The Making of the Ancient Greek Economy (ebook)

Argumento de The Making of the Ancient Greek Economy (ebook)

Alain Bresson is professor of classics at the University of Chicago.

"This book must surely sweep the field. Whether one is an undergraduate student, an early-career scholar, has been chewing over the ancient economy for a career, or is simply a general reader with a curiosity about how the ancient economy worked, this is now the go-to work. [Bresson] has produced a book that is at the same time something of an encyclopaedia of the ancient Greek economy, full of in-depth discussions about more or less every product and every economic phenomenon, a sourcebook of texts, particularly epigraphic texts, illustrating economic phenomena, and a book with an argument."--Professor Robin Osborne, Classics for All

"What is truly outstanding about Alain Bresson is the range of his skills: in philology and archaeology but also in the social sciences, including demography, economics, sociology, and anthropology. This is a great book and a model of its kind."--François de Callataÿ, Royal Library of Belgium

"In this lucid, fine-grained, at times meditative, and witty account of the economy of ancient Greece, Bressons prose sparkles with a full command of the ancient sources, the economic history literature, and the debates about how to use both. This is a marvelous, evocative book that is sure to provoke reactions in many quarters."--J. G. Manning, Yale University

"This magisterial book provides an entirely new way of thinking about the ancient Greek economy. Alain Bresson is one of the worlds leading authorities on the subject and has contributed mightily to reconfiguring the debate about it. Combining new theoretical approaches, a deep knowledge of ancient sources, and a remarkably wide reading in the economic history of other periods, he provides a comprehensive introduction full of detail, evidence, and argument. And he avoids jargon and insider talk, writing in a direct and clear prose that invites one in. This groundbreaking book will be read for many years to come."--Gary Reger, Trinity College0Expanded Contents vii
List of Figures xv
List of Tables xvii
Introduction xxi
I The Economy of Ancient Greece: A Conceptual Framework 1
Structure and Production
II People in Their Environment 31
III Energy, Economy, and Transport Cost 71
IV The Polis and the Economy 96
V Agricultural Production 118
VI The Economy of the Agricultural World 142
VII Nonagricultural Production, Capital, and Innovation 175
VIII The Logic of Growth 199
Market and Trade
IX The Institutions of the Domestic Market 225
X Money and Credit 260
XI City-States, Taxes, and Trade 286
XII The Emporion and the Markets 306
XIII International Trade Networks 339
XIV Strategies of International Trade 381
XV The Greek Cities and the Market 415
Appendix: Weights, Measures, and Currency Units 439
Abbreviations 443
Notes 449
Sources 531
Bibliography 535
Index 603