Economic development of ancient states. The main features of the economic development of ancient Greece The main features of the economy of ancient Greece
Class society and the state were formed in the ancient world in a different and independent way from the countries of the Ancient East. The slave system that developed in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome differed significantly from ancient Eastern slavery both in the relatively higher level of development of productive forces and in more mature slave-owning production relations.
Since Ancient Greece did not represent a single state, the generally accepted periodization of its history is not entirely acceptable for this course. In this case, we present the following periodization of the economic history of Ancient Greece:
Cretan-Mycenaean period (XIX-XII centuries BC);
Homeric period (XII-VIII centuries BC);
the era of colonization and the formation of slave states (VIII-VI centuries BC);
the heyday of ancient Greece (VI-IV centuries BC);
Hellenistic period (III-II centuries BC).
The basis of the economy of Crete was agriculture. In Crete, at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. e. they used the plow and grew wheat, barley, beans, lentils, peas, flax, and saffron. The Cretans were already good gardeners and were famous for their harvests of olives and grapes, figs and dates. Cattle breeding (cattle and small cattle, pigs, poultry) was also developed in Crete. The main occupation of most Cretans was fishing.
Crete was famous for its artisans who made products from ivory, clay, faience, wood and produced various types of weapons. Bronze was used to make household items and craft tools. From gold and silver, Cretan artisans made luxury items and religious accessories for kings, nobility and priesthood. The Cretans conducted brisk trade with many countries and regions of the Mediterranean: Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Sicily, Cyprus, the Black Sea regions, southern France and Italy.
Since the 15th century. BC e. the decline of the Cretan slave society begins. Slavery in the Mycenaean era had not yet acquired much development. Slaves were not yet a class.
The Homeric period in the history of Ancient Greece represents a transitional period - the decomposition of the primitive communal system and the formation of a slave society (XII-VIII centuries BC). This period was characterized by the presence of tribal communities,
within which there was property inequality. Under the influence of property stratification, clans began to split into large patriarchal families with hereditary private land ownership, which later grew into private land ownership. Communities of the Homeric period settled in fortified cities, the economy of which was based on agriculture and pastoralism (horse breeding, pig breeding), and cattle breeding. Crafts had not yet separated from agriculture, and product exchange was still in its infancy (exchange of surplus). Slavery was patriarchal. There was no disdain for work: even tribal leaders herded livestock and plowed. Slave labor was used little. In general, this is a period of gradual formation of economic prerequisites for the formation of classes and the state. The positions of the leader of the tribe - basileus (king), elders of clans and their associations were transformed from elected into hereditary ones, although the functions of these persons were limited only to military and judicial power.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. The first slave-holding city-states (policies) began to form. At this time, crafts were finally separated from agriculture. Mining, blacksmithing, foundry, shipbuilding, ceramic production, trade began to develop, and minted coins appeared. Under the influence of the development of productive forces and trade, the ancient Greeks began to conquer and colonize new lands, which were carried out in three main directions:
To the northeast, i.e. to the Black Sea;
to the west, to Sicily and the south of the Apennine Peninsula;
south to Egypt and the coast of North Africa.
As a result, the so-called Greek world was created, in which the colonial outskirts played the role of suppliers of slaves and food for the metropolises - the ancient Greek states. Of all the Greek states, Athens and Sparta were the most powerful.
Sparta arose 200 years earlier than Athens and was a striking example of an aristocratic slave state. The population of Sparta was divided into three main groups: Spartiates (full-fledged community members), perieki (personally free, but politically powerless) and helots (dependent rural population, slaves of the entire Spartan community). The occupation of the Spartiates was war, and in peacetime - continuous and tireless preparation for it. Physical labor was considered a humiliating task. The perieki, who paid taxes to the Spartan state, were engaged in crafts and trade.
In terms of economic development, Sparta was one of the most backward states of Ancient Greece. The main branches of the economy were primitive agriculture and cattle breeding. The labor force was slaves who cultivated grapes, olives, barley, wheat and other crops. Crafts and trade were in their infancy. Sparta is characterized by a complete underdevelopment of exchange and monetary circulation: instead of money, the Spartans circulated iron plates, which were not accepted in neighboring regions.
