapters consider Roman assemblies and practices, this volume retains its focus on Greek traditions of popular political participation via the assembly in the Roman period. The contributors, from across the world, show that the role of the assembly was an important key to explaining the remarkable resilience of the polis as a system of government. As a result, the reader gains a much deeper and more detailed understanding of how politically inclusive the ancient Greek city was, in different parts of the Greek world during the various periods of Roman history, and how this inclusivity was organized institutionally.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Tables
Thierry Oppeneer and Arjan Zuiderhoek, The assemblies of the Greek cities in the Roman era
Cédric Brélaz, From mob to consensus: Forms of popular participation and Greek civic ideology during the Roman imperial period
Anna Heller, Popular agency and public honours in Roman Asia Minor
John Ma, Decision-making in Prousa ca. 100 CE
Christina T. Kuhn, Dio Chrysostom and political discourse in the popular assemblies of Roman Asia Minor
Nikos Giannakopoulos, Remarks on the role of the popular assembly in the cities of Roman Greece
Ariel Samuel Lewin, Popular assemblies and political culture in the cities of the Roman Near East
Henri Fernoux, 'They carry their own confirmation': The people's decrees and the governor's authority in the cities of Roman Asia Minor
Anne-Valérie Pont, Roman norms and popular political participation in the cities of Western Asia Minor
Adolfo La Rocca, The end of popular assemblies
Thierry Oppeneer and Arjan Zuiderhoek, The Greek assemblies from a longue-durée perspective: Theoretical reflections and approaches
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | 09 Jul 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 288 |
| ISBN | 9781350358539 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 3 bw illus |
| Series | Bloomsbury Ancient Politics |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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