Introduction

Abstract

Abstract In the Introduction to the volume we outline the purpose and principles of studying the subordinates in the world through the lens of Boiotia in the archaic and classical periods. By considering the experiences of subordination of different types within the landscape of Askra and the later effects of community-wide subordination during the period of Theban Hegemony in the fourth century bce, we situate the wider ambitions of the volume in a single geographic area, but across a chronological span that matches that of the contributions within the volume. We also address here the methodological challenges of the work, recent developments in scholarship relating to the study of subordinates, and the relationship of the contributions of the individual chapters in relation to these.