The economy of ancient Greece was characterized by the extreme importance of agriculture, all the more so because of the relative poverty of Greece's soil. An economy is the realized social system of production exchange distribution and consumption of goods and services of a country or other area The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Beginning in the 6th century B.C., craftsmanship and commerce (principally maritime) developed and became increasingly more important in the classical period. The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC. An artisan, also called a Craftsman, is a skilled manual worker who crafts items that may be functional or strictly decorative including furniture clothing Commerce is a division of trade or production which deals with the exchange of goods and services from producer to final consumer This article is about the body of water For other uses see SEA and Seas.

It should be noted that the idea of an "economy" as it is understood today is relatively anachronistic when used to refer to ancient Greece. An anachronism (from the Greek "ana" " ανά " "against anti-" and "chronos" " χρόνος " The Greek word oikonomia (οἰκονομία) designates mainly the oikos (οἶκος), meaning the home or hearth. Thus Xenophon's dialogue entitled Oeconomicus is concerned with household management and agriculture. Xenophon (Ancient Greek, Modern Greek "Ξενοφών" "Ξενοφώντας" ca The Oeconomicus Household management is the act of overseeing the organizational financial and day-to-day operations of a house or estate Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture The Greeks had no precise term to designate the processes of production and exchange. The economist Murray Rothbard, however, notes that ancient Greek philosophers grappled with questions that today would be identified as economic^[1]. Murray Newton Rothbard (March 2 1926 – January 7 1995 was an American economist of the Austrian School who helped define modern Libertarianism

Agriculture

The olive tree, one of the bases of Greek agriculture — shown here at Karystos, Euboea. Karystos (Κάρυστος is a small coastal Town on the Greek Island of Euboea. For the mythological figure see Euboea (mythology Euboea ( Modern Greek, Εύβοια - Évia &mdash

Main article: Agriculture of Ancient Greece

Since ancient times, Greek agriculture has been based on the trinity: cereals, olive oil, and grapes. Agriculture was the foundation of the Ancient Greek economy Nearly 80% of the population was involved in this activity Olive oil is a fruit oil obtained from the olive ( Olea europaea; family Oleaceae along with Lilacs Jasmine and ash trees For the Tokyo University supercomputer see Gravity Pipe. GRAPE, or GRA phics P rogramming E nvironment is However, because of natural constraints, production soon proved insufficient to satisfy demand. The soil's "stinginess" or "tightness" (Ancient Greek: stenokhôría, στενοχωρία) explains Greek colonialism and the importance of the cleruchies of Asia Minor in controlling the supply of wheat. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c Colonies in antiquity were City-states founded from a mother- City A cleruchy, (klerouchy in Hellenic Greece, was a specialized type of colony established by Athens. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East. The olive tree and grapevine were complemented by the cultivation of herbs, vegetables, and oil-producing plants. A(n herb (ˈhɝb or /ˈɝb/ see pronunciation differences) is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties flavor scent or the like The term " vegetable " generally means the edible parts of Plants The definition of the word is traditional rather than Scientific, however Husbandry was badly developed due to a lack of available land. Animal husbandry, also called Animal science, stockbreeding or simple husbandry, is the agricultural practice of breeding Sheep and goats were the most common types of livestock. The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe Woods were heavily exploited, first for domestic use and eventually to build triremes. Trireme ( τριήρης sing τριήρεις pl triremis sing Bees were kept to produce honey, the only source of sugar known to the ancient Greeks. Bees are flying Insects closely related to Wasps and Ants Bees are a Monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea Honey is a sweet and Viscous fluid produced by Honey bees (and some other species and derived from the nectar of Flowers According to the Sugar is a class of edible Crystalline substances mainly Sucrose, Lactose, and Fructose.

Since it was so labor-intensive, agriculture employed up to 80% of the Greek population. Agricultural work followed the rhythm of the seasons: harvesting olives and trimming grapevines at the beginning of autumn and the end of winter, setting aside fallow land in the spring, harvesting cereals in the summer, cutting wood, sowing seeds, and harvesting grapes in autumn.

