Economic development of ancient states

Ancient countries, like the ancient eastern ones, are traditionally called slave-owning countries, but the types of production in these states varied significantly. In the Ancient East, there was a so-called Asian mode of production, based on patriarchal slavery (from the word patriarch - head of the family) - a relatively mild type of slavery that arose in the first stages of the development of ancient states. In ancient Eastern countries, slaves were not the main producers of material goods; this role belonged primarily to various categories of communal peasants, who were to varying degrees dependent on the state, which owned most of the land fund.
In ancient countries, patriarchal slavery also existed at first, but as production and commodity-money relations developed, it gave way to the so-called classical slavery, which is characterized by a high degree of exploitation of slaves and the desire to obtain the maximum benefit from their labor. Unlike patriarchal slaves, for whom certain human rights were recognized, slaves of the classical type were deprived of all rights and were considered living tools of labor. In ancient society, slave labor was the basis of production. Another one characteristic ancient economy - the existence of policy ownership of land, which was a unique combination of communal and private property.

7. Economy of Ancient Greece

7.1. Economic development of Greek lands in the III-II millennium BC. e.

III-II millennium BC e. in Greece it is usually called the Bronze Age. During this period bronze tools spread both on the islands of the Aegean Sea and on the mainland, helping to accelerate economic development and the creation of the first states. Throughout the 3rd millennium BC. e. were the most developed Cyclades Islands, located in the southern Aegean Sea. From the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. the island becomes the most influential among others Crete, located at the intersection of ancient sea routes. The Cretan (or Minoan) civilization reached its peak around the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e.
Development of mainland Greece in the 3rd millennium BC. e. did not proceed at such a fast pace, however, in some coastal areas, already in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. Quite developed cultures emerge. At the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. Greek tribes move from Northern Greece to the south (Achaeans), which in most areas displaced the pre-Greek population (Pelasgians) and by the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. created their own states, which flourished in the 15th–13th centuries. BC e., and from the XFV century. BC e. the most influential among them was the city Mycenae in Argolis (northeast of the Peloponnese Peninsula).
Around the 12th century. BC e. is approaching from the north of the Balkan Peninsula new wave settlers, the leading role among whom was played by the Greek tribe Dorians. Most of the centers of Achaean culture were destroyed.

Throughout the 3rd millennium BC. e. achieve significant success metallurgy And ceramic production, where approximately from the 23rd century. BC e. The potter's wheel began to be used. In agriculture, the leading position is occupied by the so-called Mediterranean triad: cereals (especially barley), grapes, olives.
Most active in the 3rd and first half of the 2nd millennium BC. e. the Greek islands developed, where they are of particular importance maritime trades, trade, crafts, including artistic ones. Cycladic sailors maintained contacts with lands located in the basins of the Aegean and Adriatic seas, reaching the shores of Spain and the Danube.
The basis of the economy of Crete and the Achaean states was Agriculture, The leading industry was agriculture, but livestock breeding (especially sheep breeding) also played an important role. Among the crafts, metallurgy and ceramic production were of primary importance. Crete and the Achaean states maintained foreign trade relations with Egypt, Cyprus, and the Eastern Mediterranean; From these areas, mainly raw materials and some luxury goods were imported; mainly ceramics and metal products, including weapons, were exported. In addition, the Achaeans developed trade with the peoples inhabiting the north of the Balkan Peninsula, with Italy, Sicily, as well as with the western coast of Asia Minor, where in the XIV-XIII centuries. BC e. Achaean settlements appear.
Socio-economic stratum
The basis of the socio-economic structure of the economic structure of Crete and the Achaean states were palaces- build huge complexes that included residential and religious premises, many storerooms, workshops, etc. It is difficult to judge land relations in Crete due to insufficient sources, however, most likely, the lands were in communal and state ownership. In addition, it can be assumed that state land There were also temple and private farms. In the Achaean states, the palaces controlled all the land, which was divided into two main categories: public land (partly owned by territorial communities, partly allocated for performing any work) and land owned by individuals. Both categories of land were quite actively leased, including to slaves, but a slave could not become the owner of the land. Slaves, as in Crete, were relatively few; the majority belonged to the palace, and, in addition, to private individuals and temples. Free community members were mainly involved in production.
All categories of the free population (nobility, community members, etc.) were to one degree or another dependent on the palace. The head of state was tsar, performed political and religious functions. Real control was in the hands of the palace administration, which was involved in the organization of military affairs, the tax system, supervised the work of various groups of the population directly subordinate to the palace (artisans, shepherds, etc.), and provided them with the necessary materials and products. Territorial communities were also under the control of officials.
Almost all groups of the population and, above all, territorial communities were subject to taxes on various types of products. Some social groups were exempt from paying taxes, mainly those who played a special role in the existence of the state (blacksmiths, oarsmen, warriors).
Foreign economic activity was probably controlled by the kings; in Crete, special attention was paid to the security of trade and the fight against pirates.

7.2. Economic development in the XI-VI centuries. BC e.

This period of time covers two stages in the history of Ancient Greece: the so-called dark ages(XI-IX centuries BC) and archaic period(VIII-VI centuries BC). The Dark Ages are often called the Homeric period because, along with archaeological evidence, the main sources for studying this time are the poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", attributed to Homer.
Usually XI-IX centuries. BC e. is considered an intermediate stage, at which, on the one hand, in comparison with Achaean Greece, the level of development decreases, but, on the other hand, with the beginning of the production of iron tools, the prerequisites are created for the further flourishing of the Greek states.

The Archaic period is characterized by two main processes that had a decisive influence on the development of Greek civilization: 1) the Great Colonization - the development by the Greeks of the coasts of the Mediterranean, Black, and Azov Seas, 2) the formation policy* as a special type of community.

* Policy(gr. city, state) - a special type of state, which arose as a collective of citizen-landowners, is a city with an adjacent rural area.

Sectoral structure of the economy
In the XI-IX centuries. BC. dominated the Greek economy natural type economy, craft was not separated from agriculture. As before, the main agricultural crops were grains (barley, wheat), grapes, olives. Irrigation systems were still created and soil manure was used. There was some improvement in tools, in particular, the appearance of plow with metal(especially iron) opener Livestock also played an important role in agriculture, with livestock considered one of the main forms of wealth. In the craft of the XI-IX centuries. BC e. there was some differentiation, weaving, metallurgy, and ceramics were especially developed, but production, as in agriculture, was focused only on meeting the immediate needs of people. In this regard, trade developed very slowly and was mainly of an exchange nature.

In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. The economic situation in Ancient Greece changed significantly. During this period, crafts separated from agriculture, which remained the leading sector of the economy. The weak development of agricultural production at the previous stage and the inability to provide food to the growing population of the policies became one of the main reasons Greek colonization. The most important function of the colonies located in the Black Sea basin was supplying metropolises* bread. In many Greek policies, they refuse to grow grain crops, and focus on crops whose cultivation is more consistent with the natural conditions of Greece: grapes, olives, all kinds of garden and garden crops; As a result, agriculture is becoming increasingly market-oriented. This is also facilitated by the wider distribution of iron tools.

