People in Their Environment

This chapter examines the demography of ancient Greece from the Archaic to the Hellenistic periods, focusing on the role of people in the development of the ecological environment. It first considers the ecological framework, taking into account the constraints imposed by topography and soils as well as the variability of the climate and vegetation. It then describes the demographic model of the world of the Greek city-states before taking up the question of the size of the population and its evolution, fertility and mortality rates, demographic structures and the potential for expansion, and sex ratio imbalance, birth control, and infanticide. It also discusses the population dynamics of the Greek city-states and concludes with an analysis of the relationship between the ecological environment and population, with emphasis on the variability of climate and whether ancient Greece experienced demographic crises and famine.