In the ancient era, most land was held by the aristocracy. Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations During the 7th century BCE, demographic expansion and the distribution of successions created tensions between these landowners and the peasants. The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC. In Athens, the crisis was resolved by Solon's reforms, which eliminated debt bondage and protected the peasant class. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Solon ( ancient Greek:, c 638 BC&ndash558 BC was an Athenian Statesman, Lawmaker and Lyric poet. Debt bondage or bonded labor is a means of paying off loans with direct labor instead of currency or goods Nonetheless, the Greek aristocrat's domains remained small compared with the Roman latifundia. Latifundia are pieces of property covering tremendous areas The latifundia (Latin lātifundium; lātus, "spacious" + fundus, "farm estate"

Crafts

Woman working with wool, 480-470 BC, National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Much of the craftsmanship of ancient Greece was part of the domestic sphere. Events By place Greece May — King Xerxes I of Persia marches from Sardis and onto Thrace Events By Place Greece Suspected of plotting to seize power in Sparta by instigating a Helot uprising Pausanias takes The National Archaeological Museum of Athens (Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety However, the situation gradually changed between the 8th and 4th centuries, with the increased commercialization of the Greek economy. Thus, weaving and baking, activities so important to the Western late medieval economy, were done only by women before the 6th century BC, after the grow of commerce, slaves started to be widely used in workshops. This article describes textile weaving For other senses of this word see Weaving (disambiguation. Baking is the technique of prolonged Cooking of Food by dry heat acting by conduction, and not by radiation, normally in an Oven, The Late Middle Ages is a term used by historians to describe European history in the period of the 14th and 15th centuries (AD 1300–1499 Only fine dyed tissues, like those made with Tyrian purple, were created in workshops. A dye can generally be described as a Colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied On the other hand, working with metal, leather, wood, or clay, was a specialized activity, and looked down upon by most Greeks. Metalworking is craft and practice of working with Metals to create individual parts assemblies or large scale structures Leather is a material created through the Tanning of hides and Skins of Animals primarily Cattlehide The Tanning process Woodworking is the process of building making or carving something using Wood. Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware The basic workshop was often family-operated. In some cases, the Greeks resorted to the use of slave labor. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another Lysias' shield manufactory employed 120 slaves; Demosthenes' father, a maker of swords, used 32. Lysias (Greek Λυσίας (born ca 445 BC died ca 380 BC was an Attic orator. A shield is a protective device meant to intercept attacks The term often refers to a device that is held in the hand as opposed to Armour or a Bullet proof vest For the Athenian general see Demosthenes (general. For the ancient physician see Demosthenes Philalethes. After the death of Pericles in 429 BC, a new class emerged: that of the wealthy owners and managers of workshops. Pericles (also spelled Perikles) (c 495 – 429 BC Greek:, meaning "surrounded by glory" was a prominent and influential Statesman, orator Events By place Greece The Athenians under Xenophon march into Thrace to attack Chalcis. Examples include Cleon and Anytos, noted tannery owners, and Kleophon, whose factory produced lyres. Cleon (Greek Κλέων (d 422 BC was an Athenian Strategos during the Peloponnesian War. In Greek mythology, Anytos was one of the offspring of the Titans. Tanning is the process of converting Putrescible skin into non-putrescible Leather, usually with Tannin, an Acidic Chemical compound Cleophon ( Greek:, Kleophōn; ?-404 BC was an Athenian politician and demagogue who was of great influence during the Peloponnesian War. The lyre is a stringed musical instrument well known for its use in Classical Antiquity and later

Free workers were paid by assignment, since the workshops could not guarantee regular work. In Athens, those who worked on state projects were paid one drachma per day, no matter what craft they practiced. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Drachma, pl drachmas or drachmae (δραχμή pl δραχμές or δραχμαί (until 1982 is the name of An ancient currency unit found in many The workday generally began at sunrise and ended in the afternoon. Sunrise is the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears above the Horizon in the East.

