"Exchange lies at the heart of the economic processes. It is also, as Aristotle maintained, an essential condition for political order. The separation of economic exchange from its social and political implications, commonplace in modern economic theory, would have been meaningless in Ancient Greece." "This book is the first sustained attempt to describe the consequences of a cast of thought in which the exchange of goods and the payment of money were viewed as social and political practices. The distinction between reciprocity and redistribution on the one hand and market exchange on the other is abandoned in order to explore the social symbolism of exchange across the boundary between politics and economics. Dr von Reden shows how economically motivated exchange emerged as morally inappropriate behaviour against a cultural background in which the political community was seen as a sacred order similar to that of the family. Drawing on literary and archaeological evidence, including vase painting and the iconography of coinage, she emphasises the overriding importance of the Greek city-state in shaping a notion of commerce opposed to other forms of exchange."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Markets, Households and City-States in the Ancient Greek Economy brings together sixteen essays by leading scholars of the ancient Greek economy. The essays investigate the role of market-exchange in the economy of the ancient Greek world in the Classical and Hellenistic periods.

A revolutionary account of the ancient Greek economy This comprehensive introduction to the ancient Greek economy revolutionizes our understanding of the subject and its possibilities. Alain Bresson is one of the world's leading authorities in the field, and he is helping to redefine it. Here he combines a thorough knowledge of ancient sources with innovative new approaches grounded in recent economic historiography to provide a detailed picture of the Greek economy between the last century of the Archaic Age and the closing of the Hellenistic period. Focusing on the city-state, which he sees as the most important economic institution in the Greek world, Bresson addresses all of the city-states rather than only Athens. An expanded and updated English edition of an acclaimed work originally published in French, the book offers a groundbreaking new theoretical framework for studying the economy of ancient Greece; presents a masterful survey and analysis of the most important economic institutions, resources, and other factors; and addresses some major historiographical debates. Among the many topics covered are climate, demography, transportation, agricultural production, market institutions, money and credit, taxes, exchange, long-distance trade, and economic growth. The result is an unparalleled demonstration that, unlike just a generation ago, it is possible today to study the ancient Greek economy as an economy and not merely as a secondary aspect of social or political history. This is essential reading for students, historians of antiquity, and economic historians of all periods.

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.