Chapter 153 of 404

Life in Galilee

Although ancient population estimates are always precarious, estimates of Galilee’s population around three-quarters of a million⁴⁸ probably at least offer a general order of magnitude to work with.⁴⁹

Literary and archaeological sources both suggest a cultural distinction between upper Galilee (the Golan) and lower Galilee. The latter included larger and more culturally mixed urban areas; although most of its inhabitants lived in villages, the wider cultural diversity in Galilee’s cities must have regularly influenced the villages to some degree.⁵⁰ Nevertheless, Galilee as a whole had some homogenous cultural characteristics.⁵¹ Moreover, archaeological and literary evidence confirm that the heavy population of the lower Galilee was primarily rural and agricultural,⁵² and villages, despite outside cultural influences, were mainly autonomous politically and economically.⁵³ The wider ancient Mediterranean clash between urban and rural life obtained in Galilee as well,⁵⁴ though it should not be exaggerated.⁵⁵

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