Pottery

The potter's work consisted of selecting the clay, fashioning the vase, drying and baking it, and 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 the Bronze Age; the potter's wheel is a very ancient invention. The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for In Pottery, a potter's wheel is a machine used in the shaping of round ceramic wares The ancient Greeks did not add any innovations to these processes.

The creation of artistically decorated vases in Greece had strong foreign influences. For instance, the famed black-figure style of Corinthian potters most likely was derived from the Syrian style of metalworking. The black-figure pottery ( Greek, ' μελανόμορφαmelanomorpha) technique is a style of ancient Greek pottery painting in which the decoration appears Corinth, or Korinth ( Greek Κόρινθος ( is a city in Greece. 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 the agora and the Dipylon, in the Kerameikon. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's The Agora was an open "place of assembly" in ancient Greek city-states Kerameikos is an area of Athens, Greece, located to the northwest of the Acropolis, which includes an extensive area both within and outside the city They most often operated as small workshops, consisting of a master, several paid artisans, and slaves.

Metalworking

Deposits of metal ore are common in Greece. An ore is a volume of rock containing components or Minerals in a mode of occurrence that renders it valuable for mining Of these, the best known are the silver mines of Laurium. Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen Laurion redirects here For the Moth Genus, see Laurion (moth. These mines contributed to the development of Athens in the 5th century BC, when the Athenians learned to prospect, treat, and refine the ore. The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC. Fortuitously, the composition of the earth below the mines rendered drainage unnecessary, an important proviso given that ancient mine drainage techniques did not allow for excavation below the level of subsoil waters. The passageways and steps of Greek mines were dug out with the same concern for proportion and harmony found in their temples. Architecture was extinct in Greece from the end of the Mycenaean period (about 1200 BC to the 7th century BC when urpeppeeban life and prosperity recovered The work was extremely difficult, due to the tunnels' depth — they were sometimes more than 100 meters. The miner, armed with his pick and iron hammer and hunched over in two, labored to extract lead ore. A pickaxe is a Hand tool with a hard head attached Perpendicular to the handle Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object The most common uses are for driving nails fitting parts and breaking up objects Galena is the natural mineral form of Lead sulfide. It is the most important Lead Ore mineral The Laurium mines were worked by a large slave population, originating for the most part from Black Sea regions such as Thrace and Paphlagonia. The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe Geography The greater part of Paphlagonia is a rugged mountainous country but it contains fertile valleys and produces a great abundance of hazelnuts and fruit – particularly plums

Other Greek mines include:

• Gold: Sifnos, Thasos
• Silver: Cyprus, Sifnos
• Iron: Euboea, Rhodes, and Cyprus
• Copper: Chalcis, Euboea

Trade

Maritime trade

Commercial lead weight found in the Agora, National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Very early on, the geographic position of Greece and the necessity of importing wheat forced the Greek world to engage in maritime trade. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Sifnos (Σίφνος is an island municipality in the Cyclades island group in Greece. Thasos or Thassos (Θάσος is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 For the mythological figure see Euboea (mythology Euboea ( Modern Greek, Εύβοια - Évia &mdash Rhodes (Ρόδος Ródos, ˈɾo̞ðo̞s Rodi ردوس Rodos; Ladino: Rodi or Rodes) is a Greek island Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 Chalcis or Chalkida, Halkida, Halkis or Chalkis ( Greek, Modern Χαλκίδα xal'ciða Ancient/ Katharevousa: -ίς Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly The Ancient Agora of Athens is the most well-known example of Agora, located in Athens, Greece. The National Archaeological Museum of Athens (Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety In Economics, an import is any good (eg a Commodity) or Service brought into one country from another country in a legitimate fashion The areas which provisioned Greece with wheat were Cyrenaica, Egypt, Italy (specifically the Magna Graecia area and Sicily), and regions surrounding the Black Sea. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey Athens and Corinth served as waystations of exchange for the isles of the Aegean Sea. Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. Other imported products included papyrus, spices, fabrics, metals, and shipbuilding materials such as wood, linen, and pitch, also grain was imported. Papyrus (/pəˈpaɪrəs/ (Rhymes -aɪrəs)is a thick paper-like material produced from the Pith of the papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus A spice is a dried Seed, Fruit, Root, Bark or vegetative substance used in Nutritionally insignificant quantities as a Food additive See also Shipbuilding (song. Shipbuilding is the construction of Ships It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a Linen is a Textile made from the Fibers of the Flax plant Linum usitatissimum. Pitch is the name for any of a number of highly viscous Liquids which appear Solid. For their part, Greek cities exported wine, pottery, and olive oil. In Economics, an export is any good or Commodity, Transported from one country to another country in a Legitimate fashion Greece is one of the oldest Wine - producing regions in the world Olive oil is a fruit oil obtained from the olive ( Olea europaea; family Oleaceae along with Lilacs Jasmine and ash trees Athens sold marble extracted from Penteli, renown in the Greek world, and also silver coins, known for their elegant workmanship and high proportion of silver. These served not only as a means of exchange, but also as a source of metal: in places that did not use money, they were melted back into silver. A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is Available sources do not provide enough information to evaluate with moderate precision the volume of goods exchanged in Greek trade.