The rise of Athens (the main city of Attica) began in the 7th century. BC e., which was facilitated by both favorable natural conditions and the significant development of trade relations, the availability of silver and building materials. Agriculture in Athens was undeveloped due to infertility of the soil. Food was purchased in exchange for handicrafts. In the middle of the 5th century. BC e. Athens, exploiting other Greek states, reached its greatest prosperity. They became the political and economic center of all of Greece, becoming a trading city of world importance. The Athenian port of Piraeus dominated trade throughout the Mediterranean. The products of Greek cities were exported through Piraeus - wines, olive oil, various handicrafts, and metals. Goods from many countries arrived in Piraeus: iron and copper from Italy, bread from Sicily and the Black Sea region, ivory from Africa, spices and luxury goods from the countries of the East. The grain trade was under state control. Slaves were a major import. The main means of replenishing the labor force for Greek policies at this time was the slave trade.
Along with trade, usury developed, which was carried out by the owners of money changers - trapezites. Given the variety of coins circulating in the Greek world, money change was important for trade. Trapezites also carried out transfer operations and took money for safekeeping. Large moneylending operations were carried out by temples.
The victory of Greece in the Greco-Persian Wars (500-449 BC) contributed to the final establishment of the slave system in Athens and other Greek city-states. The capture of huge booty and masses of prisoners strengthened the economic position of Athens. It was from this period that the widespread displacement of the labor of free people by the cheaper labor of slaves began. Ancient Greece entered the heyday of the slave society.
In the 5th century BC e. The development of the Greek economy was marked by significant unevenness. Crafts and trade developed relatively early only in part of the Greek city-states, while in other areas (Boeotia, Thessaly, Laconia, or Sparta, Argolis) primitive agriculture and cattle breeding dominated.
The content of agrarian relations in almost all Greek policies is the struggle between large and small landowners. In the 4th century. BC e. The three-field system in agriculture is partially introduced and fertilizers are used. Among the implements of agricultural production, a harrow with wooden teeth, a threshing board and a roller appeared. The beginnings of ancient agronomy emerge as a systematic generalization of the practical experience of ancient agriculture (the agronomic treatise of Theophrastus).
In the most fertile areas of Greece, agriculture developed with a predominance of grain crops: wheat, barley, spelt. In the infertile areas of European Greece, gardens, vineyards, and olive groves were planted. The islands of Chios, Lesbos, Rhodes and Thasos were the birthplace of the best wines in Greece. The population of Boeotia, Etolia, Arcadia and other regions was engaged in cattle breeding (cattle, horses, donkeys, mules, goats, sheep, pigs).
In agriculture, the labor of slaves and conquered populations was widely used.
The main organizational unit of handicraft production in Greece was a small slave-owning workshop - er-gasterium, where slave owners sometimes worked along with slaves. The tool was primitive, elements of the technical division of labor were absent.
Metal mining and processing played an important role in the Greek economy. Coin production, the manufacture of utensils and jewelry from non-ferrous metals were of great importance in metallurgy.
Slave labor was widely used in mining and construction. The most important branch of Athenian craft was the production of ceramic products, which were one of the export goods.
Spinning and weaving in Greece in the 5th century. BC e. did not become an independent craft and remained mainly home-based industries. However, there were special fulling workshops in Athens.
The growth of the military-political power of Athens contributed to the development of shipbuilding. The construction of the navy was supervised by the state.
After the Greco-Persian wars, the development of commodity production and commodity circulation accelerated. The Greek states gained freedom of trade and navigation over a large area of the Mediterranean basin. Greek cities with a high level of handicraft production - Miletus, Corinth, Chalkis, as well as the island of Aegina - became centers of maritime trade. In the middle of the 5th century. BC e. The largest trading harbor on the Aegean Sea was the Athenian port of Piraeus, whose trade was mainly of an intermediary nature: goods were resold here and sent to their destination.
Internal trade in Ancient Greece was very limited due to the mountainous nature of the terrain, poor condition of roads, the almost complete absence of navigable rivers, and constant wars between Greek policies. Domestic trade was carried out mainly by small dealers and peddlers.
During major festivals, special fairs were held at churches. Fairs at the Pan-Greek Temple of Apollo in Delphi were very popular.
Money in the ancient Greek economy, on the one hand, was an intermediary of trade transactions, and on the other hand, it itself served as an object of trade. Money trading (usury) was widespread in Greece in the 5th-4th centuries. BC e. Usury was carried out by the owners of money changers (trapes) - trapezites. The role of bankers in the financial transactions of the Greek world was played by temples, where huge funds flowed in the form of gifts and donations. The temples carried out lending operations, lending not only to individuals, but also to entire Greek policies.
