Population And Economy In Classical Athens

Systematically explores the changing size and structure of the population of classical Athens and the implications for economic history.

In The Political Economy of Classical Athens – a Naval Perspective, Barry O’Halloran offers an account of the economic history of classical Athens in which its strategy of naval conquest provided the foundations for a period of unprecedented economic efflorescence.

This book presents the economic heartbeat and institutional details that shaped Athenian society during the Classical period (508-323 BCE), employing an innovative and outside-the-box approach to studying history. It answers questions about societal structure, the roles of women, foreigners, and slaves, and the transformation of their economy from agrarian to maritime. 28 short fictional stories enliven the narrative, each accompanied by rigorous academic analysis - revealing how banking, insurance, and the Athenian drachma, the internationally accepted currency of the times, shaped their world. Exploring the symbiotic relationship between democracy and economic evolution, the book examines the sophisticated economic institutions of ancient Athens -ranging from property rights protection to market-driven price determination, anti-profiteering measures, measures to protect the Athenian currency’s trustworthiness from forgery, business and labor mentality and practices, international trade patterns, as well as the existence of a robust public sector related also to the provision of a series of public goods. In a comprehensive analysis, the book scrutinizes daily life, societal structures, and customs, addressing a variety of questions such as marriage, cuisine, attire, values, and entertainment. Employing New Institutional Economics as a methodology, the book puts together historical evidence with institutional analysis, offering an interdisciplinary lens through economics, political science, strategy, and behavioral theory. Richly supported by ancient sources, inscriptions, and a vast modern bibliography, this work not only explains ancient Athens but also proposes its socioeconomic pattern as a guide for modern societal challenges in economic governance and democracy.

This book is a comprehensive introduction to ancient Athens, its topography, monuments, inhabitants, cultural institutions, religious rituals, and politics. Drawing from the newest scholarship on the city, this volume examines how the city was planned, how it functioned, and how it was transformed from a democratic polis into a Roman urbs.

In parallel to the development of democracy, the Athenians of the Classical period established a series of sophisticated economic institutions for the time through which they developed a maritime and commercially oriented economy. This book provides a thorough analysis of this transformation and the functioning of the Athenian economy during the Classical period. Through the approach of New Institutional Economics (NIE), the book explores the establishment of key institutions including property rights protection, the legal protection of commercial contracts, prices determined by the forces of supply and demand, institutions against profiteering, banking services, the provision of loans through interest rates, consumer credit, insurance companies and a (primitive) version of joint-stock companies. Furthermore, the book focuses on the structure of the public sector, on how the state budget was determined and on how decisions on public revenues and expenditures were made. It also provides an integrated and detailed analysis of the social welfare policies that were implemented through the provision of a variety of public goods in Classical Athens. Moreover, it focuses on a series of socio-economic aspects such as the social status of women, slaves and foreigners and the viewpoints of prominent Athenian philosophers regarding economic organization. Finally, the book investigates whether an Athenian economic-political model of governance, based on a combination of advanced economic institutions (of free market type logic, even if in a primordial form) and direct democracy principles, can provide any lessons for modern societies. The book will be of great interest to readers of the economy, history and society of Ancient Greece as well as economic historians, ancient historians and policymakers more broadly.

A major new history of classical Greece—how it rose, how it fell, and what we can learn from it Lord Byron described Greece as great, fallen, and immortal, a characterization more apt than he knew. Through most of its long history, Greece was poor. But in the classical era, Greece was densely populated and highly urbanized. Many surprisingly healthy Greeks lived in remarkably big houses and worked for high wages at specialized occupations. Middle-class spending drove sustained economic growth and classical wealth produced a stunning cultural efflorescence lasting hundreds of years. Why did Greece reach such heights in the classical period—and why only then? And how, after "the Greek miracle" had endured for centuries, did the Macedonians defeat the Greeks, seemingly bringing an end to their glory? Drawing on a massive body of newly available data and employing novel approaches to evidence, Josiah Ober offers a major new history of classical Greece and an unprecedented account of its rise and fall. Ober argues that Greece's rise was no miracle but rather the result of political breakthroughs and economic development. The extraordinary emergence of citizen-centered city-states transformed Greece into a society that defeated the mighty Persian Empire. Yet Philip and Alexander of Macedon were able to beat the Greeks in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE, a victory made possible by the Macedonians' appropriation of Greek innovations. After Alexander's death, battle-hardened warlords fought ruthlessly over the remnants of his empire. But Greek cities remained populous and wealthy, their economy and culture surviving to be passed on to the Romans—and to us. A compelling narrative filled with uncanny modern parallels, this is a book for anyone interested in how great civilizations are born and die. This book is based on evidence available on a new interactive website. To learn more, please visit: http://polis.stanford.edu/.

Provides an interesting insight into the individuals who conducted business in a great civilization of antiquity.

The Ancient Economy introduces readers to the nature of economic life in the ancient world, and provides a valuable guide to scholarly debates on the subject. The book describes and examines the economic processes and fluctuations of the ancient world, and shows how these relate to political and social change and conditions. Leading experts address the central issues, from agricultural production to the uses of money and the creation of markets. Taken as a whole the book exemplifies the range of interdisciplinary perspectives on the ancient economy, and illustrates the methodological approaches scholars have deployed to understand it. In doing so it draws on literary, ecological and archaeological evidence.