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Theeconomy of ancient Greece was dominated byagricultural production and exchange.[1] Most agricultural production was carried out in the countryside, while the cities orpoleis were net consumers.[1] There was enough fertile soil and winter rainfall on the ancient Greek mainland for agricultural production, despite the fact thatthe region is relatively mountainous and has generally small rivers.[1]
Agricultural trade was of particular importance.[citation needed] The impact of limited crop production was somewhat offset by Greece's paramount location, as its position in theMediterranean gave its provinces control over some of Egypt's most crucial seaports and trade routes.[citation needed] Beginning in the 6th century BCE, tradecraftsmanship andcommerce, principallymaritime, became pivotal aspects of Greek economic output.[1][failed verification]
Until the 8th century BCE, the Greek mainland provided enough cultivatable soil to produce food for its inhabitants. However, during the transition from theGreek Dark Ages ((c. 1180–800 BCE) to theArchaic Greek period (c. 800 BCE–480 BCE) in the 8th century BCE, overpopulation occurred in many regions, which has been regarded as the driving factor of theGreek colonisation that then ensued until the 6th century BCE. Overseas settlements could not only house and feed the growing population, but also provide supplies of food and other materials back to themetropoleis the colonists originated from.
Some of the colonies established byAncient Athens included thecleruchies ofAsia Minor, which were important for controlling the supply ofwheat.[citation needed] The Athenianpolis could not have survived withoutgrain from Ukraine.[2] Theolive tree andgrapevine, as well as orchards, were complemented by the cultivation ofherbs,vegetables, and oil-producing plants.Husbandry was badly developed due to a lack of available land.Sheep andgoats were the most common types of livestock, while bees were kept to producehoney, the only source ofsugar known to the ancient Greeks.[citation needed]
Up to 80% of the Greek population was employed in the agricultural industry. Agricultural work followed the rhythm of the seasons: harvestingolives and trimming grapevines at the beginning of autumn and the end of winter; setting asidefallow land in the spring; harvestingcereals in the summer; cutting wood, sowing seeds, and harvesting grapes in autumn.[citation needed]
In the ancient era, most lands were held by thearistocracy. During the 7th century BC, demographic expansion and the distribution ofsuccessions created tensions between these landowners and the peasants. InAthens, this was changed bySolon's reforms, which eliminateddebt bondage and protected the peasantry. Nonetheless, a Greek aristocrat's domains remained small compared with theRomanlatifundia.[citation needed]
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Much of the craftsmanship of ancient Greece was part of thedomestic sphere. However, the situation gradually changed between the 8th and 4th centuries BC, with the increased commercialization of the Greek economy. Thus,weaving andbaking, activities so important to the Westernlate medieval economy, were done only by women before the 6th century BC. After the growth of commerce,slaves started to be used widely in workshops. Only finedyed tissues, like those made withTyrian purple, were created in workshops. On the other hand,working with metal,leather,wood, orclay was a specialized activity that was looked down upon by most Greeks.
The basic workshop was often family-operated.Lysias'sshield manufacture employed 350 slaves;Demosthenes' father, a maker ofswords, used 32. After the death ofPericles in 429 BC, a new class emerged: that of the wealthy owners and managers of workshops. Examples includeCleon andAnytus, notedtannery owners, andKleophon, whose factory producedlyres.
Non-slave workers were paid by assignment since the workshops could not guarantee regular work. In Athens, those who worked on state projects were paid onedrachma per day, no matter what craft they practised. The workday generally began atsunrise and ended in the afternoon.
The potter's work consisted of selecting the clay, fashioning the vase, drying and painting and baking it, and then applying varnish. Part of the production went to domestic usage (dishes, containers, oil lamps) or for commercial purposes, and the rest served religious or artistic functions. Techniques for working with clay have been known since theBronze Age; thepotter's wheel is a very ancient invention. The ancient Greeks did not add any innovations to these processes[citation needed].
The creation of artistically decorated vases in Greece had strong foreign influences. For instance, the famedblack-figure style ofCorinthian potters was most likely derived from the Syrian style of metalworking. The heights to which the Greeks brought the art of ceramics is, therefore, due entirely to their artistic sensibilities and not to technical ingenuity.
Pottery in ancient Greece was most often the work of slaves. Many of the potters of Athens assembled between theagora and the Dipylon, in theKerameikon. They most often operated as small workshops, consisting of a master, several paid artisans, and slaves.
Greece's main exports werewine,pottery, andmetalwork.[citation needed] Imports includedgrains andpork fromSicily,Arabia,Egypt,Ancient Carthage, and theBosporan Kingdom.[citation needed]
Archaeobotanist Helmut J. Kroll (2000) stated that olives and olive oil, first introduced in Greece in the late Bronze Age from the Levant, were probably too precious to be traded on a large scale, as there is no evidence of olivepips inThessaly, the mountains ofEpirus, Macedon, and Thrace, outside the range of cultivation of olive trees near the Mediterranean coast.[3] If anything, it was a rare, expensive, luxury product; in the inland regions where olives could not be grown, they were not imported, but replaced byflax (linseed),Camelina sativa (false flax) andpoppy instead.[a]
The main participants in Greek commerce were the class of traders known asemporoi (ἕμποροι). The state collected aduty on their cargo. AtPiraeus (the mainport of Athens), this tax was set initially at 1% or higher.[4] By the end of the 5th century, the tax had been raised to 33talents (Andocides, I, 133–134). In 413, Athens ended the collection oftribute from theDelian League and imposed a 5% duty on all the ports of her empire (Thucydides, VII, 28, 4) in the hope of increasing revenues. These duties were neverprotectionist, but were merely intended to raise money for the public treasury.