So, the economy of ancient Greece was characterized by relatively developed commodity production and commodity circulation. The basis of the ancient Greek economy was the exploitation of slaves. However, the heyday of Ancient Greece was also a period of gestation of deep and acute internal contradictions generated by the slave system. The ruined small producers, who replenished the lumpen proletariat, demanded food. Internal contradictions were resolved through external conquests through wars. The clash between Athens and Sparta, which led to the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), weakened Athens and its allied states. Macedonia took advantage of the defeat of Athens and the weakening of the Greek states.
In the 4th century. BC e. The Greek states were conquered by Alexander the Great, who founded a huge empire with its capital in Babylon. Lacking a strong economic base, the empire of A. the Great fell apart after his death. Nevertheless, the wars of this period were of great historical significance: thanks to them, a certain synthesis took place, a merging of ancient and eastern forms of slavery and cultures. Alexander the Great made an attempt to introduce a unified monetary system and encouraged the restoration of irrigation agriculture in the East. Many new cities arose. Wars and the need to improve military technology, especially shipbuilding, gave impetus to the development of various new crafts, science, and agriculture. Rudimentary forms of a three-field crop rotation system appeared, agricultural tools were improved, and agronomic knowledge began to be widely used. Water supply and sewerage systems were built in cities, and streets were paved.
The natural nature of production, the lack of economic community and the internal contradictions of the slave system led to the collapse of the empire. In the II century. BC e. Rome made an attempt to create a world power.
Greece is a unitary state located in the southern part of Europe. The latest estimates put the country's population at just over 11 million. The Greek Republic occupies an area of 132 thousand square meters. km. Today, the state is experiencing colossal consequences, as a result of which endless strikes, riots, speculation and provocations occur on the streets of large cities.
Description of the country
The capital of Greece is Athens. The main legislative body is Parliament. Since the spring of 2015, Prokopis Pavlopoulos has been the president of the republic. Greece became independent in 1821, separating from the Ottoman Caliphate.
The unitary state is located on Numerous territorial islands fall under the jurisdiction of the country. Greece itself is divided into 13 administrative regions. It is washed by the Thracian, Icarian, Aegean, Cretan, Ionian and Mediterranean seas. Shared land border with countries such as Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Macedonia. The population is 98% Orthodox.
Despite its rich cultural and historical heritage, Greece's current position in world politics and economics is becoming more precarious every day. The republic is dominated by the agricultural and industrial sectors. Tourism also plays a significant part in the state's income.
The Birth of the Economy
Ancient Hellas is the name given to ancient settlements that appeared at the beginning of the first millennium BC. e. on the coast and In those days, the most developed civilizations were Rome and Greece. The economy was based on the slave system. It was private property that was the foundation of economic activity.
And statehood was formed gradually with the development of democratic institutions. Initially, Hellas was an aristocratic republic. The economy of Ancient Greece was completely dependent on the economic activities of the policies, which were formed as a result of communal decomposition. Each such city united the property of all aristocrats. Members of the pole had political and civil rights. They laid the foundation for monetary and commodity relations.
The primary sector of the economy was agriculture, such as the cultivation of grapes and olives. Next came livestock breeding (sheep, goats, etc.). Craftsmen and farmers were engaged in trade. Even in those ancient times, the lands of Hellas were rich in such useful resources as copper, silver, gold, lead and marble.
Development of modern economy
The heyday of financial performance dates back to 1996. So GNP amounted to about 120 billion dollars. Per person per year it turns out to be $11.5 thousand. At that time, according to dynamic indicators of profitability growth, Greece was among the leaders of European countries. The republic's economy at that time was based on successful agriculture and industry. The share of these industries was more than 55%. The remaining percentage was divided between service sectors and taxes from tourism organizations. Unemployment did not exceed 11%.
The beginning of the 21st century was marked by serious financial changes for the country. Foreign investors have flocked to Greece sharply. On the one hand, this stabilized the economy and closed gaps in some important areas. On the other hand, the national system had to adapt to Western integration. As a result, Greece began to systematically concede to its partners in the European Union. Only multi-billion dollar loans from American, Italian, French, Swiss and German banks helped maintain capital.
Nevertheless, the main characteristic of the Greek economy by sector remained virtually unchanged. GDP from agriculture is 8.3%, from the industrial zone - up to 27.3%, from services - over 64.4%. At the same time, citizens’ needs for liquid fuel are met only through imports.
General economic indicators
Greece has long been considered one of the most agriculturally developed powers in Europe. The country's economy in this equivalent surpasses even some of the primary EU members. The only drawback that slows down the industrial development of Greece is the average level of production.
