Strategies of International Trade

This chapter examines the strategies employed in international trade in ancient Greece. It explains how the rules of trade and the distribution of “natural advantages” played the role of a system of constraints within which genuine strategies of foreign trade could be constructed. To better understand the specificity of these trade strategies, the chapter first considers the two institutional logics that prevailed in the international market: the first consisted in setting up a “surpluses for surpluses” trade strategy; the second allowed trade partners to act freely. The notions of mutual trade and nondirectional trade are discussed, along with the case of grain. The chapter also looks at the strategies used by cities to control grain trade, such as laws prohibiting grain exports, before concluding with an analysis of the grain policy of Athens as well as food production and supply in Aegean cities.

City-States, Taxes, and Trade

This chapter examines the taxation system for trade and commerce in ancient Greece. It first considers how foreign trade and customs duties were supervised before discussing the system of taxation for maritime trade. Citing documents concerning tax exemptions, the chapter shows that traders were constantly seeking privileges in an effort to avoid paying taxes. Maritime shipping was the quickest and least expensive way to move goods, and ports were levied the highest amount of taxes. Cities situated on the coastline benefited from an economic rent related to their location, and they exploited their natural advantage to the maximum. A city had the right to levy transit fees on its own territory, but not if these fees were levied on a maritime channel. The chapter also emphasizes the importance of economic information in maritime commerce, especially with regard to ensuring the security of international trade.

Nonagricultural Production, Capital, and Innovation

This chapter examines the logic of capital and innovation in nonagricultural production in Classical and Hellenistic Greece. It begins with a discussion of fish production and consumption in ancient Greece, focusing on salt production and the preservation of food supplies by means of salt and salting, before discussing the Greek cities' exploitation of their coastal waters. It then considers the importance of fish trade and fish consumption to food supply, artisanal trades, and the distinctive character of artisanal production. In particular, it analyzes the structures of production and the kinds of constraints, both in terms of technology and capital, involved in artisanal work. It also explains how enterprises were structured and how unskilled labor was used by looking at the case of textile manufacturing. Finally, it describes technological innovation in textile manufacturing and in the artisanal trades, including the introduction of rotary movement and the watermill.

Agricultural Production

This chapter examines the growth of agricultural production in the Greek city-states. It traces the evolutions and mutations of agriculture in the ancient Greek world as well as the consequences of these changes, first by discussing the so-called Mediterranean trilogy that comprised ancient Greek agriculture: grain, olives, and grapes. While cereals, grapes, and olives constituted the heart of agricultural production in ancient Greece, the role played by other products such as fig, vegetables, roses and other flowers, and honey is also considered. The chapter goes on to explore animal husbandry in the Greek city-states, focusing on the debate on “pastoralism” in the Early Iron Age, constraints in livestock raising, and the three main regional types of stock raising that extended from the southern Aegean to Thessaly, the Peloponnese, and the vast migratory areas of western Greece. Finally, it analyzes rangeland ecology and management during the period.

Energy, Economy, and Transport Cost

This chapter examines the role of energy in the economic growth of ancient Greece, with particular emphasis on the impact of the cost of transportation. It first considers the different sources of energy in the Greek city-states, including heat generated by the sun, wood, and charcoal, before discussing the question regarding the cost of energy and the economic conditions for using steam engines during the period. It then explains how wind energy contributed to economic development in the ancient Mediterranean world, and especially in the Greek city-states, by dramatically lowering transport costs and transportation cycles. It also explores how connectivity emerged between Mediterranean countries and concludes with an analysis of overland transportation via roads, the role of ships and ports in maritime transportation, navigational techniques and the construction of artificial ports, and projects aimed at digging canals and building portage routes.

The Greek Cities and the Market

This chapter examines the extent and the limits of the market system in ancient Greece. It begins with a historical overview of the center-periphery model that emerged during the period, predation as a defining characteristic of the ancient Greek market, and the divergence of prices from one region to another—often seen as a symptom of a lack of market integration. It then compares the overall performance of the market in the city-states with those of the cities of medieval and modern Europe before discussing the disequilibrium between supply and demand and the form of risk management adopted by individuals and by cities that made the market of ancient Greece far from being a “perfect market.” The chapter concludes with an analysis of the Nash equilibrium that characterized the market and the factors that limited the production of grain to be sold on the market.

International Trade Networks

This chapter examines the complex commercial networks of international trade in ancient Greece, made possible by “creating” new products through the exploitation of the natural environment or through artisanal production and commerce. It begins with a discussion of how division of labor emerged in foreign trade and how it led to gains in productivity. It also describes the center-periphery model of the late Archaic period and the Classical period in relation to trade before considering the particular form of trade flows and networks of exchange in city-states, focusing on the role played by trade in promoting consumption and production as well as in determining prices. The remaining sections analyze the variety and complexity of systems of trade, using metals and textiles as examples; the notion of “regional network” for transporting goods over long distances; the “free rider” system in international trade; and actors involved in trade and redistribution centers.

The Institutions of the Domestic Market

This chapter examines the institutions of the domestic market system in the Greek city-states. It begins with a discussion of private property in relation to trade, noting that, in the framework of the kind of collective appropriation constituted by the city-state, citizens were free to use their property as they wished. It then considers the city-states' law and legal practices relating to transactions, with particular emphasis on the law of sale and contracts, before exploring the agora as a legal space and as a marketplace connected with other official places of exchange that were also institutionalized. The chapter goes on to describe buying and selling in the agora, legal constraints on the agora, supervision of contracts and production, and the authority of the agoranomoi (magistrates). It concludes with an analysis of informational asymmetry and guarantee of sales in commercial trade, along with price control policies for commodities on sale.

The Economy of Ancient Greece: A Conceptual Framework

This chapter describes the conceptual framework used by the book to study the economy of ancient Greece. It begins with a discussion of the debate between “primitivists,” represented by Karl Bücher, and “modernists,” represented by Eduard Meyer, over the nature of the ancient Greek economy. It considers Bücher's adherence to the so-called German Historical School of Political Economy and goes on to examine the views of Moses I. Finley and Max Weber regarding the ancient economy, Karl Polanyi's use of institutionalism as an approach to the study of the ancient economy, and the main assumptions of New Institutional Economics (NIE) with regard to the genesis and evolution of institutions. The chapter also analyzes the transaction costs theory and concludes with an assessment of criticisms against the classical economists' economic agent, the homo economicus, and the influence of constrained choices and limited rationality on economic performance.

The Emporion and the Markets

This chapter examines how the emporion served as an important tool for Greek city-states to regulate the markets. It first provides an overview of the emporion, defined as a “trading port” or “the port area,” and thus also the “business area,” along with its constraints and advantages. It then considers how foreign trade was supervised in cities and goes on to describe the function of the deigma, the place where business was transacted. It also discusses the rules of the emporion and the role of commercial courts in handling legal matters relating to international trade, citing trials concerning large-scale trade. In particular, it looks at “commercial suits,” which gives anyone the opportunity to obtain quick and impartial justice in the Athenian courts. Finally, it analyzes the ways in which the city intervened directly in the negotiation of prices in the emporion as part of a policy of supplying the domestic market, with particular emphasis on the regulation of grain sales in the form of purchase funds and price controls.