Agricola: A study of agriculture and rustic life in the Greco-Roman world from the point of view of labour

About this book

William Emerton Heitland’s Agricola is a scholarly survey of Greco‑Roman agriculture that frames its inquiry around the lived experience of farm labourers. The opening pages make clear that the author’s ambition is to fill a gap in classical studies: the scarcity of statistical data and the absence of a worker‑centred perspective. He thanks a circle of academic mentors, Buckland, Coulton, Glover, Housman, and outlines a meticulous structure that moves from early Greek evidence through Roman law, literature and imperial practice, ending with Byzantine sources. The introductory essay argues that, despite the fragmentary nature of the evidence, the agricultural sector was the backbone of ancient economies, and that its labour conditions, from slave toil to free coloni, merit the same scrutiny afforded to modern wage‑earners.

The work is written in the measured, citation‑heavy prose of early‑20th‑century British academia, with frequent references to classical authors, jurists and epigraphic material. Its tone is that of a careful historian rather than a narrative storyteller, appealing to readers who relish detailed source analysis and comparative economic history. Specialists in classical studies, economic historians, and anyone interested in the intersection of agriculture, law and social structure in antiquity will find Heitland’s methodical approach rewarding.

Opening lines

Very few words are needed here, for the book is meant to explain its own scope. I have only to thank those to whose kindness I am deeply indebted. Professor Buckland was so good as to help me when I was striving to utilize the evidence of the Roman jurists. Chapter XLIX in particular owes much to his genial chastisement. On chapters II and LXI Mr G G Coulton has given me most valuable criticism. Yet I thank these gentlemen with some reluctance, fearing that I may seem to connect their names with errors of my own. Mr T R Glover kindly read chapter XXIX. Professor Housman called my attention to the ‘Farmer’s Law,’ and kindly lent me Mr Ashburner’s articles, to which I have referred in Appendix B. To all these, and to the Syndics of the University Press for undertaking the publication of this unconventional work, I hereby express my sincere gratitude. …

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