However some historians made imprecise estimates of the relative importance of commerce in the ancient Greek economy. Daniel Jew has calculated that nearly half the wealth generated in fourth-century Athens must have come from gains in trade. Ian Morris estimated that the volume of trade in the 4th century Mediterranean Sea was about 20% of the volume of trade in the first century.

The main participants in Greek commerce were the class of traders known as emporoi (ἕμποροι). The state collected a duty on their cargo. See also Taxation, Indirect Tax In Economics, a duty is a kind of Tax, often associated with Customs, a payment due to the At Piraeus (the main port of Athens), this tax was set initially at 1%, then at 2%. Piraeus (pɪˈræʊs Πειραιάς, piɾeˈas Πειραιεύς, piɾeˈefs is a city in the periphery of Attica, Greece, and a ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo By the end of the 5th century, the tax had been raised to 33 talents (Andocides, I, 133-134). The talent ( Latin: talentum, from Ancient Greek: "scale balance" is an ancient unit of Mass. Andocides, or Andokides, ( Greek Ἀνδοκίδης 440&ndash390 BC one of the ten Attic orators. In 413, Athens ended the collection of tribute from the Delian League and imposed a 5% duty on all the ports of her empire (Thucydides, VII, 28, 4) in the hope (unrealized) of increasing revenues. For the area code see Area code 413. Events By Place Western Roman Empire May A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or as was often case in historical contexts of submission The Delian League was an association of approximately 150 5th-century BC Greek City-states under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue Thucydides ( C 460 BC &ndash C 395 BC) ( Greek Θουκυδίδης Thoukydídēs) was a Greek These duties were never protectionist, but were merely intended to raise money for the public treasury. For the protectionist Australian political party from the 1880s to 1909 see Protectionist Party

The growth of trade in Greece led to the development of financial techniques. The field of finance refers to the concepts of Time, Money and Risk and how they are interrelated Most merchants, lacking sufficient cash assets, resorted to borrowing to finance all or part of their expeditions. In Business and Accounting, assets are everything owned by a person or company (all tangible and intangible property that can be converted into cash. A typical loan for a large venture in 4th century 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 of interest (often 12% but reaching levels as high as 100%). The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. Interest is a fee paid on borrowed capital Assets lent include Money, Shares, Consumer goods through Hire purchase, major assets 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 of Piraeus. Piraeus (pɪˈræʊs Πειραιάς, piɾeˈas Πειραιεύς, piɾeˈefs is a city in the periphery of Attica, Greece, and a

Trade in ancient Greece was free: the state controlled only the supply of grain. In Athens, following the first meeting of the new Prytaneis, regulations on trade were reviewed, with a specialized committee overseeing the trade in wheat, flour, and bread. The Prytaneis were the executives of the boule of Ancient Athens.

