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Private wealth and public finance in the hellenistic polis Peter Satterthwaite

Dissertations & Theses @ University of Pennsylvania Available online

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Format:
Book
Thesis/Dissertation
Author/Creator:
Satterthwaite, Peter, author.
Contributor:
University of Pennsylvania. Ancient History., degree granting institution.
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
Ancient history.
Classical studies.
Finance.
Public policy.
0579.
0434.
0509.
0630.
0501.
0508.
Local Subjects:
Ancient history.
Classical studies.
Finance.
Public policy.
0579.
0434.
0509.
0630.
0501.
0508.
Genre:
Academic theses
Physical Description:
1 online resource (364 pages)
Contained In:
Dissertations Abstracts International 87-12A
Place of Publication:
Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 2026
Language Note:
English
Summary:
This dissertation investigates the role that private wealth played in the public finances of Greek poleis during the early Hellenistic period, from the late fourth to mid-second centuries BCE. This work adopts a holistic approach, taking into consideration a wide variety of financial arrangements that city-states could use to mobilize the wealth of rich individuals. These include eisphorai, liturgies, public subscriptions, and various kinds of individual financial services ("euergetism"), which together range from obligatory taxes to contractual agreements to voluntary donations. Whereas traditional scholarship on Greek public finance tends to separate these into discrete categories, this dissertation moves away from rigid typologies and instead treats these financial arrangements as a spectrum of fund-raising strategies that were available to Hellenistic polis communities. This reframing of the problem puts the focus on the polis and emphasizes the ways in which the demos played an active part in determining how private wealth factored into public finances. By combining the public epigraphy of Hellenistic cities with archaeological, numismatic, and literary evidence, this research demonstrates that the demos enacted this role both through formal polis institutions and through informal social practices; the functioning of the former was often dependent on the latter. This dissertation offers a new perspective on Greek democracy in the Hellenistic period while also outlining a versatile new approach for studying the financial relationships between Greek poleis and rich individuals
Notes:
Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 87-12, Section: A.
Advisors: Wilker, Julia Committee members: McInerney, Jeremy; Rose, C. Brian
Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania 2026
Vendor supplied data
Local Notes:
School code: 0175
ISBN:
9798247973409
Access Restriction:
Restricted for use by site license

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