This volume presents an innovative picture of the ancient Mediterranean world. Approaching poverty as a multifaceted condition it examines how different groups were affected by the lack of access to symbolic cultural and social â as well as economic â capital. Collecting a wide range of studies by an international team of experts it presents a diverse and complex analysis of life in antiquity from the archaic to the late antique period. The sections on Greece Rome and Late Antiquity offer in-depth studies of ancient life integrating analysis of socio-economic dynamics and cultural and discursive strategies that shaped this crucial element of ancient (and modern) societies. Themes like social cohesion and control exclusion gender agency and identity are explored through the combination of archaeological epigraphic and literary evidence presenting a rich panorama of Greco-Roman societies and a stimulating collection of new approaches and methodologies for their understanding. The book offers a comprehensive view of the ancient world analysing different social groups â from wealthy elites to poor peasants and the destitute â and their interactions in contexts as diverse as Classical Athens and Sparta imperial Rome and the late antique towns of Egypt and North Africa. Poverty in Ancient Greece and Rome: Realities and Discourses is a valuable resource for students and scholars of ancient history classical literature and archaeology. In addition topics covered in the book are of interest to social scientists scholars of religion and historians working on poverty and social history in other periods. . Language: English