Classical Athenian trade in comparative perspective: literary and archaeological evidence in E.M. Harris, D. Lewis (eds.), The Ancient Greek Economy: Markets, Households, and City-states. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015) pp. 356-80 By Geoffrey Kron

https://www.academia.edu/24699425/Classical_Athenian_trade_in_comparative_perspective_literary_and_archaeological_evidence_in_E_M_Harris_D_Lewis_eds_The_Ancient_Greek_Economy_Markets_Households_and_City_states_Cambridge_Cambridge_University_Press_2015_pp_356_80?nav_from=fe2fdc22-25b2-4c09-a69d-3941fdbafee5 DESCRIPTION I examine the importance of maritime trade in the Greek world of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, arguing that it played a role in the economy of many Greek poleis comparable to that of the highly urbanized and prosperous civilizations of Renaissance Northern Italy or 17th century Holland, and significantly greater than in England, the early Modern world's other major international trading power, in the early 19th century. Two important indices of trade activity will be examined first: the taxes levied on maritime trade in the harbours of Athens, Delos, Rhodes and the member states of Athens' Delian league; and evidence for the size and cargo capacity of merchant ships. The rest of the paper will offer a synthesis of recent archaeological research, which corroborates this literary and epigraphic evidence for a high level of trade activity. Leaving aside agricultural products and transport amphoras, which are the subject of other papers, I will briefly discu... ...