The Housing Crisis in Ancient Greece and Rome

The ancient Greeks and Romans also struggled with the housing crisis.

In many developed countries, real estate prices have risen so much that for many people, the dream of owning a home has faded away. Renting is often not the best option, as the supply of affordable housing is limited.

This is one of the most pressing issues of our time. But is it a problem that only exists in our time? Just like today, people in ancient times dreamed of owning property. Buying a house was a source of joy.

But they also had to face some strikingly similar difficulties at different times and over different centuries.

The housing crisis is nothing new

In 164 BC, the king of Egypt, Ptolemy, went into exile and fled to Italy. Disguised as a commoner and accompanied by three slaves, he traveled to Rome. There, Ptolemy sought out his friend Demetrius.

When he found him, he was shocked. This friend, who was quite wealthy in Egypt, lived in poverty.

One of the reasons for this, as the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (c. 80–20 BC) tells us, was that rents in Rome had become very expensive: “Since the rents in Rome were very high, Demetrius lived in a small and completely dilapidated attic.”

Despite the fact that Demetrius was a wealthy man, life in Rome was so expensive that he could not find a decent and affordable property to rent.

Housing crises had serious social consequences

In the 130s BC, Rome was in a difficult situation. Due to the greed of wealthy landowners, the poor were increasingly unable to pay rent or purchase property.

As the Greek writer Plutarch (c. 46-119 AD) tells us, “The rich began to offer higher rents and drive out the poor.”

To try to solve this problem, Roman politicians decided to create a law that “prohibited one person from owning more than five hundred acres of land.”

However, this law was not successful. The rich found ways to circumvent it by hiring intermediaries who purchased properties for them.

This failure had serious social consequences. As Plutarch explains, “The poor, who had been driven from their lands, no longer showed any enthusiasm for military service and neglected the upbringing of their children.”

As people could no longer afford to live in their own country, many felt that their future had lost all meaning. They lost their desire to fight for their country and to raise future generations.

Attempts to solve the problem

For centuries, ancient rulers also tried to solve the problem of housing unaffordability in various ways.

One proposal was for the state to offer free land on which applicants could build houses.

As the Athenian writer Xenophon (c. 430–350 BC) noted, “If the state allowed approved applicants to build houses on [empty plots within the city] and granted them ownership of the land, I believe we would find a larger and better class of people willing to live in Athens.”

What if there was no free land available for people without access to housing? Servius Tullius, the king of Rome in the 6th century BC, offers an example of another possible (and perhaps familiar-sounding) solution: urban expansion.

According to the historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus (writing in the 1st century BC), Servius expanded the city’s boundaries and cleared new land for construction.

This area was inhabited by Romans who “did not have their own homes.” This solution seems to have worked and significantly expanded the city.

Location, location

People in ancient times also understood that location was crucial. They knew that moving from a big city to a rural area would make real estate more affordable.

For example, the Roman poet Juvenal (c. 55-127 AD) remarked that for the same amount that you would pay for an annual rent in Rome: “You can buy a great house in Sora, Fabrateria or Frusino right away […] Here you will have a small garden […] Live loving your hoe, as the caretaker of your garden […]”.