Currency in Ancient Greece As humans developed and became sophisticated we needed ways other than just barter to exchange goods. Currency began in Anatolia in 12,000 BC with the distribution of obsidian to the people. In 9,000 BC trade began in the Mediterranean with the use of grain and cattle as a way to trade. (Wikipedia) In these times money was based on their marketability and utility, this means that although they did not use what we think as currency at this time such as coins and bills, if they were an agricultural society they would trade grains for cereals and things that involved grain because of their process ability. The use of gold was traced back to the fourth millennium BC in Egypt and the use of silver at the same time in …show more content…
There are three periods in the time of Ancient Greece. The Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods, all of which have a different variation of currency. The Archaic period in Greece the first know coinage was mined in Lydia. This was around the time of 700 BC. (Coinage) The coins were used for personal use. There was also a very important reason this coinage existed. They were believed to be a mercenary payment. Mercenaries would collect the coinage as opposed to collecting an item as a sign of their services. These coins were made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver that was prized very highly. These metals were prized so high due to the abundance in that area. By the 6th century BC, technology had made it much easier to produce highly prized coins. King Croesus introduced the idea of a Bi-metallic standard. (Wikipedia) This bi-metallic standard was then issued and used for gold and silver so that this coinage could be used in a marketplace setting. At this time, the Greek world was divided up into more than 2,000 self-governing city states. More than half of these city states issued their own currency. A Merchant usually only took their cities coin. This meant that they had to exchange money like we do today with our exchange. They …show more content…
Larger cities were now producing gold and silver coins at this time. Some coins actually used a type of visual pun, for example, a rose for the city Rhodes because the Greek word for rose is rhodon. They soon began using the name of the issuing city on the coin. The wealthier the city, the finer the coin. Syracuse has had a Decadrachm. This coin is actually the finest coin of the ancient world. Throughout this period coinage became similar and also recognizable.
The woman on this coin is Nellie McClung. Nellie was a Canadian feminist, politician, and social activist, prohibitionist and suffragette who was born on October 20, 1873 in Chatsworth, Ontario, and
Today, it's believed the first coins used and were bronze in West Valley City, around 20017. Coins were employed by Lydia in Asia Minor. The coins of the Lydian were termed "starters" that was a unit of weight. Entrepreneurs were placed having a lion's mind impression and made out of silver and gold metal. Nowadays, as you may think, the coins which can be still outstanding are very useful.
During the tenth century BCE, Phoenician cities became great centers of trade and a major commercial presence. Greeks in Sicily and southern Italy were enthusiastic users of coins, so the Carthaginians began to mint coins to better facilitate trade with them. Metals were still the major trade of Phoenicians in the Mediterranean, perhaps since the first known base of the Phoenicians was close to copper rich Cyprus, near Larnaka in the ninth century. This was an important period for the Italian lands which early Greek traders and settlers traveled through and also for their home nations that grew as centers of trade. As Euboian cities subsided to more minor roles, Corinth dominated trade traffic, sending large numbers of their fine vases westward and bringing back food and raw materials. The Phoenicians overseas became busier traders than the Phoenicians of the Levant. As well, the far west Euboians extended their trading by linking Syria, Rhodes, Ionia and Corinth to Pithekoussai. Pithekoussai citizens were traders, craftsmen and craftswomen. Because of trade, the character of the eastern Mediterranean was changed as Egyptians began their expeditions along the Red Sea trading in ivory and ebony. More trade networks were created by the eighth century bringing Eastern culture to Etruria and southern Spain. Communities of merchants extended trade between Greece and Italy. Fifth
In the “Protagoras,” Socrates and Protagoras debate why participation in government is open to all citizens, but technical matters, such as health, works of art, and the construction of buildings require qualified individuals. The argument presupposes that integrity and acumen are the necessary virtues that citizens must lean and apply for a properly functioning democracy.
A system of government in which one person reigns, usually a king or queen. The authority, or crown, in a monarchy is generally inherited by the eldest son. The ruler, or monarch, is often only the head of state, not the head of governme
During the Archaic Age of Ancient Greece, circa 776-500 B.C.E., the population growth in Ancient Greece called a need for more food supplies, and this demand was met by trade, establishing colonies, and by warfare to seize more land (Making Europe 71). According to Kidner, the Archaic Age “brought a revival of culture, the economy, and political significance to Greece” (71). As Greece began to overpopulate, methods for dealing with the overpopulation had to be found, once of these methods was to import food, which caused an expansion of Greek commerce and production of trade goods (Making Europe 71). Another solution to the overpopulation of Greece was to find new land somewhere else, and during the colonization that lasted from 750-550 B.C.E., Greeks colonized coastal cities because they wanted access to trade routes across the sea (Making Europe 71). The revival of Greek trade also brought Near Eastern culture into Greece, including new styles or art. According to Kidner, “Greek sculpture assumed a very Egyptian look, and Greek pottery depicted many eastern designs…and Greek potters and sculptors soon used designs from their own myths and legents”
The first major period in ancient Greek sculptural development is The Archaic Period. The Archaic Period in the times of ancient Greece took place in 600-480 B.C.E. The main focus of the artists of this period was the idea of human figure. The key example of sculpture from this period is Kouros, which is a lifesize sculpture of the nude male standing with his arms down by the sides and with one foot forward. Another example of sculpture of this period is Kore. Kore is a clothed female sculpture. The features that are unique to the sculptures of this period were enlarged eyes and smiling faces.Personal feelings were reflected within art. Furthermore, The Archaic Period introduced red-figure vases and temples. It was one of the most famous themes of the vase painting. One example of red-figure vases would be Ajax and Achilles. This artwor...