* Metropolis(gr. mother of cities) - main city in relation to the colonies he created.

Craft production is also gaining commodity character, and, as in agriculture, Greek colonization played an important role in this, contributing to the expansion of the raw material base and the development of trade. Many Greek city policies are becoming large craft centers, with entire artisan neighborhoods appearing in them. In Chalkis, Miletus, Corinth, Argos, Athens it was especially developed metallurgy, the improvement of which in the archaic era was facilitated by the discovery of iron soldering and bronze casting techniques. Important centers ceramic production there were Corinth and Athens, here from the turn of the 7th-6th centuries. BC e. Serial production begins. Manufacturing textiles The Greek cities of Asia Minor, as well as Megara, were famous.
Greek trade during the era of the Great Colonization developed very actively. Constant connections are being established between the metropolises, exporting mainly handicraft products, and the colonies, supplying various types of raw materials (especially metal, timber) and agricultural products (especially grain). In addition, the colonies become intermediaries between Greece and the distant barbarian periphery. In the most developed Greek city-states maritime trade is becoming one of the most important sectors of the economy. From the end of the 6th century. BC e. Navklers, the owners and captains of merchant ships, begin to play a significant role.
Land ownership. Organization of production
During dark ages the land was the property of the territorial community, the main production unit was oikos(from the gr. house) - the household of a patriarchal family. Each family included in the community was assigned a plot of land, passed on by inheritance; however, it is possible that land redistributions were carried out from time to time. Slavery in the XI-IX centuries. BC e. still had a patriarchal character, the main producer was the free farmer.
The Archaic period brought great changes to property relations. The leading form of land ownership is becoming policy(or ancient) - only citizens had the right to own land on the territory of the policy; personally free people who were not citizens (metics) did not have this right. Citizens could sell, mortgage land, and rent it out.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. an important change is taking place in the organization of production - a slavery of the classical type. This process was associated with the development of commodity production and a significant increase in the number of slaves - foreigners coming from the colonies. Cheap slave labor made it possible to obtain greater income and was more actively used in the main industries.
Money relations

At the turn of the 2nd-1st millennium BC. e. Due to the predominance of subsistence farming and the weak development of trade, there was no money as such; its role was played mainly by cattle. During the era of the Great Colonization, metal ingots, bars, and, finally, around the turn of the 7th-6th centuries, were increasingly used as money. BC e. begins coinage. By the 6th century BC e. There were two main monetary systems in Greece - Aeginian And Euboean*. The basis of each system was talent - weight unit, which on Euboea was 26.2 kg, and on Aegina - 37 kg. 6 thousand were minted from one talent. drachm- silver coins. The Aeginian standard was distributed throughout most of Greece and the islands of the Aegean Sea, the Euboean standard - on the island of Euboea, in many western Greek colonies, as well as in the two largest policies - Corinth and Athens.

* From the names of the islands of Aegina and Euboea, important trading centers in the Aegean Sea.

Corinthian stater (c. 320 BC)

Tetradrachm from Tarsus (323 BC)

During the archaic period, along with money circulation, usury, and insolvent debtors, as a rule, were turned into slaves and could even be sold abroad.

Basic distinctive feature Greek polis was the participation of all members of the civil community in government, and this feature largely determined domestic policy policies. In particular, many Greek city-states had laws that limited the acquisition and sale of land and aimed at protecting the landed property of individual citizens. However, despite this, in most parts of Greece the development of commodity production and land shortages led to the growth of large land ownership, increased social differentiation and intensified conflict between aristocracy And demosome(by the people). In many policies of the archaic era, socio-political conflicts often ended in the establishment tyranny— regime of personal power. In most cases, tyrants sought to enlist the support of the demos, took care of improving its position, promoted the development of crafts and trade, and the improvement of cities. However, the tyrants were constantly in need of money and siphoned it out of the population in various ways; in the end, in most policies, tyranny was overthrown.
They played an important role in the further socio-political and economic development of Greece reforms, carried out in the archaic era. The most famous and interesting reforms were in Athens and Sparta, which most clearly represented the two main types of policies - trade and craft And agrarian.
One of the largest Athenian reformers - Solon - politician and poet, considered one of the seven sages of Greece. In 594 BC. e. Solon was endowed with emergency powers and began reforms aimed at restoring the unity of the civil collective. First of all, he spent seisahteyu(gr. shaking off a burden): all debts made on the security of land and the interest accrued on them were declared invalid. Slavery for debt was abolished, debtor Athenians sold abroad were redeemed at the expense of the state. Seisakhteya, as well as laws prohibiting the acquisition of land above a certain norm, prevented the ruin of the peasants and contributed to the development of mainly medium and small landownership in Attica. To facilitate Athens' trade with Asia Minor and the western Mediterranean, weights and measures were unified, and the previously dominant Aeginetan coinage system was replaced by the lighter Euboean one. Measures were also taken aimed at enhancing the marketability of agriculture: the development of horticultural crops was encouraged, and the export of olive oil abroad was allowed. Much attention was also paid to craft: in particular, it was established that if the father did not teach his son any craft, he could not claim filial support in old age. In addition, the export of raw materials was prohibited; Foreign master craftsmen were attracted to Athens, and many metics engaged in crafts were granted Athenian citizenship.
Important transformations of Solon, indicating the achievement high level commodity-money relations in Athens VII-VI centuries. BC e., there was the introduction of freedom of wills and the replacement of family privileges with property ones: depending on land income, all citizens were divided into four categories.

In Sparta, the legendary legislator who laid the foundations government structure, was considered Lycurgus. Land in Sparta was actually state property, the plots of individual families were inalienable, their number changed only with the annexation of new territories, in particular, with the conquest of Messenia - rich area in the southwest of the Peloponnese peninsula - at the turn of the 7th-6th centuries. BC e. The land was redistributed: approximately nine thousand plots were allocated according to the number of citizens. The land was cultivated by those attached to it helots - the population of Laconia* and Messenia conquered by the Spartans, turned into state slaves. The helots annually paid the owner of the allotment a fixed rent in kind.

* Region in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese, center - Sparta.

The citizens of Sparta were considered equal to each other in everything - in everyday life, in the political, and in the economic sphere. Lycurgus is credited with establishing a ban on the use of gold and silver coins; only extremely inconvenient and bulky iron coins were allowed. The main occupation of the Spartans was military affairs; crafts and trade were considered shameful for a citizen. These activities were provided periecam- deprived of political rights, but personally free residents of Laconia. The Spartan system practically did not change for several centuries (until the 4th century BC) and caused the economic and cultural lag of this policy from others.

