Ancient Greek History and Contemporary Social Science

There is a long history of successful engagement between social science and classical studies. Social science has been a source of new and productive approaches to understanding ancient Greece, while classical Greek history and culture has been a touchstone for social theorists since the 19th century. This new collection of essays surveys the current state of the new field of 'social science Greek history' and demonstrates the potential of this interdisciplinary field.

Substantial bodies of work that have contributed in fundamental ways to our understanding of classical Greece and its cultural legacy were produced in 20th century, by employing methods from anthropology, sociology, and psychology. More recently, the use of quantitative methods and formal theory, drawn from contemporary political science, economics, and sociology, has led to a new understanding of ancient Greek economic and political development. Meanwhile, normative considerations, drawn from contemporary political philosophy, have led to a richer understanding of Greek political thought and Greek institutional innovations notably including democracy and the rule of law.

Mirko Canevaro is Reader in Greek History, at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of The Documents in the Attic Orators (OUP, 2013. He is co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Law (OUP, 2016) and The Hellenistic and Early-Imperial Reception of Athenian Democracy and Political Thought (OUP, 2016). Andrew Erskine is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh. Benjamin Gray is lecturer in Ancient History, Birkbeck, University of London and also (until August 2018) Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow, Institut fur Geschichtswissenschaften, Humboldt-Universitat Berlin. Josiah Ober is Constantine Mitsotakis Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University. He is the author of The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece (Princeton, 2015), Democracy and Knowledge: Innovation and Learning in Classical Athens (Princeton, 2008), Athenian Legacies: Essays on the Politics of Going on Together (Princeton, 2005), Political Dissent in Democratic Athens (Princeton, 1998), The Athenian Revolution (Princeton, 1996), Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens (Princeton, 1989), Fortress Attica (Brill, 1985). He is co-author of Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece (University of California Press, 2007).