This study examines Boiotia in the Geometric and Archaic periods (ca. 1050-500 BC), concentrating on three aspects in particular, namely population, settlement, and colonisation. A brief chapter introduces the reader to Boiotia, the setting, which gives the relevant background to later developments. In chapter II, it is argued that Boiotia participated rather extensively in emigration during the Dark Age, leaving the homeland, with the exception of a few refuge settlements, somewhat denuded of its previous population. The following chapter not only builds on this latter point archaeologically but also looks at the development of settlement, focusing primarily on the fact that settlement, and presumably population, grew steadily in Boiotia until well into the Classical period. The final chapter is divided into two parts; it first examines the secure cases of Boiotian colonisation and then the doubtful or possible instances. After considering possible socio-political factors, the discussion is taken in another direction. The search for metals is suggested, and the study ends with a plea for a systematic study of whether land-shortage was really as paramount a cause of Greek colonisation as presently believed.

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