7.3. Greek economy of the classical period (V-IV centuries BC)

V century BC e. - the time of the highest rise of Greek civilization. During this period, classical slavery was finally formalized and the polis reached its peak. A huge role in the development of Greece was played by the victory in the Greco-Persian wars (500-449 BC), which for a time turned Athens into the leading state of the Greek world. The last decades of the century were marked by the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) between eternal opponents - Athens and Sparta, which accelerated the development of commodity-money relations and contributed to the beginning of the crisis of the polis in the 4th century. BC e.
Sectoral structure of the economy
Agriculture continued to be the main sector of the Greek economy: it employed the majority of the population, agriculture, as before it was considered the only species practical activities worthy of a citizen. The processes that began in agriculture in the VIII-VI centuries. BC e., get further development: the marketability of production increases, regional specialization deepens (for example, Greek policies Northern Black Sea region and Sicily were suppliers of grain, Athens - olive oil, the islands of Chios and Thasos - wine, etc.). However, completely subsistence farming was not displaced. The principle remained attractive both for individuals and for policies autarky - independence from the outside world, political and economic independence, self-sufficiency. True, unlike the archaic era in the 5th century. BC e. it is recognized that everything the policy needs can be provided through trade.
Due to the general economic recovery, the widespread use of slave labor, the development trade in Greek craft in the 5th century. BC e. is happening expansion of production, deepening division of labor. Industries related to shipbuilding and navigation, mining, and ceramics production are especially actively developing.
Becoming even more important than in the previous era foreign maritime trade. In this respect, of the ancient peoples, only the Phoenicians could compare with the Greeks, and in more late time only Holland XVI-XVII centuries. can be compared with ancient Greece of the classical period in terms of its contribution to the development of trade of its era. It is characteristic that if the Phoenicians and Dutch were mainly engaged in intermediary trade, the ancient Greeks, without neglecting intermediation, widely exported their agricultural and especially high-quality handicraft products.
Main articles export olive oil, wine, metal products, and ceramics were exported to other countries. To Greece imported mainly food (especially grain, salted fish), slaves, various types of raw materials (iron, copper, timber, resin, furs, leather, flax, ivory etc.). The trade of individual Greek policies with each other was dominated by handicrafts, in the production of which one or another area specialized. The main centers of Greek foreign trade were Athens, Miletus, and Corinth.

Wine jug (c. 470 BC)

Internal trade in Greek policies was much less developed. Peasants from surrounding villages mainly came to the city market and sold agricultural products in exchange for handicrafts.
Organization of production
The most important characteristic feature of the Greek production economy of the 5th century. BC e. - wide use classic slavery. Wars, piracy, and the slave trade (the main sources of slavery) ensured a sharp increase in the number of slaves. In the 5th century BC e. slaves are used in all areas of production, become the main labor force and are finally deprived of all rights. It is believed that in the most developed region of Greece - Attica - slaves made up about one third of the population. Slave labor was used especially actively in craft workshops - ergasteria. Among the craft workshops, small ones predominated (from two to ten slaves), but there were also quite large ergasteria, which used the labor of approximately 50-100 slaves. The use of slave labor in mining was especially widespread. Thus, when developing the Lavrio silver mines (in the southern part of Attica), certain private individuals used the labor of 300-1000 slaves.

Food is lowered onto a rope for working Greek minersVIV. BC.

In Greek agriculture, slave labor played a relatively small role, which is associated with two main factors: when growing and breeding labor-intensive crops (grapes, olives, vegetables), it was unprofitable to widely use the low-productivity labor of slaves, and the predominance of medium and small peasant farms excluded the large-scale use of slave labor. labor. Greek peasants, as a rule, worked the land with their whole family, using one to seven slaves as auxiliary labor; hired labor was also used, especially during seasonal work.
Slaves were very actively used as house servants, secretaries, etc. Slaves could be rented out (mainly to cooks, dancers, artisans), some were released on quitrent - in such cases, the slave could start his own workshop, be hired for any work - the owner in his life did not interfere. Along with private ones, there were also state slaves, for example, in Athens they carried out police service and filled minor positions in the city administration: secretaries, scribes, bailiffs, etc.
Money relations

In the 5th century BC e. coinage covers the entire Greek world. As a result of the development of retail trade, minting began at this time bronze small change coin. All independent Greek policies enjoyed the right to mint their own coins, so it is not surprising that the development of trade in the 5th century. BC e. gave birth to a special profession changed (meal*). Gradually (mainly from the end of the 5th century BC) money changers begin to perform some functions characteristic of banks: storing money, transferring various amounts from one client’s account to another, issuing cash loans. The usual loan interest secured by land or a city house was about 15%; the interest rate on maritime loans (secured by more unreliable collateral of ships and goods) could exceed 30%.

* From gr. table, money changer.

Trapezites also performed some of the functions of notary offices - they concluded transactions, drew up bills of sale, and stored documents.
The role of the state in economic life
In most Greek policies there was no organized policy that brought constant and significant income state economy, there was no direct taxation of citizens. The lack of a stable source of replenishment of the state treasury was partly compensated by voluntary donations and liturgies - taxes from wealthy citizens for the needs of the state. During wars, an emergency war tax was levied on all citizens - euphora. Many policies had other sources of replenishment of the treasury, so in Athens state revenues were replenished at the expense of the Lavrion silver mines. For example, during the Greco-Persian wars in 482 BC. e. Themistocles proposed using the income from the mines to build warships. Subsequently, these mines were leased to private individuals - citizens of Athens.
The bread supply was the most important issue economic policies of most Greek city states. Special officials took care of the uninterrupted supply of grain, and special standards for its transit were established. At the end of the 5th century. BC e. in many policies, commissions were elected from the richest citizens for the purchase and distribution of grain among citizens. Such regulation in a number of cases also concerned building materials, firewood, flax, oil, etc.
To maintain order in the internal markets, many policies appointed special officials - agoranomists(market keepers) who collected duties, monitored the quality of products, the correctness of weights and measures, etc.
New phenomena in the Greek economy in the 4th century BC.
Currently IV century. BC e. considered as a period classic crisis IV century before Greek polis. This process was a direct consequence of the development of the Greek economy. Manifestations of the juisis of the traditional polis structure were primarily changes in land relations. From the end of the 5th century. BC e. very widely distributed land purchase and sale transactions, which in the 4th century. BC e. is no longer considered as the basis of a citizen’s life, but as one of the sources of income. In addition, in the 4th century. BC e. The exclusive right of citizens to own land is increasingly being violated - those who have distinguished themselves by some merit are given privileges, including the opportunity to purchase land and houses. In addition, from the end of the 5th century. BC e. distributed by rental of private properties, and since cultivating someone else's land was considered disgraceful for a citizen, the tenants were mainly metics and freedmen. Thus, the non-civilian population penetrates into the sphere of agriculture, previously practically closed to them.
Along with this, many citizens begin to engage in activities that were previously considered unworthy of a citizen, more profitable than agriculture: maritime trade, interest-bearing loans, mining, etc.
All this, as well as the rapid development of crafts and trade, which the metics were mainly engaged in, objectively leads to a strengthening of the role of the free non-civilian population in the economy, socio-political life of the polis, and to the gradual destruction of the traditional polis structure; the main measure of value becomes money, They are the ones who determine a person’s position in society.
In connection with the crisis of the policy, significant changes occurred in the field of slavery. Since the Peloponnesian War, the number of Greek slaves has been increasing, which was previously almost unthinkable. In addition, as it is more profitable, the practice is becoming more widespread release of slaves for rent. The number of freedmen - slaves who managed to save money and buy their freedom - increases sharply. In general, in the State University. BC e. classical slavery continues to develop, the number of slaves increases.
The crisis of the Greek polis in the 4th century. BC e. was not associated with economic decline. On the contrary, crisis phenomena, starting with changes in the land relations fundamental to the policy, are closely related to the development of commodity-money relations, the desire for enrichment, and the development of inter-policy economic relations. It was these processes that contributed to the weakening of the close connection between the citizen and his polis, created the preconditions for the development of contradictions between private and state interests, for the clash of various social groups within the civil collective.
The loss of close polis unity was one of the important reasons for Greece's loss of independence and its subjugation in 338 BC. e. Philip of Macedon, whose son and heir, Alexander, created in the 30-20s of the 4th century. BC e. the largest world power of antiquity. From that time on, the poleis ceased to be the leading force in the Greek world; they were replaced by Hellenistic monarchies.

