The Polis and its Environment. An Alternative Model for the Rise of City-Statehood in Ancient Greece (working title)

In the face of current environmental crises in the Anthropocene, it comes as no surprise that environmental approaches are increasingly being used to explain historical change. One topic that has so far been little examined from this perspective, but which is nonetheless of central importance to Ancient History, is the emergence of the polis in Late-Geometric/Archaic Greece. In view of this desideratum, the dissertation project investigates the potential of an environmental-historical perspective for explaining the phenomenon of the rise of city-statehood in ancient Greece. In doing so, previous master narratives, which have so far focused on processes of institutionalization as a result of social conflict containment and on the functional differentiation and monumentalization of urban space, are expanded to include an ecological perspective by referring to the active design of the natural environment by (proto-)political communities in statu nascendi. Thus moving beyond a simple eco-determinism, the complex web of interdependencies between environmental factors and human agency is brought into focus.

For the construction of an urban settlement with its assembly places and sanctuaries, forests had to be cleared, quarries and water pipes had to be developed, swamps had to be drained, and groves had to be planted, among other things. This raises questions about the relevant historical players and their interests and cultural ideas associated with the design of the respective natural environment, as well as the question of how elite concurrence and striving for prestige contributed to the acceleration of environmental design activities. Furthermore, questions arise about the necessary know-how and the concrete compensation of workers in a non-monetized society. The above-mentioned problems lead to the overarching question of the extent to which such processes of joint environmental design could have contributed to the development of a sense of civic belonging; in view of the necessity of centralized coordination of the aforementioned environmental design projects and the containment of resulting power positions, on the other hand, there will also be an examination of the extent to which the formation of institutions of city-state leadership and control could have been promoted by said processes.

In addressing the questions raised here, the dissertation project employs an archaeohistorical approach, characterized by a comprehensive integration of the respective written, archaeological, and natural scientific source material. The analysis is based on a wide range of case studies of individual city-states, thereby taking into account the diversity of both the Greek natural environment and the political topographies that emerged from it.

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hans Beck