ABSTRACT
THE best surviving evidence for the size of the Athenian population in the fifth century is supplied by the figures of the hoplites who were engaged or were available at any one time. The hoplite class was made up of fit males of military age, belonging to the free community and satisfying the minimum income qualification. There are serious difficulties in trying to estimate the size of the Athenian population from the size of the hoplite group, for we do not know what proportion of the free population the hoplites represent, nor do we know what percentage of the total population was free: even in the case of the hoplites our figures, in all except one case, refer to men actually committed to battle, and we have to estimate what proportion of the total field force these contingents represent.