7.4. Economic development in the Hellenistic era (late IV-I centuries BC)

After his death, the power of Alexander the Great broke up into a number of states: Greco-Macedonian Kingdom; Egypt, ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty; Seleucid state; the central core of which was Syria and Mesopotamia; Pergamon And Pontic kingdom in Asia Minor, etc. In these Hellenistic states there is a synthesis of Greek (Hellenic) and eastern elements; this applies to the economic, socio-political, and cultural spheres.
The development of the economy during the Hellenistic era was favorably influenced by the transformation of the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea into the inland sea of ​​the Greek world. In addition, in most Hellenistic states the monetary system was preserved, unification which began under Alexander the Great: the weight standard adopted in Athens was taken as a basis, along with silver they began to mint Golden coins.
The exchange of experience between the Greeks and eastern peoples, which contributed to the improvement of agricultural techniques, the cultivation of new crops, as well as the development of technology and further specialization in the craft. All this had a huge impact on the growth of marketability and the increase in trade turnover.
During this period, science and technology developed significantly: the famous scientist Archimedes discovered the hydraulic law, the law of the lever, invented the bolt, the screw-drawer and much more.

Archimedes screw that allows you to pump water from bottom to top

During the Hellenistic era, the center of economic life moved from mainland Greece and the Aegean Sea to the south and east, where many new cities were founded on the coasts of the seas and along the caravan routes. Large trade and craft centers were Alexandria in the Nile Delta in Egypt, Pergamon in the north-west of Asia Minor, Antioch on the Orontes River in Syria, Selsvkia on the Tigris River in Mesopotamia, etc. In the III-II centuries. BC e. Hellenistic city-states experienced an era of prosperity.

Alexandrovsky lighthouse

Cities were administrative units, in most cases they retained self-government bodies, and lands owned by the city and private individuals were assigned to them. The rest of the land fund was considered state: there were the royal lands themselves, as well as lands granted to the king’s associates, to churches, and transferred to the holding of soldiers.
Classical slavery gradually spread in the Hellenistic states, but along with it there existed a characteristic of the Eastern economy. debt slavery. In agriculture, the number of slaves increased, but the land was mainly cultivated by members of rural communities who were more or less dependent on the state. In the craft, along with private ones, there were workshops, whose workers also depended on the state.

Review questions
1. Name and compare the stages of development of the ancient Greek economy.
2. Describe the features of the economy of Ancient Greece.
3. Explain the reforms of Lycurgus and Solon and their impact on the economic development of Sparta and Athens.
4. Explain the reason for the crisis of the policy in the 4th century. BC e.

Greek economy of the classical period (V - IV centuries BC)

The classical period in Greek history is also called the era of the heyday of the polis system. The formation of Greek city-states, accompanied by violent socio-political upheavals, was completed by the end of the 6th century. BC e. The internal situation in Balkan Greece has stabilized, economic life has revived in numerous policies, and the political situation middle layers of citizenship, conditions were created for the development of culture. This is the time of the highest rise of Greek civilization.

At the same time, classical slavery took full shape.

Ancient Greece knew two options for slavery:

• - polis or Athenian, was typical for economically developed areas, the main source of slaves was trade. Polis slavery was unique in its forms of ownership. State slavery did not receive much development due to the fact that large types of work requiring the use of a large amount of labor were carried out not by the state, but by private individuals. State slaves could start a family and own property. The state owned a small number of slaves, who were very rarely used in the production process. Slaves owned by various private individuals were used in the city industrial production, including in ergasteriums. The forms of exploitation of slaves were also unique. The bulk of slave labor was used in cities in handicraft production. Slaves were often rented out and hired out as income property. Debt slavery was not widely developed;
• - a Spartan version of slavery, which in its nature was closer to the Egyptian and Roman. The main source of slaves was war. In addition, slaves, like land, were considered public property in Sparta. Each Spartan received a land plot and a certain number of slaves only for temporary use. The sale of slaves was prohibited. Equality of land plots was provided for, which excluded individual concentration of land and slaves. The main form of exploitation of slaves was agriculture. At the same time, slaves could have some property, tools of production, could run their own households and start families. Their duty was to obey the masters and hand over a certain amount of food. A quitrent type relationship arose, characteristic of the Roman colony and medieval serfdom.

Greek city-states were developed trade and craft cities, quite populated, with high culture, so Persia paid attention to them.

The causes of the Greco-Persian wars were:

• 1) The apparent weakness of the Greek city-states fueled Persia to start the war;
• 2) The capture of Balkan Greece is important from a strategic point of view, since it gave the entire Eastern Mediterranean into the hands of Persia.

The repulsion of the Persian invasion became possible thanks to the unification of the Greek city-states and, above all, Sparta, Corinth and Athens into the so-called Organization of the Delian Symmachy (the First Athenian Maritime League).

Victory in the Greco-Persian Wars led to the creation of a vast trade zone. As a result of victories over the Persian troops, the Greeks captured rich booty, including material assets and prisoners. ancient greece economics international

Under the influence of these factors in Greece from the middle of the 5th century. BC e. An economic system was formed that existed without much change until the end of the 4th century. BC e. It was based on the use of slave labor. The Greek economy as a whole was not homogeneous. Among the numerous policies, two main types can be distinguished, differing in their structure. One type of policy is an agricultural one with an absolute predominance of agriculture, weak development of crafts and trade (the most striking example is Sparta, as well as the policies of Arcadia, Boeotia, Thessaly, etc.). And another type of policy, which can be conditionally defined as a trade and craft policy, - in its structure the role of craft production and trade was quite significant. In these policies, a commodity slave-owning economy was created, which had a rather complex and dynamic structure, and the productive forces developed especially quickly. An example of such policies were Athens, Corinth, Megara, Miletus, Rhodes, Syracuse, and a number of others, usually located on the sea coast, sometimes having a small chora (land plot), but at the same time a large population that needed to be fed and occupied productive work. Polis of this type set the tone for economic development and were the leading economic centers of Greece in the 5th-4th centuries. BC e.