The public sector provides just under half of GDP. This is achieved thanks to a well-developed trade and banking system. Both insurance companies and travel companies bring their share of income. As for industry, the textile, petrochemical, food and metallurgical industries have recently been the most profitable. In turn, railway communications are poorly developed, which cannot be said about air and sea communications.
Overall, the Greek economy is briefly characterized by two components: a stagnant banking system and slow GDP growth. It is worth noting that about 20% of money turnover is occupied by shadow tranches.
Industry and Agriculture
The country's sectoral structure is developed unevenly and disproportionately throughout the territory. But in the field of light industry, Greece is again one of the main powers. The country's economy is replenished from this industry by almost 19%. At the same time, more than 21% of the population is involved in light industry.
Mining of nickel emery, magnesite, and pyrite is actively underway. Steel production, mechanical engineering, and woodworking are widely developed. The textile industry is considered a priority. Shipping is important for the economy.
Agriculture is based on private farming associations. Thanks to them, the Greek economy is replenished annually by 7%, which is about $16 billion. The agricultural spectrum includes livestock farming, farming and fishing. Today, 41% of the country's land is occupied by pastures, another 39% by forests and arable land.
Tourist yield
About 20 million visitors visit Greece every year. Tourists bring more than 15% of GDP to the state treasury.
The most frequently visited places are the beaches. Sunbathing and swimming lovers come every summer to Athens, Chora, Heraklion, Thessaloniki and other large resort cities. Islands such as Rhodes, Crete, Santorini, Peloponnese, and Mykonos also attract tourists with their beauty and unimaginable atmosphere of harmony. It would not be out of place to mention the numerous cruise tours in the Mediterranean Sea.
However, in the last couple of years there has been a significant outflow of tourists. In the first half of 2015 alone, there were 22% fewer of them than predicted. Thus, the Greek economy lost about $6.8 billion.
Many tourists note that recently it has been more profitable to go on vacation to Crimea, Bulgaria or Turkey. There the prices are more loyal and the quality of services is better.
Debt crisis
Investments are growing inexorably every year. Today the state's income is more than 450 billion euros. This amount exceeds annual GDP by almost 2 times. It turns out that in such a once successful country as Greece, the economy is hanging by a thread.
According to experts, the total debt by 2018 could reach 600 billion euros. This is an unprecedented case that has puzzled not only the Greek banking system, but also European associations. Naturally, the country does not have dividends even for the minimum repayment of debt.
The Greek government hastily began offering large investors loyal privatization programs. However, this will only delay the inevitable. The country has already entered into default.
Causes of the financial crisis
The Greek economy today is at a stage of stagnation. In January 2015, a new Government was formed in the country. The ministers' task was to find alternative ways to stabilize the economy without the help of the European Central Bank.
In March 2015, Greece refused to pay the debt, seeking in a harsh form its partial write-off. In June, the International Monetary Fund stopped all transactions with Athens. Progress could not be achieved with the European Central Bank either. Moreover, at the beginning of July the Government supported the results of the referendum on the refusal of EU assistance. Thus, the Greek economy today is a deep default, a way out of which will not be found soon.
Credit assistance
A slim chance of stabilizing the crisis situation is the acceptance of the terms of the European Commission. The organization is ready to provide Greece with a short-term loan of 7 billion euros. This will help temporarily lift the country out of default. However, this amount will need to be repaid until October of the current year inclusive.
Along with the loan to Greece, other conditions were set that will be approved by a special EU commission.
The latest news makes it clear that Alexis Tsipras's party and the majority of parliamentarians voted to approve the deal with the EU. Now Greece will have a chance for a partial economic recovery.
Economy of Ancient Greece
On
at the turn of the 3rd-2nd millennium BC e. in the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula
The ancient Greek republic arose. Early economic growth
facilitated by a convenient geographical location (trade routes),
improvement of productive forces (copper production was mastered, and then
bronze). The basis of agriculture was the farming of a new multicultural
type – the so-called “Mediterranean triad”, focused on simultaneous
cultivation of three crops - cereals, mainly barley, grapes and
olives. A significant shift occurred around 2200 BC. e. Became famous
potter's wheel, exchange developed. The proximity of the ancient eastern
civilizations.
Can
highlight the following periods of development of Ancient Greece: Cretan-Mecenaean (XXX-XII centuries.
BC BC), Homeric (XI-IX centuries BC),
archaic (VIII-VI centuries BC), classical (V-IV centuries.
