Everyday Violence in the Hellenistic Age and the Roman Principate

Abstract

This study examines forms of violence manifested in everyday life, beyond the contexts of interstate and civil wars, during the Hellenistic period and the Roman Principate, taking into account not only physical but also verbal and structural violence. Literary and epigraphic sources, primarily from the eastern Mediterranean, indicate the widespread presence of all three forms of violence. Moreover, everyday violence was closely connected to the most significant social and historical processes of the period under investigation, particularly the growing status disparities within urban societies and increasing geographical mobility. Although these processes did not necessarily result in violent acts, in many cases they motivated and intensified them, and they also played an important role in shaping both the social perception and the legal regulation of violence.