Aided by their far-flung colonies and increasingly sophisticated commercial practices, the ancient Greeks engaged in long-distance trade within and beyond the Mediterranean basin.
Date: From the second millennium b. c.e.
Category: Economics; expansion and land acquisition; trade and commerce;
The Mycenaeans The Mycenaeans, the earliest known Greeks, built a thriving civilization in the latter half of the second millennium b. c.e. Under Minoan influence, the Mycenaeans developed a palace-centered, redistributive economy administered through the use of the Linear B script. Finds of their pottery in the Near East and as far west as Italy, as well as settlements on Rhodes, at Miletus, and elsewhere, suggest that the Mycenaeans traded extensively. The ambiguous nature of the archaeological and textual evidence, however, makes it difficult to determine the precise nature of that trade. Mycenaean civilization collapsed amid the troubles that plagued the entire eastern Mediterranean around 1200 b. c.e.
The Dark Age After the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces, Greece suffered a major economic downturn and remained relatively isolated for several centuries. The population declined, and many fled to Asia Minor, Cyprus, and elsewhere. Long-distance trade and literacy disappeared. No longer able to acquire sufficient quantities of copper and tin for the production of bronze tools, the Greeks now turned to iron.
In the ninth century b. c.e., conditions began to improve. Lefkandi, a city on the island of Euboea, played a leading role in the revival of longdistance exchange, trading extensively in the Aegean and as far away as Cyprus. By 800 b. c.e., the Greeks had reestablished direct contact with the Near East, Egypt, and Italy.
Archaic Greece In the eighth century b. c.e., the Greeks entered a period of expansion, innovation, and economic growth. Emporia (trading posts) such as Al Mina on the coast of Syria, Pithekoussai on the bay of Naples, and, in the late seventh century b. c.e., Naukratis in Egypt facilitated long-distance commerce in the central and eastern Mediterranean. Spurred on by the prospect of wealth, the need to secure trade routes, and overcrowding at home, the Greeks founded well over a hundred colonies. Southern Italy and Sicily received the first wave of colonization. Syracuse, Sybaris, and Tarentum, for example, were all settled in the late eighth century b. c.e. In the mid-seventh century b. c.e., the Greeks turned to the northern Aegean, Propontis, and Black Sea regions. Megara, for example, founded Byzantium (modern Istanbul) on the Bosporus around 668 b. c.e. The Greeks also established colonies at Cyrene on the coast of North Africa (c. 630 b. c.e.), Massalia (modern Marseille, c. 600 b. c.e.) in southern Gaul and elsewhere.
Colonies were normally founded under the leadership of a particular city-state, rather than by the Greeks collectively, and often maintained close ties to their mother-cities. Among the most prolific colonizers were Chalcis, Eretria, Miletus, Corinth, and Megara. It is difficult to generalize about Greek colonization since individual colonies had various purposes and faced different problems depending on the nature of local resources and resistance. Most colonists were male and presumably sought wives from among the indigenous population. An oikistes (founder) led the colonists and was often worshiped as a hero following his death.
Two major innovations aided Greek commerce during this period: the alphabet and coinage. The alphabet was developed around 800 b. c.e. and derived from a Phoenician script. Regardless of the motives of its inven-tor(s), the alphabet undoubtedly helped Greek traders to conduct business. Coinage was invented in Lydia in the seventh century b. c.e., and the Greeks were quick to adopt it. By the end of the sixth century b. c.e., many city-states were minting their own coins and professional moneychangers had emerged. Again, while the original purpose ofcoinage is unclear, coins certainly came to play a substantial role in facilitating commerce.
Trade It is difficult to know exactly what the Greeks traded in any given period. The surviving texts rarely describe commercial activity, since most authors were elites who considered trade banausic and demeaning. In addition, perishable goods leave little trace in the archaeological record, and
The marketplace in Athens. (F. R. Niglutsch)
Imports and exports varied from region to region depending on local needs and resources. Nevertheless, grain, slaves, metals, and luxury goods were probably among the items most regularly traded between the Archaic and Hellenistic eras.
The Classical Period Colonization decreased in the fifth century b. c.e., but it by no means stopped. The Athenians, for example, founded the colony of Thurii in Southern Italy around 444/443 b. c.e. and Amphip-olis on the coast of Thrace in 437/436. In the fourth century b. c.e., Philip II of Macedonia established colonies to reward veterans and maintain control of conquered territory. Athens was the dominant naval power in this period and used its fleet to protect the sea routes, especially between Athens and the Black Sea, from which considerable quantities of grain were imported.
Both banking and bottomry loans appeared in the course of the fifth century b. c.e. Banking evolved out of the money-changing profession. Initially, banks did little more than accept deposits and make loans. The extent to which banks financed commercial as opposed to “nonproductive” activities remains unclear. Bottomry loans provided merchants with capital and insurance against loss of cargo.
The Hellenistic Era The conquests of Alexander the Great ushered in a new era of colonization. Both Alexander and the successor kings used colonies of Macedonian veterans and Greek emigrants to administer their kingdoms. Alexander, for example, established Alexandria on the coast of Egypt in 331 b. c.e., and it became a major Mediterranean port. Other colonies were established in Asia Minor, Syria, Babylonia, and as far east as Bactria. The new cities spread Greek commercial practices along with Greek culture. Greek merchants, soldiers, and settlers brought greater monetization and increasingly sophisticated banking practices (including payment orders and checks) to the entire Near East, though their impact on indigenous populations should not be exaggerated. Rhodes emerged in the third century b. c.e. as a major naval power. Its harbors served a thriving maritime trade, and its fleet protected merchants from piracy. Rhodes was the commercial center of the Greek world until the Romans established Delos as a free port in 167.
Further Reading
Billows, Richard A. Kings and Colonists: Aspects of Macedonian Imperialism. New York: E. J. Brill, 1995.
Boardman, John. The Greeks Overseas: Their Early Colonies and Trade.
4th ed. London: Thames and Hudson, 1999.
Reed, C. M. Maritime Traders in the Ancient Greek World. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Schaps, David M. The Invention of Coinage and the Monetization of Ancient Greece. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004.
Tandy, David W. Warriors into Traders: The Power of the Market in Early Greece. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.
David B. Hollander
See also: Archaic Greece; Classical Greece; Coins; Hellenistic Greece; Linear B; Mycenaean Greece; Syracuse.
World History