The growth of trade in Greece led to the development offinancial techniques. Most merchants, lacking sufficient cashassets, resorted to borrowing to finance all or part of their expeditions. A typical loan for a large venture in 4th century BC Athens, was generally a large sum of cash (usually less than 2,000 drachmas), lent for a short time (the length of the voyage, a matter of several weeks or months), at a high rate ofinterest (often 12% but reaching levels as high as 100%). The terms of the contract were always laid out in writing, differing from loans between friends (eranoi). The lender bore all the risks of the journey, in exchange for which the borrower committed his cargo and his entire fleet, which were precautionarily seized upon their arrival at the port ofPiraeus.
Trade in ancient Greece was free: the state controlled only the supply of grain. In Athens, following the first meeting of the newPrytaneis, trade regulations were reviewed, with a specialized committee overseeing the trade in wheat, flour, and bread.
One of the main drivers of trade in Ancient Greece was colonization. As larger city states set up colonies, there would be trade between the founding city and its colony.[5] Furthermore, differing climates between cities and their respective colonies created comparative advantages in goods. For example, colonies in Sicily would often have better weather and be able to export grain to more populous cities.[5] Larger city states often exported more value added goods, such as olive oil, back out to colonies.[5]
The number of shipwrecks found in the Mediterranean Sea provides valuable evidence of the development of trade in the ancient world.[6] Only two shipwrecks were found that dated from the 8th century BC. However, archaeologists have found forty-six shipwrecks dated from the 4th century BC, which would appear to indicate that there occurred a very large increase in the volume of trade between these centuries. Considering that the average ship tonnage also increased in the same period, the total volume of trade increased probably by a factor of 30.
While peasants and artisans often sold their wares, there were also retail merchants known askápêloi (κάπηλοι). Grouped intoguilds, they sold fish, olive oil, and vegetables. Women soldperfume orribbons. Merchants were required to pay a fee for their space in the marketplace. They were viewed poorly by the general population, andAristotle labelled their activities as: "a kind of exchange which is justly censured, for it is unnatural, and a mode by which men gain from one another."[7]
Parallel to the "professional" merchants were those who sold the surplus of their household products such as vegetables, olive oil, or bread. This was the case for many of the small-scale farmers ofAttica. Among townsfolk, this task often fell to the women. For instance,Euripides' mother soldchervil from her garden (cf.Aristophanes,The Acharnians, v. 477–478).
Direct taxation was not well-developed in ancient Greece. Theeisphorá (εἰσφορά) was a tax on the wealth of the very rich, but it was levied only when needed — usually in times of war. Large fortunes were also subject toliturgies which was the support of public works. Liturgies could consist of, for instance, the maintenance of atrireme, achorus during atheatre festival, or agymnasium. In some cases, the prestige of the undertaking attracted volunteers (analogous in modern terminology to endowment, sponsorship, or donation). Such was the case for thechoragus, who organized and financed choruses for a drama festival. In other instances, like the burden of outfitting and commanding a trireme, the liturgy functioned more like a mandatory donation (what we would today call a one-time tax), with the prestige of such a position and other elites' social pressure reducing noncompliance. In some cities, likeMiletus andTeos, heavy taxation was imposed on citizens.
The eisphora was aprogressive tax, as it was applied to only the wealthiest. The citizens had the ability to reject the taxation, if they believed there was someone else who was wealthier not being taxed. The wealthier would have to pay the liturgy.[8]
On the other hand, indirect taxes were quite important. Taxes were levied on houses, slaves, herds and flocks, wines, and hay, among other things. The right to collect many of these taxes was often transferred topublicans, ortelônai (τελῶναι). However, this was not true of all cities.Thasos'gold mines and Athens' taxes on business allowed them to eliminate these indirect taxes. Subjugated groups such as thePenestae ofThessaly and theHelots ofSparta were taxed by the city-states in which they resided.
Coinage probably began inLydia around the cities ofAsia Minor under its control.[9] Earlyelectrum coins have been found at theTemple of Diana atEphesus. The technique ofminting coins arrived in mainland Greece around 550 BC, beginning with coastal trading cities likeAegina and Athens. Their use spread and thecity-states quickly secured a monopoly on their creation. The very first coins were made fromelectrum (an alloy of gold and silver), followed by pure silver, the most commonly found valuable metal in the region. The mines of the Pangaeon hills allowed the cities ofThrace andMacedon to mint a large number of coins. Laurium's silver mines provided the raw materials for the "Athenian owls",[10][11] the most famous coins of the ancient Greek world. Less-valuablebronze coins appeared at the end of the 5th century.
Coins played several roles in the Greek world. They provided amedium of exchange, mostly used by city-states to hiremercenaries and compensate citizens. They were also a source of revenue as foreigners had to change their money into the local currency at anexchange rate favourable to the State. They served as a mobile form of metal resources, which explains discoveries of Athenian coins with high levels of silver at great distances from their home city. Finally, the minting of coins lent an air of undeniable prestige to any Greek city or city-state.
The shopping centres in Ancient Greece were calledagoras. The literal meaning of the word is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the centre of the athletic, artistic, spiritual and political life of the city. TheAncient Agora of Athens was the best-known example. Early in Greek history (18th century–8th century BC), free-born citizens would gather in the agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Every city had its agora where merchants could sell their products. There waslinen fromEgypt,Ivory fromAfrica,Spices fromSyria, and more. Prices were rarely fixed, so bargaining was a common practice.
Greece consisted of discrete enclaves on which agriculture was difficult and residents turned to the sea for their livelihood. [...] Athens could not have survived without grain from Ukraine, one reason that Athens feared Persian movements toward the Dardanelles, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea, and maybe the main reason Athens extended so many rights of participatory democracy to lower-class male citizens who served in its navy.
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