The most striking example is Athens. A study of the economic structure of Athens allows us to get a general idea of ​​the features of the trade and craft policies of Greece in classical times.

The definition of the leading type of Greek policies as trade and crafts does not mean that agriculture in them faded into the background and ceased to be an important industry. Agriculture in the trade and craft policies was leading, along with trade and craft, and was the basis of all economic system. That is why the description of the economic life of trade and craft policies must begin with a description of agriculture as the most important basis of their economy.

Cities during this period were the vital centers of economically developed areas. Industry and trade were concentrated in the city, their growth reflected the most progressive trends in economic development. Craft activity predominantly existed in the form of small-scale production, based on manual labor with low productivity. The sectoral structure of production became more complex, and the social division of labor developed.

Along with crafts, forms of large-scale production - ergasteria - appeared in the policies - mainly in metalworking, weapons, and leather production, employing 20-30 people. The division of labor within the ergasteria was only emerging and appeared sporadically.

Trade was developing intensively, professional merchants and wholesale trade existed, temporary companies arose to equip trade expeditions. To control the organization of trade and maintain order in the markets, a special supervision administration was created, and speculation, especially in bread, was persecuted.

In the 4th century. Greece was experiencing a period of decline. The crisis of slavery, the development of its internal contradictions associated with the lack of interest of this economic system in improving the tools of labor, accelerated this process. The extraordinary flowering of culture was combined with a low technical level of production. The difficulty in the reproduction of slaves - the main productive force during this period - inevitably leads to an aggravation of problems of economic development.

After Greco-Persian Wars The Hellenic world entered the era of its greatest economic prosperity. The political and commercial influence of the Greeks was strengthened not only in the Aegean, but also on the coast of Pontus. In the west, the Sicilian Greeks defeated the Carthaginians, their competitors and Persian allies. Against the backdrop of the fact that the Asia Minor city-states were never able to recover from the defeat of the Ionian Uprising, the economic power of Athens grew. At the same time, the economic rise was the rise of the slave economy. Ancient slavery was acquiring its classic form.

Economic development of Athens in the 5th century. BC e. Ancient slavery

One of the actively discussed problems in ancient history concerns the determination of the number of slaves and the ratio of the slave and free population of the polis, especially using the example of Athens, since most of our sources refer specifically to this city-state. Thucydides gives the minimum limit, reporting that during the Peloponnesian War, more than 20 thousand slaves, most of them artisans, fled to the Spartans (History, VII, 27, 5). According to the calculations of the German antiquarian K. Yu. Beloch, before the Peloponnesian War in Athens, there were 35 thousand citizens (together with wives and children - about 100 thousand) and 30 thousand metics (people from other policies, whose rights were infringed compared to citizens ) accounted for about 100 thousand slaves. Most other researchers note that, most likely, there were at least 110-120 thousand slaves. Slaves, as a rule, were of non-Greek origin: relatives, friends, and the authorities of their native city still tried to redeem the Greeks from slavery as quickly as possible. The main sources of slavery were: war (for example, Cimon after Eurymedon brought 20 thousand slaves to the market), piracy, and natural reproduction in the master’s house.

Slave labor was used in all areas public life. Undoubtedly, slaves were used in agriculture, although not as widely as in crafts, because the plots were small and the peasants worked them themselves: some scientists determine the ratio of slaves employed in agriculture and in industry (without mines) as approximately 1: 2 ( 10 versus 20 thousand). The slaves worked masterfully x-ergasteria, It was in them that most of the commercial products were produced in ancient Greece. On average, ergasteria had 10-15 slaves, but there were also larger productions: in one of the workshops (for the production of knives), which the speaker

Demosthenes was left by his father, 30 worked, and in another (in the production of beds) - 20 people (Demosthenes, XXVII, 9); the brother of the speaker Lysias had a weapons factory that employed 120 slaves (Lysias, XII, 8, 9). The hardest work was in mines, quarries and mills, where one could end up for some offense. In Attica, such a terrible place was Lavrion - the silver mines. Large Athenian slave owners leased their slaves there: Nicias - 1000 people, Hipponicus - 600, etc., receiving 1 obol per day for live goods (Xenophon, On Income, 4, 14, 15).

A special and very large group of slaves was the servants: slaves who worked in the household and served the master's family, as well as flute players, hetaeras, etc. Researchers estimate their number to be between 20-30 thousand. The servants also included the slave-ggedagog, literally “the one who leads the child”, in essence, a man, like Savelich from “The Captain’s Daughter”. The main duty of such a slave was not to teach the master’s son (often the slave-teacher was himself an ignorant person), but to accompany him to school.

Question to think about

What Greek concept does the word “school” come from and why do you think?

Slaves were also widely used by the state: scribes, heralds, executioners, jailers, policemen. In Athens, there were from 700 to 1000 such state slaves. Their position was better than that of private owners; most of them lived in their own homes and families.

From a legal point of view, slaves had absolutely no rights. The owner could use the slave as he pleased, impose any punishment on him, give him any name. Often slaves were called by nationality: Persian, Scythian, Gall, etc. For the same crime, a slave was punished more severely than a free person; he could not own property or enter into an official marriage; the owner could sell it, rent it out, etc. For the mutilation of a slave there was punishment, but much less than for self-mutilation in relation to a free person. Yes, in Athens a slave could not be killed with impunity, because shedding blood meant bringing defilement (miasma) to the polis, but in the same enlightened Athens there was the so-called witness torture of slaves: that is, testimony for a trial from a slave was taken only under torture, even if he was ready to provide any information required from him. A slave who was set free (freedman) retained a certain dependence on his former owner and had no civil rights.

Although Greek society had a significant share of free labor (especially in agriculture), it was still largely based on slavery, which permeated all spheres of public life. Ultimately, slavery influenced the fate of ancient civilization. The opportunity to develop production was reduced to an extensive, quantitative increase in slaves. As a consequence: neglect of the introduction of technical innovations, virtual lack of progress in production technologies, dependence on external conditions - on wars that ensured the influx of slaves. There was also a moral aspect, the moral impact of slavery on society: slavery compromised physical labor, especially hard work, because it was associated with slaves (except for labor on land). At the same time, slave labor provided citizens of the policies with leisure - free time(Greek schole and lat. otium), used for activities not related to economics. Leisure in the Greek sense was intended for intellectual and creative pastime, self-improvement, and acquaintance with beauty. Thus, those who (like Friedrich Nietzsche, for example) argued that without ancient slavery there would not have been an amazing ancient culture were partly right, although, of course, there were other prerequisites for its development.

In the 5th century BC e. There is a rapid development of commodity-money relations. The center of urban trade in Athens was the agora, covered with tents made of reeds and twigs; the shopping arcades were arranged in circles. Here they communicate, exchange news and gossip, hand out invitations to symposiums.

Symposium (symposium, lit., “joint drinking party”) is a Greek feast that took place after a joint meal, necessarily including a “cultural program.”

