Localism in Hellenistic GreeceSheila Ager and Hans BeckThe Hellenistic age witnessed a dynamic increase of cultural fusion and entanglement across the Mediterranean and Eurasian worlds. Amid seismic changes in the world writ large, the regions of central Greece and the Peloponnese have often been considered a cultural space left behind. Localism in Hellenistic Greece explores how various processes impacted the countless small-scale, local communities of the Greek mainland.Drawing on notions of locality, localism, local tradition, and boundedness in place, Sheila L. Ager and Hans Beck delve into some of the main hubs of Hellenistic Greece, from Thessaly to Cape Tainaron. Along with their contributors, they explore how polis and ethnos societies positioned themselves in a swiftly expanding horizon and the meaning-making force of the local. The book reveals how local discourses were energized by local sentiments and, much like an echo chamber, how discourses related back to the community and the place it occupied, prioritizing the local as the critical source of communal orientation. Engaging with debates about cultural connectivity and convergence, Localism in Hellenistic Greece offers new insights into lived experience in ancient Greece.Localism in Hellenistic Greece explores, in exemplary fashion, how ancient societies positioned themselves in a swiftly expanding world.Sheila L. Ager is a professor of ancient history and Dean of Arts at the University of Waterloo.Hans Beck is a professor and chair of Greek history at M ster University and adjunct professor in the Department of History and Classical Studies at McGill University.Prefaceppvii viii1Introduction: Localism in Hellenistic GreeceHans Beckpp2 352Localism and Environmental History in the Hellenistic Kopaic BasinRuben Postpp36 673Healing a Battlefield: The Local World of Hellenistic ChaironeiaChandra Girouxpp68 1074The Other Side of the Stone: Local Proxenia in the Hellenistic Euboian GulfAlex Mcauleypp108 1315Notes on Matrimonial Strategies in Civic Contextssara sabapp132 1456Local Horizons for the Thessalian EleutheriaDenver Graningerpp145 1787The Problematic Localism of the Hellenistic AitoliansJoseph B. Scholtenpp180 1998Aligning the Dots: Local Self-Assertion in a Politically Expanding WorldPeter Funkepp200 2159The Local Voice of Enmity: Kleomenes III, Sparta, and ArgosElena Franchipp216 24510 Sparta is my country : Competitive Localism in Hellenistic SpartaSebastian Scharffpp245 27711Shaping and Reshaping Local Memories in Megalopolis: The Case of the Tyrants Aristodamos and LydiadasJames Roypp278 29712Global Activities in a Localized Context: Mercenaries, Proxeny, and the Small Local World of Hellenistic ManiChelsea A.M. Gardnerpp298 32513Being Syracusan in the Hellenistic WorldMark Thatcherpp326 34914Between the Local and the Global: Intersectional Elites at Antiochia ad Cragum in Roman Rough Ciliciatimothy howepp350 36515Afterword: Reflections on Hellenistic LocalismSheila L. Agerpp366 380Contributorspp381 382Indexpp383 398
