Videocast: The Quality of Life in Classical Antiquity

How great was life in Ancient Greece anyway?  In this lecture, Stanford University professor Walter Scheidel, in Athens to participate in the inauguration of the new Onassis Center, addresses precisely this question. Scheidel, an internationally noted historian of the ancient world approaches his subject by using a variety of measures to try to define “The Quality of Life in Antiquity.”  The surprising conclusions are provocative and establish a framework for future research in this poorly understood area of economic history.     

This year we are able to share videocasts of presentations worldwide via the Internet thanks to the generosity of Alex Zagoreos, president of the Board of Overseers of the Gennadius Library. The School also thanks the Cannellopoulos Foundation and the U.S. Dept. of Education for their support.

Approximate running time 58 minutes.
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Walter Scheidel (Stanford University). “The Quality of Life in Classical Antiquity.” part 1 .

Walter Scheidel (Stanford University). “The Quality of Life in Classical Antiquity.” part 2 .