An Environmental History of Greece

Bringing together an international, multidisciplinary cast of scholars, this book provides an examination of the ways in which the natural environment and human societies have interacted throughout history in the Greek lands. Using Greece as a case study, it traces this complex relationship from antiquity to the present. An Environmental History of Greece also explores various solutions to climatic challenges and environmental changes throughout history, as well as evolving philosophical views of the environment.

The book looks at how, from ancient times, people living in the Mediterranean have encountered and confronted climatic challenges, including volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, fires, and drought. It considers how Greek stories of climatic trials have been documented over the centuries and subsequently absorbed into the nation’s history and culture. The volume’s contributors analyse how various institutions and stakeholders viewed the Greek landscape and governed the Greek land, with the perceived environmental roles of the Orthodox Church and the political and economic elites considered as part of this. Lastly, the authors examine how past perceptions of the environment continue to impact our assessments of the globe in the age of polycrisis.