Athens was largest center intermediary trade in Hellas. Using their influence in the Delian League, the Athenians forced their allies to transport goods to Piraeus (grain is a must), from where they then resold them through the mediation of the Athenians: the annual turnover of Piraeus amounted to a colossal amount - 2 thousand gold talents. The growth of trading capital and the transition to monetary settlement stimulated the development of usury. It was carried out by the holders of money changers - trapezites, from whom it was possible, for example, to obtain a maritime loan (a loan secured by a ship or goods). Bankers grew out of trapezites. Thanks to one of the speeches of Demosthenes (XXXVI), we are well aware of the work of the Pasion banking house in Athens (IV century BC), whose annual turnover was 60 gold talents. Metek Pasion (a former slave) received Athenian citizenship, in gratitude he equipped five triremes. In addition to the bank, he had a large weapons factory. In his old age, Pasion handed over his business along with the factory to Phormion, who was first also a slave, then a freedman. There were branches of the Pasion Bank in many Greek policies - they were managed by his trusted servants (again, often slaves). Some modernization scientists (K. Yu. Belokh, E. Mayer, M. I. Rostovtsev) based on such examples spoke about ancient capitalism: if this is an exaggeration, then it is even more incorrect to argue, as did the followers of the German political economist Karl Bucher and partly Marxist historians, about the primitive ancient economy, subsistence farming, the absence of a market, etc.

• In domestic science, for the most complete presentation of this problem with references to sources and scientific literature, see: Dovatur A.I. Slavery in Attica in the VI-V centuries BC. e. L., 1980. P. 29-58.

1. General features of the Greek economy.

The expulsion of the Persians from the northern coast of the Aegean Sea, the liberation of Greek poleis in the Black Sea straits and western Asia Minor led to the creation of a fairly extensive economic zone, including the Aegean basin, the Black Sea coast, Southern Italy and Sicily, within which strong economic ties developed that fed the economy of individual poleis . As a result of victories over the Persian troops, the Greeks captured rich booty, including material assets and prisoners. For example, after the Battle of Plataea (479 BC), the Greeks, according to Herodotus, “found tents decorated with gold and silver, gilded and silvered beds, golden vessels for mixing wine, bowls and other drinking vessels. On the carts they found bags of gold and silver cauldrons. They removed wrists, necklaces and golden swords from fallen enemies, but no one paid attention to the colorful embroidered robes of the barbarians. So much gold was taken that it was sold as if it were copper.” The slave markets of Hellas were filled with numerous captives.(50 years old) over 150 thousand were sold. Part of the slaves and rich booty were sent to production, they were used to establish new craft workshops, slave estates, and new construction.

The war brought new needs to life and created additional incentives for economic development. It was necessary to build a huge fleet (several hundred ships), erect powerful defensive structures (for example, the system of Athenian fortifications, the so-called “long walls”), it was necessary to equip armies that the Greeks had never fielded before with defensive and offensive weapons (shells, shields, swords, spears, etc.). Naturally, all this could not but move forward Greek metallurgy and metalworking, construction, leatherwork and other crafts, and could not but contribute to general technical progress.

Under the influence of these factors in Greece in the mid-5th century. BC e. an economic system was formed. existed without any significant changes until the end of the 4th century. BC e. It was based on the use of slave labor.

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The Greek economy as a whole was not homogeneous. Among the numerous policies, two main types can be distinguished, differing in their structure. One type of policy is an agricultural one with an absolute predominance of agriculture, weak development of crafts and trade (the most striking example is Sparta, as well as the policies of Arcadia, Boeotia, Thessaly, etc.). And another type of policy, which can be conditionally defined as a trade and craft policy, - in its structure the role of craft production and trade was quite significant. In these policies, a commodity slave-owning economy was created, which had a rather complex and dynamic structure, and the productive forces developed especially quickly. An example of such policies were Athens, Corinth, Megara, Miletus, Rhodes, Syracuse, and a number of others, usually located on the sea coast, sometimes having a small chora (agricultural territory), but at the same time a large population that needed to be fed and occupied. productive work. Polis of this type set the tone for economic development and were the leading economic centers of Greece in the 5th-4th centuries. BC e.

The most striking example is Athens. A study of the economic structure of Athens allows us to get a general idea of ​​the features of the trade and craft policies of Greece in classical times.

The definition of the leading type of Greek policies as trade and crafts does not mean that agriculture in them faded into the background and ceased to be an important industry. Not at all. Agriculture in the trade and craft policies was leading, along with trade and craft, and was the basis of the entire economic system. That is why the description of the economic life of trade and craft policies must begin with a description of agriculture as the most important basis of their economy.

2. The situation in agriculture. A common feature of the agricultural production of the trade and craft policies of Greece was the presence of many industries: arable farming, viticulture, olive growing, vegetable gardening, and cattle breeding. The main food product of the Greeks was bread, and therefore arable farming was one of the main crops. However, in the choir of trade and craft policies, as a rule, there was little fertile land, predominantly hilly with rocky soil, difficult for plowing and cultivation, with little natural fertility. This predetermined the low level of development of arable farming in Greek city-states of this type.

The assortment of agricultural tools was poor: a primitive moldless plow, a hoe, a sickle for cutting ears, a shovel for winnowing, a dragger for squeezing grain out of cut ears on a threshing floor. Fertilizers were used little; the most common farming system was two-field. Under these conditions, the yields were low, apparently -3, and -4. Nutritious, but difficult to cultivate, wheat was sown in small areas; the predominant grain crop was less valuable, but unpretentious barley, which produces relatively good yields on the soils of Greece. Barley bread, barley porridge or flat cakes were the staple food of the ancient Greeks.

In general, in trade and craft policies, which quite often have a small chorus and a significant population, there was not enough grain, even such as barley, and the threat of famine was quite real. The grain problem is one of the most acute in the trade and craft policies of classical Greece in the V-IV centuries. BC e.

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High amounts of rainfall turned out to be favorable for grapes, olives, fruit trees and vegetables. Wine, olive oil, figs, and vegetables became, like bread, the main food products of the ancient Greeks. Viticulture and olive growing are experiencing particular growth. Previously empty lands were allocated for vineyards and olive groves, and hilly, arid or rocky areas were cleared of thickets and brought into agricultural use. Well-thought-out care guidelines have been developed grapevine and olives: they were fertilized, pruned several times a year, new varieties were bred that improved the taste of the fruit, and skillfully protected from cold and wind. The Greeks received fairly high harvests of grapes and olives, which not only met the needs of the local population, but also made it possible to sell the surplus. The collected fruits were consumed fresh, used to make raisins, olives were pickled, but most of the products were used to make wine and oil. Greek oil and some types of wine were famous throughout the Mediterranean and were exported, bringing large profits. The most famous in the V-IV centuries. BC e. wines from Chios, Thasos, Kos and Lesbos were considered. Ancient Greek winemakers did not have a set of many modern, including chemical, means to neutralize the acetic acid formed during fermentation of grape juice, and therefore the process of making good wine was quite complicated. To prevent the wine from turning sour and turning into vinegar, they added

sea ​​water

A Greek dinner table cannot be imagined without fruits (most often these were figs or figs, similar to modern figs) and vegetables: onions, garlic, cabbage, herbs. This predetermined the significant role of gardening and horticulture, their high level. In addition, gardens and vegetable gardens did not require a lot of land, which, given the small size of the choir of Greek trade and craft policies, was one of the factors for their widespread distribution.