The number of shipwrecks found in the Mediterranean Sea provides valuable evidence for the development of trade in the ancient world. Only 2 shipwrecks were found that dated from the 8th century BC. The 8th century BC started the first day of 800 BC and ended the last day of 701 BC. However archeologists have found 46 shipwrecks dated from the 4th century BC, which would appear to indicate that there occurred a very large increase of the volume of trade between these centuries. The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. Considering that the average ship tonnage also increased in the same period, the total volume of trade increased probably by a factor of 30.

Retail

Information about retail activity in ancient Greece is limited. While peasants and artisans often sold their own wares, there were also retail merchants known as kápêloi (κάπηλοι). Grouped into guilds, they sold fish, olive oil, and vegetables. A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade The earliest guilds were formed as confraternities of workers Women sold perfume or ribbons. Perfume is a mixture of fragrant Essential oils and Aroma compounds Fixatives and Solvents used to give the human body animals objects and living A ribbon or riband is a thin band of flexible material typically Cloth but also Plastic or sometimes Metal, used primarily for binding and tying They paid a fee for their space in the marketplace. Viewed poorly by the general population, they were often accused of tampering with their measures. Their weights were periodically checked against standards. A weighing scale (usually just "scale" in common usage except in Australian English where "scales" is more common is a Measuring instrument for

Parallel to the "professional" merchants were those who sold the surplus of their household production, be it vegetables, olive oil, or bread. This was the case for many of the small-scale farmers of Attica. Attica (Αττική Attikí;) is a periphery (subdivision in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece Among townsfolk, this task often fell to the women. For instance, Euripides' mother sold chervil from her garden (cf. Euripides ( Ancient Greek:) (ca 480 BC–406 BC was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens (the other two being Aeschylus Chervil ( Anthriscus cerefolium) is a delicate annual Herb related to Parsley. Aristophanes, The Acharnians, v. Aristophanes (Ἀριστοφάνης ˌærɪˈstɒfəniːz in English ca The Acharnians ( Ancient Greek: / Akharneĩs) is an Old Comedy by the Athenian playwright Aristophanes. 477-478).

Taxation

Direct taxation was not well-developed in ancient Greece. The eisphorá (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 to liturgies, that is, the support of public works. Liturgies could consist, for instance, of the maintenance of a trireme, a chorus during a theater festival, or a gymnasium. Trireme ( τριήρης sing τριήρεις pl triremis sing The Greek chorus ( choros) is believed to have grown out of the Greek Dithyrambs and Tragikon drama in tragic plays of the ancient The theatre of ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical Culture that flourished in ancient Greece between c The word γυμνάσιον (gymnasion was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual Education of young men (see Gymnasium In some cases, the prestige of the undertaking could attract volunteers. Such was the case for the choragus, 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. In some cities, like Miletus and Teos, heavy taxation was imposed on citizens. Miletus (mī lē' təs ( Ancient Greek: Μίλητος literally Transliterated Milētos, Latin Miletus) was an Ancient Teos (Greek Τέως or Teo, was a maritime city of Ionia, on a peninsula between Chytrium and Myonnesus

On the other hand, indirect taxes were quite important. Taxes were levied on houses, slaves, herds and flocks, wines, and hay, among others. The rights to collect many of these taxes were often transferred to publicans, or telônai (τελῶναι). In antiquity, publicans ( Latin publicanus (singular publicani (plural were public contractors in which role they often supplied the However, this was not true of all cities. Thasos' gold mines and Athens' taxes on business allowed them to elliminate these indirect taxes. Thasos or Thassos (Θάσος is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river "Gold mine" redirects here See Goldmine for other uses of the term Dependent groups such as the Penestae of Thessaly and the Helots of Sparta were taxed by the city-states to which they were subject. The penestae (in Greek oι Πενέσται hoi penestai) were a class of unfree labourers tied to the land once inhabiting Thessaly, whose status was Thessalia redirects here For the Butterfly Genus, see Thessalia (butterfly. The helots (in Classical Greek / Heílôtes) were an unfree population group that formed the The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη

