The Shasta courier., 1867-11-09
SHASTA COURIER.
Population of Ancient Times.


Many populous cities existed also in Asia
Minor. the cities Of which are now ONLY indi
Gated by solitary ruins. The great nations
and powerful empires of those times and
those localities disappear amid the dim vistas
of ancient history, till again offsets from
them become conspicuous on the opposite
shores of Europe, and we begin to have some
more definite knowledge of the statistics of
the Grecian and Roman cities. The state
meDts Of the various historians are, it is true
somewhat contradictory but we think, on
the whole, it will be found from those records
that the ideas sometimes entertained of the
great populousness of ancient times as COM
pared with the preseut have been very much
exaggerated.
Athens with the exception of Syracuse,
was the largest city of Greece. Thucydides
mentions that its extent within the walls was
eighteen miles, besides the sea coast on one
side. There was, however, according to
Xenophon, much waste grounds within the
walls, which seem, indeed, to have contained
within their boundary four distinct Cities
Many of the houses, too, must have stood
apart, with considerable space between them
for the total number within this large area
amounted to 10000. According to Athenaus,
there were in Athens q 900 citizens and
10000 strangers that is to be understood,
according to the usual practice of enumera-
ton, full grown men, capable of bearing
arms if we multiply this by four, we shall
have the probable number of the free popula
ton as l24 1000 Besides there were the
ordinary number of slaves--a class of popu
lation common to most nations of antiquity.
A medium estimate of them and their fami-
lies might amount to 100, 200, making on the
whole, a population for Athens of 2S4 000
This does not much more than equal the
population of several of our manufacturing
towns In the number of houses, and exclu
ding the slaves, Athens in its prime was, in
fact. inferior to the Scotch metropolis.
According to Pliny, Selucia, the seat of
the Greek empire in the East, was reported
to contain 100000 people. Stabo makes
Carthage contain 100000 Rhodes, when
beseiged by Demetrius. contained 5000 citi.
zens capable of bearing arms. Thebes con-
tanned 5000 citizens. When Philip of Ma
cedon was declared head of the Greek confed
eracy, he summoned a congress of all the
states except that of Lacedemon, which
refused TO concur, and he found the force of
the whole to amount to 200, 900 infantry, and
l., 900 cavalry.
The free population of ancient Greece, with
the exception of Lacona, has been estimated
at S60,0 900, the slaves at 10000; making a
total of | 800, 900, or about half the present
population of Scotland. Nor could it be
expected to be otherwise. Greece is not a
large, nor a particularly fertile country
The art of agriculture had not then arrived
at great perfection and commerce, though
practised by some of the states, and par
ticularly by the Athenians was of very
limited extent
What wealth existed appears to have been
equally divided among the citizens. We
learn this from various circumstances. When
Xenophon returned from his famous expedi-
ton with Cyrus, he hired himself and his
soldiers into the service of Thracian prince
aud the articles of his agreement were, that
each soldier should receive ddric (about
9l. 12s. 38d) a month, each captain two
darics, and he himself, as general, four
Demonthenes and Eschines were sent am
bassadors to Philip of Macedon. their allow
ance was only drachma (about Ell ightpence)
n day to each, or not more than the pay of
common foot soldier. A citizen of Greece
was thought to be left in easy circumstances
with ten slaves employed in manufactures !;
and the possession Of sixty slaves excited the
eupidity of the thirty tyrants who prescribed
Lvsias and his brother on that account alone
Demosthenes was left very rich by his father,
and his wealth consisted of sixty-two slaves.
His work house of twenty cabinet makers
was esteemed very considerable manufac-
tory. The high rate of interest, the lowest
being twelve per cent, and the great profits
on trade. evidently show that capital had
not accumulated, and that trade could not
have been very extensive. Lysas mentions
that hundred per. cent. profit was made
on a cargo which cost two talents, and which
was only sent from Athens to Adriatic.
no,,o,4boras blo,aao his INT FIR m
ploving his money during his minority to
like advantage, "by which means, in eleven
years it ought to have been tripled."
Rome. the great center of population in
ancient Italy, has been variouSly estimated
as to extent. Dionvsious Halicarnassus
making the walls of that city nearly of the
same compass as those of Athens; but then
the suburbs were more extensive. The
houses of the poorer classes were also high,
consisting of several stories crowded togeth-
er, while those of the nobility were large,
occupying more space. The palace of Nero
is described as of enormous dimensions
The number of citizens who received public
corn in the reign of Augustus were 200, 900.
This dona ion was intended for the poorer
classes, and perhaps generally accepted only
by them; yet we find that the higher ranks
thought it no degradation also to claim their
snare. Ine next question uuueclueu ls-ulu
every individual, or only every family. thus
receive a share? According to the best au-
thorities, every man of full age was entitled
to claim. Suppose that fourth of full age
of the higher classes is added to the 200, 900
claimants, we have thus full grown male
population of $50, 900, which, multiplied by
four, gives the probable amount of free citi
zens at 100000. To this is to be added a
proportion of slaves, perhaps not less than
half million. And thus we would have
ancient Rome. including its extensive envi
rons, much about the size of modern Lon
don.
Herodian tells that the cities of Alexan-
dria and Antioch were very little inferior to
Rome and Diodorus Siculus in his time
computes Alexandra to contain 800, 900 free
people. This, however, is exclusive ofslaves,
the amount of whom is not enumerated
Suppose that there were an equal number of
slaves, this would make the population 600,-
700, and would show that our previous esti-
mates OF Rome was too high.
WHEN Bishop Asbury "run" the Metho-
uist Church there was one circuit in Virgin
Ia where the ladies were so fascinating that
an the young preachers sent there were soon