BC e.) and Hellenistic (late IV-I centuries BC). Basis
economic life in the Cretan-Mekenian
period there was a palace economy. Palaces arose at the turn of III-II
thousand BC e., simultaneously in different areas of the island of Crete. The lands were
palace, private and communal. The agricultural population was taxed
natural and labor duties in favor of the palaces.
Palace like this
Thus, it performed truly universal functions. He was at the same time
administrative and religious center, the main granary, workshop and
trading post. In more developed societies, cities played this role.
The state on the island of Crete reached its greatest prosperity in the 16th-15th centuries.
BC e. Magnificent palaces were built, and roads were laid throughout the island.
roads, there was a unified system of measures. High performance
agricultural labor, the presence of excess product, led to differentiation
society, enrichment of the nobility. In the middle of the 15th century. BC e. civilization on
the island of Crete disappeared as a result of a powerful earthquake, and the leadership
passed to the Achaea. The greatest prosperity came in the XV-XIII centuries. BC e. lead role
Mekens played. Their economic development was characterized by further growth
agriculture and crafts.
Earth
divided into state and community. The nobility could rent out land
in small plots, the state gave land on conditional holding rights.
The lands were also in the hands of individual holders - telestas.
At the end of the 7th century.
BC e. the Cretan-Mekenian palace civilization left the historical arena.
Economy of the Homeric period
was quite backward (thrown back to the stage of the primitive communal system).
Subsistence farming dominated, livestock was considered a measure of wealth and money
society didn't know.
However,
Important changes took place during that period. Firstly, in the X-IX centuries. BC e. to Greek
iron was widely introduced into the economy. Secondly, it came to the fore
autonomous economy of a small patriarchal family. Land plots are firmly
assigned to individual families.
On the face
property stratification, however, even the highest strata of the population lived in
simplicity, there was no comfort even among the palace elite. Slavery didn't get
wide use. Aristocratic households used labor
temporarily hired day laborers - fetov.
The settlement of the polis became the political and economic center. Basics
The population of the city is not traders and artisans, but cattle breeders and farmers.
So
Thus, by the end of this period, Greece was a world of small
policies-communities, associations of peasant farmers, with a lack of external relations,
the top of society was not very distinguished.
During the archaic period, Greece overtook everything
neighboring countries in their development. Agriculture intensified:
peasants switched to growing more profitable crops - grapes and olives.
The main units of agricultural production were small peasant
farms and larger estates of the family nobility. The lands were rented out
Tenants took ½ of the harvest as payment.
Craft
concentrated in cities. Main industries: metallurgy, metalworking,
shipbuilding. Trade became the leading industry. Money appeared. Originated
usury, and with it debt slavery.
In VIII-VI
centuries BC e. The Great Greek Colonization took place. Reasons for colonization
the following: lack of land, due to the increase in population and its concentration
in the hands of the nobility, the need for new sources of raw materials, the search for markets for
its products, the need for metal (in Greece itself there was very little left
little), the desire of the Greeks to bring under control all sea trade routes,
political struggle.
Highlight
three main directions of colonization: the first is western (the most powerful), the second
northeastern, third - southern and southeastern (the weakest, since it was
met with stubborn resistance from local settlers). Colonization
contributed to the development of trade and crafts.
In VIII-VI
centuries BC e. The formation of ancient city policies was underway. The policies were based on
ancient form of ownership. The polis had the right of supreme ownership of
land. The main economic principle of the policy was the idea of self-sufficiency.
Can
There are two main types of policies:
-
agrarian
- absolute predominance of agriculture, poor development of crafts,
trade, large specific
the weight of dependent workers, usually with an oligarchic structure;
-
trade and craft
with a large share of trade and crafts, commodity-
monetary relation,
the introduction of slavery into the means of production, a democratic system.
In Sparta
the most fertile lands were divided into 9,000 plots and distributed in
temporary possession of the most full-fledged citizens. They could not be given
split, bequeath, etc., after the death of the owner they returned
to the state. There was a desire for complete equality, contempt for luxury, a ban
for crafts, trade, use of gold and silver. Actively
The enslaved population, the helots, was exploited.
Athens in
economically were more developed. Laws of Dracon (621 BC)
formalized the right to private property. In 594 BC. e. through reforms
Solon, all debts made on the mortgage of the land were forgiven, taking into slavery for
debts were prohibited, the export of olive oil abroad was allowed for the purpose of
profit, and grain was banned. Crafts were encouraged. Klifen's legislation (509)
BC BC) completed the elimination of the clan layer - everyone became equal, regardless of
various property contrasts.
