American Journal of Philology

Shipley's insightful and timely study sheds some much needed light on the history of an important region during an important time. Indeed, with a few notable and recent exceptions, as the author himself notes, "historians seem loath to treat this period of Peloponnesian history head-on rather than from the perspective of individual states or regions" (2). Combining epigraphic, numismatic, and archaeological evidence to supplement the ancient sources from the period in question, Shipley's "head-on" approach aims to provide a new and comprehensive narrative of the Peloponnese during the early Hellenistic period through a close examination at various scales (peninsula, region, polis, and locality). Shipley maintains that the conventional picture of an early Hellenistic Peloponnese as a proverbial backwater left ruined and impoverished by the heavy-handed machinations of oppressive Macedonian kings needs to be replaced by one characterized instead largely by continuity and even improvement. While events on either end of the chronological spectrum are provided for background and context, as noted in the title, the work is largely concerned with the history of the peninsula in the time between the Battle of Chaironeia in 338 b.c.e. and the end of Macedonian authority over southern Greece in 197 b.c.e.

The book, divided into five chapters, begins with an important introductory chapter titled "The Acropolis of Greece." These words, used by Strabo (8.1.3) to describe the Peloponnese, effectively capture the perceived importance of the peninsula in antiquity, and by association, why it is a region deserving of this detailed study. In this, Chapter 1, Shipley describes the main objective of the book: to examine "an under-researched topic, Peloponnesian history in the round, and a neglected period … to clarify how the peninsula developed during that 'long third century' of Macedonian domination … [and to determine whether] the Peloponnese in the late Classical and Hellenistic periods, and more broadly Old Greece, was a backwater of little interest" (1). After a brief overview of previous work on the subject—which highlights the fact that most previous studies covering the period in question focus on Sparta or the Achaean League and not specifically the social and economic history of the Peloponnese—the author describes the methodology and sources employed. Here Shipley rightly points out that the advances in the fields of epigraphy, numismatics, and archaeology [End Page 564] (including field survey), when taken in the context of the ancient literary evidence, "justify a new construction of the hellenistic Peloponnese" (8). Finally, to provide readers with the necessary background information, the chapter concludes with a geographic overview of the peninsula in which the author provides the size, climate, natural resources/economy, and a brief history of the major poleis in the different geographic regions (i.e., Corinthia, Sicyonia, Achaia, Eleia, Messenia, Laconia, Argolis, and Arcadia).

In many ways, similarly to the first chapter, Chapter 2 also serves an introductory function by providing the necessary historical context and by introducing several themes which are discussed in more detail later in the book. The story of the Peloponnese during the early Hellenistic period was one of violence and war (both from internal and external powers), and thus this chapter primarily covers the main military historical events and how the rulers of Macedon shaped the geopolitical landscape of the peninsula. Shipley maintains that unless contradictory evidence exists, we should assume a level of continuity in the socioeconomic developments of poleis between the (well-documented) 4th century and (less well-documented) 3rd century b.c.e. Furthermore, he correctly points out that to truly understand the history of the Peloponnese during the early Hellenistic period, it is necessary to understand the historical factors that shaped the region prior to this time. For these reasons, his historical overview begins well before Macedonian involvement in the area with Sparta's rise to hegemony and domination in the Peloponnese in the 6th and 5th centuries and its role in the Peloponnesian League...