In ancient Greece and Rome an ambiguous relationship developed between man and nature, and this decisively determined the manner in which they treated the environment. On the one hand, nature was conceived as a space characterized and inhabited by divine powers, which deserved appropriate respect. On the other, a rationalist view emerged, according to which humans were to subdue nature using their technologies and to dispose of its resources. This book systematically describes the ways in which the Greeks and Romans intervened in the environment and thus traces the history of the tension between the exploitation of resources and the protection of nature, from early Greece to the period of late antiquity. At the same time it analyses the comprehensive opening up of the Mediterranean and the northern frontier regions, both for settlement and for economic activity. The book's level and approach make it highly accessible to students and non-specialists.

In ancient Greece and Rome an ambiguous relationship developed between man and nature, and this decisively determined the manner in which they treated the environment. On the one hand, nature was conceived as a space characterized and inhabited by divine powers, which deserved appropriate respect. On the other, a rationalist view emerged, according to which humans were to subdue nature using their technologies and to dispose of its resources. This book systematically describes the ways in which the Greeks and Romans intervened in the environment and thus traces the history of the tension between the exploitation of resources and the protection of nature, from early Greece to the period of late antiquity. At the same time it analyses the comprehensive opening up of the Mediterranean and the northern frontier regions, both for settlement and for economic activity. The book's level and approach make it highly accessible to students and non-specialists.

Kaum ein Thema der griechischen Geschichte ist in den letzten Jahren so breit und kontrovers diskutiert worden wie das antike Sparta. Im Zentrum steht die Frage nach der Entstehung und dem Charakter dieses Gemeinwesens, dessen Gestalt schon in der Antike zu einem vielfach zitierten Vorbild wurde. Der auf eine Berliner Tagung von Sparta-Spezialisten zurueckgehende Sammelband versucht hier Orientierung zu schaffen und fuer die Erforschung des fruehen Sparta neue Perspektiven aufzu zeigen. Aus dem Inhalt Einleitung: Uberlegungen zum fruehen Sparta Lukas Thommen: Das Territorium des fruehen Sparta in Mythos, Epos und Forschung Karl-Wilhelm Welwei: Uberlegungen zur fruehen Helotie in Lakonien Martin Dreher: Die Primitivitat der spartanischen Verfassung Alberto Maffi: Recht und Rechtsprechung in Sparta Andreas Luther: Die Volksversammlung in Sparta Winfried Schmitz: Die Macht ueber die Sprache. Kommunikation, Politik und soziale Ordnung in Sparta Mischa Meier: Wann entstand das Homoios-Ideal in Sparta? Hans van Wees:, The Oath of the Sworn Bandsae. The Acharnae Stela, the Oath of Plataea and Archaic Spartan Warefare Ernst Baltrusch: Polis und Gastfreundschaft: Die Grundlagen der spartanischen Auaenpolitik Stefan Rebenich: Leonidas und die Thermopylen. Zum Sparta-Bild in der deutschen Altertumswissenschaft Register