In the classical period the main feature
economic development became the dominance of policies and distribution in
trade and craft slavery policies of the classical type. Classic slavery
was aimed at creating surplus value.
Sources of slavery:
-
sale
prisoners;
-
debt
slavery for persons without
citizenship;
-
internally
reproduction of slaves;
-
piracy;
-
self-sale.
In that
period, slave labor penetrated into all spheres of life and production. 30-35% of total
the population consisted of slaves. They brought high income. Slaves were released for
quitrents were rented out, but after accumulating a certain amount of money, the slave could go out to
freedom.
New
phenomena in the 5th century. BC e. steel increased marketability of agriculture
farms, regional specialization. Olives oil and wine were items
very profitable export.
For
convenience in conducting trade operations, merchants, especially those associated with overseas
trade, created associations - fias. The goals of creating fias were as follows:
mutual revenue, insurance, etc.
IV century before
n. e. - time of crisis of the classical policy. It took place under the condition
economic recovery caused by the restoration of the economy after the Peloponnesian
war (431-404 BC), in which Athens was defeated. Polisnye
principles prevented a significant part of the wealthy inhabitants of Athens - the metics - from engaging in
craft, trade. Lacking citizenship rights, they had no right to receive
pledge of land. At the same time, not land, but money became a prestigious form
wealth: in the 4th century. BC e. the number of transactions has increased sharply
purchase and sale of land. The result was the concentration of land ownership in
in the same hands. The principle of polis life was undermined - the unity of the concept of citizen and
land owner: one could be a citizen and not have land and
vice versa.
Antique
form of ownership was increasingly supplanted by private property, polis
morality gave way to individualism. The number of slaves grew, they began to meet
Greek slaves. Increasingly, even in agriculture, the labor of freedmen began. Intensified
social differentiation, which undermined the foundations of the polis. Autarky
and autonomy hindered the expansion of economic ties.
However
the polis did not disappear from the historical arena, and at the Hellenistic stage of development
ancient Greek civilization (late IV-I centuries BC) received new
impulses for existence, being included in the framework of a large state,
ensuring the autonomy of the policy and its security. By the end of the 1st century. before
n. e. Hellenistic states were subordinated to Rome.
List of used literature:
1.
"Story
world economy”, A. N. Markova (Moscow, 1996).
2.
"Economic
history of foreign countries”, Golubovich (Moscow, 1995).
3.
"Worldwide
history”, A. N. Markova, G. A. Polyakov (Moscow, 1997).
Autarky – 1. Reactionary in essence
the policy of capitalist states aimed at creating a closed
national economy, separate from the economies of other countries. 2. System
a separate national economy that can do without imports
essential goods.
An essay on the history of economics for students: the economic development of ancient Greece. Comparative characteristics of training and education in ancient Greece. Abstract ancient model of economic development Ancient Greece. Characteristics of the economy of ancient Greece and Rome abstract. Abstract general characteristics of the economy of the ancient world. General characteristics of the economy of the ancient world abstract. Coursework on the topic of ancient eastern churches. General characteristics of the economy of the ancient world. Presentation on the topic of economics of ancient Greece. Household economics of Greece and Rome BC. Economy of Ancient Greece Ancient economy. Analysis of the agricultural civilization of ancient Greece. Politics and economics of ancient Greece briefly. Essay on history on the topic of ancient Greece. Abstract on the topic of economics of Ancient Greece.
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 characteristic feature of the ancient economy is 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 south from Northern Greece (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. a new wave of settlers is approaching from the north of the Balkan Peninsula, the leading role among which 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 temple and private farms also existed on state land. 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, monitored 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 grains, and the main attention is paid to crops, the cultivation of which 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) - the main city in relation to the colonies it created.
Handicraft 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 the Dark Ages, 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.
The main distinctive feature of the Greek polis was the participation of all members of the civil community in government, and this feature largely determined the internal policy of the 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 to enhance 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 of a high level of commodity-money relations in Athens in the 7th-6th 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 of the state system 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 - a rich region 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 type of practical activity worthy of a citizen. The processes that began in agriculture in the VIII-VI centuries. BC e., are further developed: the marketability of production increases, regional specialization deepens (for example, the Greek policies of the 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 crafts 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 regard, among the ancient peoples, only the Phoenicians could compare with the Greeks, and at a later time only Holland in the 16th-17th 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 (meals*). 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 state economy that brought constant and significant income, and 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 supply of bread was the most important issue in the economic policy 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. Similar regulation in a number of cases also applied to 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, and 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.
