In this seminar we analyze social compliance and the willingness to accept regulation or instruction, delivered person to person or by systemic prescription. We investigate what the consequences of the various results of such assessment may be for our understanding of social cohesion (or its weaknesses) and political stability (or lack thereof). How 'biddable' were the millions of inhabitants of 'the ancient world'? And how much did the level of their consent to direction by others matter for the purposes of community solidarity and continuity?