Cattle breeding was not great place in the Greek agricultural production system. Meat and milk were not staple foods

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ancient Greeks, horses were practically not used as draft force, the Greek cavalry was an auxiliary branch of the army and therefore there were few horses. But they bred sheep (and the resulting wool was the main raw material for making clothes), working and draft animals (bulls, donkeys, mules). In mountainous Greece, in the limited territory of small policies, there were no extensive pastures and this could not but restrain the development of Greek cattle breeding.

The main production cells in the agriculture of Greece V-IV centuries. BC e. there was a small plot of the farmer (3-5 hectares) - a citizen of this policy, cultivated by the labor of his family members, who could be helped by 1-2 slaves, and an estate of 15-25 hectares, cultivated by slaves (15-25 slaves). The economy of both types was diversified, almost every farm cultivated grain, had a vineyard, olive plantations, a garden of fruit trees, a vegetable garden, and small herds of sheep and goats grazed. If the products of the peasant household, as a rule, went to satisfy the needs of the farmer's family and had little connection with the market, then the slave estates received significant surpluses of products: grain, wine, oil, which were sold on the local market or were exported.

An example of an estate that has established close ties with the market is the farm of the Athenian politician Pericles. A representative of a noble aristocratic family, Pericles, according to Plutarch, organized such management of his estate, “which he considered the simplest and most economical. He sold all the annual harvest in its entirety, and then lived and satisfied the needs of his house, buying everything he needed at the market... In his house there was no abundance of anything, which usually happens in large and rich houses, but all expenses and income were strictly checked against the account and carefully taken into account.

This entire system of managing the economy of Pericles was carried out exactly by one of his slaves, named Evangel, trained and prepared, like no one else, by Pericles himself for such management of the economy.”

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In the 5th century BC e. There were few such estates, but in the 4th century. BC

e. their number is increasing. Greek writer Xenophon at the beginning of the 4th century. BC e. wrote a special treatise “Economics”, in which, summarizing the existing experience, he gave a description of a rationally constructed, market-related, profitable economy, which indicates their distribution, and, consequently, the development of commodity

production in agriculture in Greece V-IV centuries. BC e. In general, the agriculture of Greece V-IV centuries. BC e. had the following features: a diversified nature, it was dominated by labor-intensive intensive crops (viticulture and olive growing), slave labor was used, it was characterized by the commodity orientation of the leading economic unit - the slave estate, as a new type of organization of agricultural production.

Crafts and trade could not develop without attracting additional work force. This power was given rural population, which, due to the development of urban life and the introduction of slaveholding estates, was forced out of the countryside and accumulated within the city walls. This additional strength was also provided by newly arrived free people from other Greek cities, who settled permanently in a given city. However, most of the workers in the newly organized craft workshops were recruited by slaves. Without the widespread prevalence of slavery, the rapid development of handicraft production and trade in many cities of Greece in the 5th-4th centuries would have been impossible. BC

e. For the sustainable existence of craft industries (metal processing, ceramics, construction, clothing and footwear manufacturing, different types

weapons, etc.) a constant raw material base was needed: it was necessary to mine ore, obtain metal from it, have clay, leather, wool, etc. In small Greek policies, there were, as a rule, few local raw materials. There was enough stone, clay, wool, leather to provide the workshops with the appropriate raw materials, but there was not enough iron, non-ferrous metals, valuable types of stone (marble, granite), construction and ship timber. It was possible to obtain the missing raw materials only through trade exchange: they paid for what they brought in hard currency or with their own handicraft and agricultural goods.

The proximity of the sea and the favorable location of many trade and craft policies on the sea coast facilitated the supply of Greek workshops with the necessary raw materials, since transporting goods by sea was the most convenient and cheapest. Thus, Greek artisans could receive raw materials from all over the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions. It should be noted that Balkan Greece is rich in a variety of minerals, which were actively used by the ancient Greeks. Deposits of iron, copper, gold and silver were discovered in different areas of Greece. East End

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in almost all policies. Some areas of Greece were especially rich in minerals: Laconia - iron ore, South Attica - iron ore and silver, Euboea - iron ore and copper.

One of the richest was the region of Pangea on the northern coast of the Aegean Sea, where deposits of iron ore, copper, tin, gold, and silver were actively developed. It is no coincidence that this area became the subject of a fierce struggle between the leading policies of Greece in the 4th-4th centuries. BC e. The timber necessary for the construction of ships grew in the mountains of Macedonia, in the vicinity of Sinope and Amis (Southern Black Sea region) and in the region of Cilicia in the northeastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.

The basis of handicraft production was the production of metal and necessary products from it, i.e. metallurgy and metalworking.

During the classical era, Greek craftsmen obtained more quantity and better quality metal than their predecessors, and iron entered production and everyday life.

Great progress has been made in mining, in organizing the search for ore deposits and their development. If in previous times ore was mined in open pits, then in the classical period it began to be extracted from the bowels of the earth by laying mines that cut through the earth's thickness and drifts diverging in the horizontal direction, laid along ore-bearing veins.

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high temperature, the melting process took place in furnaces of a primitive design. In them, iron was brought only to a dough-like state, but pure metal was not obtained (the so-called cheese-blowing method of obtaining metal). It contained many impurities and needed further processing to be used for various manufacturing purposes. Additional processing took place in forges. Repeatedly heating the metal, the blacksmith forged it with a heavy hammer, hardening the product to cold water and thus achieved good quality. Thus, forging was a necessary link in the process of obtaining the metal itself. Special role blacksmiths in such an important production process as obtaining and processing metal, predetermined their high prestige in society. It is not for nothing that the patron god of blacksmithing, Hephaestus, was considered one of the main ones in the Greek pantheon, and was one of the 12 Olympic

Skilled Greek blacksmiths, using various methods of processing iron, could obtain hard steel, which was necessary for the manufacture of weapons (swords, spearheads, etc.) and tools (for example, plowshares, carpentry tools, etc.). The success of Greek metallurgy is evidenced by the presence of several varieties of steel: the most famous were Laconian, Lydian, Sinope, and Khalib.

No matter how widely iron was used, it could not displace traditional types of metals: copper and its alloy - bronze. The Greeks were skilled craftsmen with these metals. They were able to obtain high-quality bronze, skillfully process it, making a variety of products.

spears (long and short), daggers, bows and arrows, slings and darts, armor, leggings, shields, etc. A lot of metal of the best quality (both iron and bronze) was used to make weapons, and production became massive.

Along with metallurgy, the most important branch of Greek crafts was ceramic production. Pottery specialists made a wide variety of products: amphoras and pithos for storing wine, oil, grain, ceremonial tableware (several dozen types), water and sewer pipes, construction parts (facing

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slabs and decorations), lamps, weights for fishing nets and weights for looms, terracotta figurines, without which in the 4th century. BC e. no Greek house can be imagined.

