Rome and the Class Struggle in the Greek States 200-146 B.C. *

Class divisions in the Greek world were extremely clear-cut. The distribution of wealth was very uneven, and it is possible to speak of two parties in every state, the rich and the poor, the few and the many. These descriptions are common in ancient writers. ¹ There were, no doubt, those who did not fit easily into either category but the schematism is far more fruitful than many modern ones. Strife between these two classes was a continual feature of Greek history, and changes of constitution were the symptom of the victory of one or other of the classes. Oligarchy was the ascendancy of the rich, democracy of the poor.