Une microhistoire d''Athenes

The demes, administrative districts of the city of Athens, constitute a privileged observatory for the study of ancient societies. The small scale they represent gives the historian the opportunity to grasp the most diverse aspects of the lives of their inhabitants and their citizens. This book investigates more closely the daily life of the ancient Athenians through the study of Aixone, one of the most populated and best documented demes. Through the careful analysis of the available sources - inscriptions, archaeological structures, ancient writers, stories of modern and contemporary travelers - a new light is shed on the topography and the institutional functioning of a deme, on the political, economic and religious activities that were held there. The results of this study, however, far exceed the local level. New or little known divinities, unknown magistracies, religious, economic, legal and institutional practices that have been poorly documented or misunderstood so far, a whole new section of Greek history is revealed in this microhistory of Athens.