V-IV centuries BC e. - the time of the most active construction: fortress walls, public and private buildings, temples and theaters were erected.

The Greeks mastered the processing of many types of stone, in particular, hard and difficult to process, but beautiful marble found the widest use in construction. The stone was mined in open quarries, transported in large blocks to the construction site and carefully processed there: sawed into small blocks, drilled, prepared shaped parts, adjusted them to each other, and polished. Public buildings were especially carefully decorated and beautiful, primarily temples, made in one of three orders: Doric, Ionic or Corinthian. High skill was required to make statues, and in the 4th century. BC e. Most of them were made of marble, and the sculptor, in addition to purely artistic tasks, needed qualifications to work in stone.

Clothes were made mainly in weaving workshops.

However, weaving in the 5th and early 4th centuries. BC e. maintained connections with domestic life, each Greek housewife, together with her daughters or maids, knew how to work on weaving looms (the most common was a vertical loom), made yarn, and right here in the house they sewed a chiton from the prepared linen - a long sleeveless shirt, a himation - a cloak , chlamys - a short cloak - and other types of clothing. In the 4th century. Don. e. The growing needs of the urban population led to the separation of weaving from the circle of home occupations and the emergence of special workshops working for sale.

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The demand for clothing for slaves led to the organization of workshops specializing in this type of clothing (for example, in Megara), Milesian mantles were famous among buyers, and transparent fabrics were made in Amorgos.

In medium and large ergasteria, some specialization of employed workers was used, which increased overall labor productivity. There are workshops for the production of only lamps (the Athenian orator Hyperbolus had a workshop of lamps), only swords, only boxes (both by Demosthenes), only shields (by Father Lysias). “In small towns,” wrote Xenophon, “the same master makes a bed, a door, a plow, a table, and often the same person builds a house, and he is happy if he finds enough customers to feed himself. Of course, it is impossible for such a person, who practices many crafts, to make everything equally well. On the contrary, in

major cities

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Due to the fact that many people are in need of each item, each master has enough for his livelihood and one craft. And often even part of this craft is enough: for example, one master sews men's shoes, and another sews women's shoes. And sometimes a person earns his living solely by sewing blanks for shoes, another by cutting out the soles, a third only by cutting out the fronts, and a fourth by not doing any of this, but only by sewing everything together. Of course, whoever spends time doing such limited work is able to do it to the best of his ability.”

Basic food products were traded in the markets: bread, wine, butter, raw materials for handicraft production, industrial products - tools, weapons, household items, from metal products to women's toiletries, i.e. a significant part of the production was in commodity circulation. products, and not just luxury goods, as in many states of the Ancient East. Almost all segments of the population were involved in commodity transactions: the farmer bought handicrafts and tools, sold wine, oil, vegetables, the artisan bought basic food products and sold the products of his ergasterium; builders, sailors, day laborers, urban population engaged in servicing trade operations, worship or public administration

, mostly fed from the market. Natural conditions In ancient Greece, the imperfection and high cost of land transport did not contribute to the development of land transportation. On the other hand, the rugged coastline of Balkan Greece with numerous and convenient bays, the abundance of islands, and the scattering of Greek colonies along the entire Mediterranean coast created the most favorable conditions for the flourishing of maritime trade. The carrying capacity of merchant ships has increased (up to 100-150 tons), the duration of navigation during the year has increased ( usually did not swim in the autumn and winter months), new sea routes were developed.

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the largest trade and craft center of the Greek world. Corinth had two ports equipped with the latest technology of the time: Cenchrea on the shore of the Saronic Gulf and Lechsion on the shore of the Gulf of Corinth, i.e. Corinth could receive ships from both the Aegean and Adriatic seas. The port of Lecheyon was especially well equipped. It had two large open harbors with piers 42 m long, protecting ships from the sea, and a deep inner harbor with four sheltered anchorages for ships. Along the shores of the inner harbor, stone embankments about 4.5 km long, numerous warehouses, docks, and storage facilities were built. total area

the inner harbor reached an impressive size of 10 hectares. Even the narrow entrance to the inner harbor was designed so that a sailing ship could enter easily, without additional maneuvering, and at the same time it was successfully protected from sand drifts common in the area. A portage (the so-called diolcus) 6 km long across the Isthmus of Corinth, built under the tyrant Periander at the beginning of the 6th century.

BC e., connected both ports. The development of sea routes opened up for Greek merchants the widest opportunities for trade operations throughout the Mediterranean, including the Black Sea basin. The introduction of commodity production and a large volume of trade required the improvement of settlement operations. The primitive exchange of goods for goods or for pieces of currency metal, which constantly needed to be weighed, was inconvenient. A new means of payment was the coin: a small piece of metal (gold, silver, bronze) with a strictly defined weight, guaranteed by the state that issued the coin. The first coins appeared in Greece back in the 7th century. BC

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radrachms (17.5 g) and drachms (4.4 g) with the image of Athena on the front side and an owl on the back (the so-called “owls”) were readily accepted in the cities of the Aegean Sea basin. Corinthian “stallions” and Athenian “owls” became a kind of intercity, international currency in Greece in the 5th-4th centuries. BC e.

The large scale of trade operations in the Greek world led to the emergence of the rudiments of banking operations and elements of non-currency payments. These operations were carried out by special persons - money changers, or trapezites, who existed in each trading city

. The money changers monitored the exchange rate of numerous coin series (after all, there were many coins of various Greek policies in circulation), exchanged some coins for others, exchanged large coins, accepted money for storage, gave loans at interest, and made payments between wholesale traders.

For greater convenience in carrying out trade operations, merchant wholesalers, especially those associated with long-distance overseas trade, created merchant associations - fias, the main tasks of which were mutual insurance and revenue from loans, information exchange, and price control.

The products brought by ship then fell into the hands of retailers and were sold in small quantities at the city market, and local farmers and city artisans brought their products here.

To facilitate trade operations, special market premises and shops were set up, but most often trade was carried out directly in the open air. The market was visited by representatives of all segments of the population, a crowd of people crowded there, a restless atmosphere of market bustle reigned, which deafened the peasant accustomed to rural silence. The Athenian writer Aristophanes in the comedy “Acharnians” conveys the mood of his hero, a villager of Dikeopolis, plunged into the noise of the market:

I miss the silence, I look at the fields

And I hate the city. O my village!

You don’t shout: buy coals, buy vinegar.

Neither “vinegar”, nor “oil”, nor “buy” - no

You yourself give birth to everything without a buyer.

In the comedy “The Riders,” Aristophanes again shows the market atmosphere - the desire to deceive the buyer and sell him rotten goods:

Master, you try to sell rotten skin for good skin

So, in Greece V-IV centuries. BC e. A new type of economy has emerged, different from the economic structure of the leading ancient Eastern countries: intensive, commodity-based while maintaining its natural basis. It required significant investments, a high level of economic organization, the use of slave labor, and created favorable conditions for the very existence of Greek society and for the development of the wonderful Greek culture.