A very important role in economic development was played by 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 crafts. 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.
The first period of the history of Ancient Greece - from the XII to the VIII centuries. BC. - is called Homeric, since Homer’s creation of the Iliad and Odyssey dates back to this time. But during this period the Greeks did not yet have a state. This time was a transition period from primitive communal to class society, which is called system of military democracy. This system is called democracy because the supreme body was the people's assembly, and military because the people's assembly elected a military leader - the leader (basileus). In the context of intensifying military clashes in the life of the tribe, the military elite, led by the leader, began to play an increasingly important role.
VIII–III centuries BC. - this is the period of existence policies, or independent cities-states. This period was the classic slaveholding period in the history of Ancient Greece, which did not represent a single state, but consisted of many small states. The existence of the polis was based on the ancient form of ownership, which combined state and private property. The polis as a collective of citizens had the right of supreme ownership of land. Only citizens of the policy could be land owners. The main economic principle of the policy was the idea autarky (self-sufficiency).
The surplus product under the policy could only be ensured by forcing slaves captured in the war to work without compensation. Ancient farming system was based primarily on a military organization that provided the economy with new slaves. The army of that time was essentially a militia. Every citizen of this policy, regardless of origin, was required to serve military service. Depending on the size of the property, he served either in the ground forces or in the navy.
In Ancient Greece, there were two versions of the political and economic system - Athenian And Spartan. The first is trade and craft states with developed commodity-money relations, widespread use of slave labor in production, and a democratic structure. An example of such policies were Athens, Corinth, Megara, Miletus, Rhodes and a number of others, usually located on the sea coast, which had a small agricultural territory, but at the same time had a large population. Policies of this type set the tone for economic development. They were the leading economic centers of Greece. The second is agrarian, with the absolute predominance of agriculture, the weak development of trade, crafts and commodity-money relations, a large number of dependent workers, as a rule, an oligarchic structure. These are Sparta, Arcadia, Boeotia, Thessaly.
Agriculture. The main form of economic activity of the inhabitants of Greece was agriculture. They grew barley and wheat, but the yields were low. The hilly terrain of Greece with rocky soil, difficult to plow and cultivate, and little suitable for grain, turned out to be convenient for growing grapevines, oilseeds and fruit trees, and a variety of vegetables. This determined the low level of development of arable farming in the Greek city-states and the constant transition from grain farming to intensive viticulture and gardening. The development of these industries required investments, large human costs, and a significant investment of time. These crops could be successfully developed only with the availability of additional labor. The development of these types of agricultural production was closely related to the introduction of slave labor. The investment of additional funds and labor created opportunities for obtaining surpluses. As a result, the Greeks had fairly high harvests of grapes and olives, which not only met the needs of the local population, but were also sold.
The main cells of agricultural production were small farms And larger estates family nobility. Often, land was leased by aristocrats to impoverished tribesmen, who gave up to half the harvest to the landowners as rent. Agrarian relations in Greece were characterized by the strengthening of large landownership and the ruin of the bulk of the population, which contributed to the growth of property stratification and increased social tension in Greek city-states.
As a result of a number of reforms in Greek policies, the main production unit became a small plot of land (3–5 hectares), the owner of which was a citizen of the given policy. The land was cultivated by members of the man's family. They were helped by 1-2 slaves. Larger estates employed 15–25 slaves. Farms were, as a rule, diversified in nature.
Cattle breeding occupied a small place in agricultural production. Meat and milk were not the staple foods of the ancient Greeks. There were few horses. They were practically not used as a draft force, and the Greek cavalry was an auxiliary branch of the army. But they raised sheep, working and draft animals.
In general, Greek agriculture had the following features: diversified nature, commodity orientation, and the use of slave labor.
Craft and trade occupied a large place in the economic structure of policies. Their development was stimulated primarily by the growth of cities as trade and craft centers. The development of urban life was impossible without the rise of crafts and trade, which could not develop without attracting additional labor - slave labor.
Mining and blacksmithing industries were widely developed. The most important branches of craft were ceramics, construction production, shipbuilding, and weaving. The main unit of craft production was ergasteria – workshops of different sizes, in which slave labor was widely used. Thus, the famous Athenian orator Demosthenes had two workshops with 20 slaves in one and 32 in the other. However, there were few large workshops; there were mainly small and medium-sized industries.