Greece is a country well known by its great interests and diverse cultures. It is located between the East and the West in the continent of Europe, which is known as a great location in the continent. “It covers about 130, 647 square kilometers of land and 1,310 square kilometers of water, making it the 97th largest nation in the world with a total area of 131,957 square kilometers. Greece became an independent state in 1829, after gaining its sovereignty from Turkey. The population of Greece is 10,767,827 (2012) and the nation has a density of 82 people per square kilometer. The currency of Greece is the Euro (EUR). As well, the people of Greece are referred to as Greek. Greece shares land borders with four countries; Macedonia, Albania,
The southernmost tip of Greece reaches into the Mediterranean Sea. Mountains cover nearly ¾’s of mainland Greece. It is surrounded by about 2,000 islands. Greece has a dry climate and poor soil farmers planted crops well suited for barley, wheat, olives, and grapes. The sea is especially powerful during the winter when the winds are high and the seas are rough. . Ancient Greece existed over 2000 years ago. It was made up of a collection of similar city-states such as Athens, Sparta, Olympia and Corinth. They each had their own laws and rulers. The city-state Polis became central to the development of classical civilization in Greece. By 750 B.C., the polis became the focus of Greek life. The polis was a town that served as the center of the polis where people could meet for political, social, and religious activities. The central meeting place in the polis was usually a hill. At the top of the hill was a fortified area called an Acropolis that served as both a fortress and religious center? Below the Acropolis was an open area that served both as a place where people could assemble and as a market. Cities varied greatly in size a population. Athens had a population of more than 300,000 by the fifth century B.C., but most cities were much smaller, consisting of only a few hundred to several thousand people. The polis was a community of people who shared a common identity and common goals. As a
People have always recognized the need for an authority to exercise control in society. This has taken shapes in many different ways from small groups to formal organizations. The ancient Greeks were no different. The Greeks established cities known as polis, and they had their own governments, which were systems for controlling their local societies.
A golden age is a time when a civilization reaches its highest period of advancement. The Greeks, more specifically the Athenians, reached their highest achievements starting in 477 B.C. This was the beginning of Athens' golden age. The Athenians used the money from the Delian league, a defensive alliance formed at the end of the Persian Wars, to rebuild their city-state. This is also a time when Athens created a direct democracy. In this golden age Athens also made significant advancements in science, math, and literature. Athens made many great contributions to many fields, but the two most significant advancements were in architecture and government, but the single handily the most important was government. These advancements continue to influence many societies today.
Many subjects were taught to young boys which included grammatistes, kitharistes, and paedotribae (wikipedia.org/Ancient Greece). Older youths studied other subjects including the sciences. Since its beginnings in the Homeric and aristocratic customs, Greek education was immeasurably "democratized" during the firth century BCE. Plato, Isocrates, and the Sophists were an influence. During the Hellenistic period, gymnasium education was viewed as essential for participation and involvement in Greek culture. Education was an essential part of an individual in ancient Greece. The kind of education an individual received was ultimately based on social class. In ancient Greece, formal education was not granted to slaves (wikipedia.org/Education in ancient Greece). For example, In some poleis, laws were created and passed to prohibit the possibility of education for slaves. I will now conclude this paragraph by giving a brief summary concerning economics of ancient Greece society. During the fifth and fourth centuries BCE, ancient Greece was the most prestigious economy in the world. It is said to have also been one of the most prestigious pre-industrial economies (wikipedia.org/Ancient Greece) . The patterns of the Archaic period in Greece proceeded into the Classical period, around 500-400 BC, with both exchange and battling enormous benefactors to the
Greek and Roman culture, although similar, are very different and an interesting blend of other cultures. The connections between cultures remind us that culture is not created and owned by a single group of people, but is enriched through the contributions of others. Since the Romans adopted culture from the Greeks, many traditions are the same. Through the expansion of Greece under Alexander, ideas from other cultures in the Middle East and Africa played a large part in the Greek teachings. When the Romans conquered the Hellenistic cities, they became fascinated with the idea of a Greek style of doing things. All things Greek were becoming popular. This is how much of the Greek way of life made its way into Roman culture.
War in Ancient Greece was a major factor of the daily life of kings, royalty and even citizens, especially in Sparta. Sparta, being a city-state of warfare even down to the way children were raised, were a major factor in deciding the everyday life in many people beyond their own citizens. All other city states in Greece at the time were prepared for war if they weren’t in one already. Due to this, war proved to be nearly a constant in the life of Ancient Greek citizens.
In the beginning of the human kind, there was no money. The only way to get what you want is to trade what you have for it. This system is called bartering. Sometimes, you will find a person who is willing to exchange your goods. However, most of the time, it is really difficult to find the person who is willing to trade with you. Since, you desperately need to exchange, you will need to travel the whole day until you meet the right person. In this type of situation, it will take a lot of time to find the person who wants to trade with your goods. Economists defined this kind of issue as transaction costs. It is the time and effort people spend before they can exchange their goods. In barter economy, the transaction costs are incredibly high. Another major drawback of barter system is that people cannot measure the value of goods. This usually leads to conflicts since people have to make unequal exchanges. In order to reduce transaction costs and conflicts, people developed commodity money.