Currency

Athenian coin, Athenian Agora Museum

Coinage probably began in Lydia around 600 BC, and circulated in the cities of Asia Minor under its control;^[2] early electrum coins have been found at the Temple of Diana at Ephesus. Defining Lydia Aside from a legend related by Herodotus, who states that the name Lydia came from king Lydus at the time of the fall of Troy Electrum is a naturally occurring Alloy of Gold and Silver, with trace amounts of Copper and other metals The technique of minting coins arrived in mainland Greece around 550 BC, beginning with coastal trading cities like Aegina and Athens. Events and trends Carthage conquers Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Aegina ( Greek: Αίγινα ( Egina) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, 17 miles (30 km from Their use spread, and the city-states quickly secured a monopoly on their creation. The very first coins were made from electrum (an alloy of gold and silver), followed by pure silver, the most commonly found valuable metal in the region. Electrum is a naturally occurring Alloy of Gold and Silver, with trace amounts of Copper and other metals The mines of the Pangaion hills allowed the cities of Thrace and Macedon to mint a large quantity of coins. Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe Macedon or Macedonia ( Greek grc Μακεδονία grc-Latn Makedonía) was the name of a kingdom centered in the northern-most Laurium's silver mines provided the raw materials for the "Athenian owls", the most famous coins of the ancient Greek world. Laurion redirects here For the Moth Genus, see Laurion (moth. Less-valuable bronze coins appeared at the end of the 5th century. Bronze is any of a broad range of Copper alloys, usually with Tin as the main additive but sometimes with other elements such as Phosphorus

Coins played several roles in the Greek world. They provided a medium of exchange, mostly used by city-states to hire mercenaries and compensate citizens. An economic transaction or Trade involves the voluntary exchange of goods and services between two or more entities A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict who is not a national or a party to the conflict and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by They were a source of revenue: foreigners had to change their money into the local currency at an exchange rate favorable to the State. In Finance, the exchange rates (also known as the foreign-exchange rate, forex rate or FX rate) between two currencies specifies how 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.

See also

• Agriculture of Ancient Greece
• Slavery in Ancient Greece

Notes

Bibliography

• (French) J. Andreau, R. Étienne, "Vingt ans de recherche sur l'archaïsme et la modernité des sociétés antiques", REA, 86 (1984), p. 37–64
• (French) M. Austin & P. Vidal-Naquet, Économie et société en Grèce ancienne, Armand Colin, coll. Pierre Emmanuel Vidal-Naquet ( July 23 1930 &ndash July 29, 2006) was a French Historian who began teaching at the "U2", 1972. ISBN 2-200-21196-1
• (French) Anne-Marie Buttin, La Grèce classique, Belles Lettres, coll. "Guide Belles Lettres des civilisations", 2002. ISBN 2-251-41012-0
• (French)Christophe Chandezon, L'élevage en Grèce (fin Ve - fin Ier S. a. C. ): l'apport des sources épigraphiques. . . , Paris: De Boccard, 2003, 463 p. (ISBN 2-910023-34-6).
• Moses Finley :
  • The Ancient Economy, University of California Press, 1999 (1st edn. Sir Moses I Finley CBE ( May 20, 1912– June 23, 1986 was an American and English classical scholar. 1970). ISBN 0-520-21946-5
  • (French) Le Problème de la terre en Grèce ancienne, Mouton, 1975 ISBN 2-7132-0001-6
  • (French) Économie et société en Grèce ancienne, Seuil, coll. "Points Histoire", 1997 ISBN 2-02-014644-4
• (French) Yvon Garlan, Guerre et économie en Grèce ancienne, La Découverte, 1999 (ISBN 2-7071-3097-4)
• (French) Léopold Migeotte, L'Ëconomie des cités greques, Ellipses, coll. "Antiquité : une histoire", 2002. ISBN 2-7298-0849-3
• (French) Claude Mossé, Le Travail en Grèce et à Rome, PUF, coll. "Que sais-je?", 1985 (re-issue)
• (French) Claude Mossé, Annie Schnapp-Gourbeillon, Précis d'histoire grecque, Armand Colin, coll. "U", 2003 (2nd edition). ISBN 2-200-26562-X.