Dr Conor Trainor: “What Happened Under Roman Rule? A View From Two Greek Cities”

BSA Friends' Lecture
Abstract: Traditionally, the Roman period of Greek history has been interpreted as a period of economic decline, or stagnation. In recent years, new research, especially from survey projects, has begun to challenge this picture. This talk will present some results from two urban survey projects that appear to indicate some level of economic growth in Greece during the Roman period. Survey data is critical here because it provides us with a long term overview of an area. In this case, two cities Sikyon and Knossos, came under Roman command through very different circumstances, at different time periods, but present us with a very similar pattern of sectoral growth, and begin to call into question the economic narrative that Roman rule led to economic decline or stagnation in Greece.