Greek craft is characterized by a close connection with the market, where the artisan sold his products, bought raw materials, tools, slaves, and food for their sustenance. The rise in business activity in trade and craft centers, advances in technology, specialization of ergasters with stable sources of replenishment of slaves made crafting a profitable business. The average income from the exploitation of one slave engaged in a craft reached 6–120 drachmas per year, while the maintenance of a free citizen’s family per year, for example, in Athens in the 5th century. BC, cost 180 drachmas; in other words, the income from 2–3 slaves was sufficient to support one Athenian family consisting of 3–4 people. Craft production could exist if there was a constant raw material base. In small Greek policies there were few local raw materials. It was possible to obtain the missing raw materials only through exchange - they paid for what was brought in money, handicrafts or agricultural goods.
The populous population of trade and craft cities with its diverse needs, which increasingly increased as urban life became more complex, the lack of grain and various types of raw materials for crafts, on the one hand, surpluses of wine and oil, stocks of various handicraft products, on the other, created favorable conditions for Greek trade in general.
Food products, raw materials for crafts, and handicraft products were traded in the markets; a significant part of the products produced were goods, and not just luxury goods, as in the East. Almost all segments of the population were involved in commodity transactions. For greater convenience in conducting trade operations, merchant wholesalers, especially those associated with long-distance overseas trade, created merchant associations - fias , whose main tasks were mutual insurance and loan proceeds, information exchange, and price control.
Natural conditions, imperfection and high cost of land transport did not contribute to the development of land transportation. But the rugged coastline and the abundance of islands contributed to the development of shipbuilding and maritime trade. In every coastal city, a sea harbor is being built, a port is being built with convenient parking for ships, berths, warehouses, and docks for repairs. Thus, in Athens, according to a special architectural plan, the port of Piraeus was built - a real city, surpassing Athens in terms of its level of improvement.
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 goods brought by ship fell into the hands of retailers and were sold in small quantities at the city market. To facilitate trade, market premises and shops were set up, but most often trade was carried out in the open air.
The introduction of commodity production and a large volume of trade required the improvement of settlement operations. The means of payment was a coin with a strictly defined weight, guaranteed by the state that issued it. First coins appeared in Greece back in the 7th century. BC. During the classical era, each city minted large numbers of coins. Gradually, coins from leading economic centers such as Athens and Corinth emerged. Silver staters of Corinth, weighing 8.7 g, were the most popular currency in Western Greece, Southern Italy and Sicily. Athenian tetradrachms weighing 17.5 g and drachms weighing 4.4 g were readily accepted in the cities of the Aegean basin. Corinthian and Athenian coins became a kind of international currency of Greece in the 5th–4th centuries. BC. The active economic life of Greek cities led to the emergence in the 4th century. BC. copper small change: obols, halks and mites. 1 silver drachma was divided into 6 copper obols, 1 obol into 8 halqs, 1 halq into 2 lepta.
The large scale of trading activity 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 people - money changers, who were called trapezites, existing in every trading city. The money changers monitored the exchange rate of numerous coin series, exchanged one coin for another, exchanged large coins, accepted money for storage, gave loans at interest, and made payments between wholesale traders.
The process of socio-economic, political and cultural development of Greek society in the 8th–6th centuries. BC. gave rise to such a phenomenon in ancient Greek history as Great Colonization those. the eviction of Greeks from the cities of the Aegean basin to numerous colonies located along the coast of the Mediterranean and Black Seas. In total, several hundred colonies numbering 1.5–2 million people were formed.
There were several reasons for colonization. The intensification of the Greek economy, the development of crafts and trade required an expansion of the field of activity: new lands were needed for citizens who were losing their plots, sources of raw materials were needed, markets for the products of craft workshops. Another reason was the political and social struggle that unfolded in the Greek city-states. Dissatisfied political opponents who were dangerous to the nobility left for the colonies. At the same time, it was beneficial for the ruling circles of metropolitan cities to have colonies with which mutually beneficial ties were established, from where they received valuable raw materials, where agricultural and handicraft products could be sold. An important reason for colonization was a kind of demographic crisis caused by the rapid development of the Greek economy, which created a surplus of products that required sales, a sufficient amount of raw materials, and a labor force that ensured a certain material wealth.
Great Greek colonization of the 8th–6th centuries. BC, caused by deep social processes, became a powerful factor in the socio-economic and cultural development of not only the Greek world, but also the entire Mediterranean.
Thus, In Greece, a new type of economy emerged, different from the economic structure of the leading ancient Eastern countries: intensive, commodity, while maintaining a 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 the development of Greek culture.