This is the first full work since Hasebroek's Trade and Politics in the Ancient World to deal directly with the place of maritime traders in ancient Greece. Its main assumption is that traders' juridical, economic, political and unofficial standing can only be viewed correctly through the lens of the polis framework. It argues that those engaging in inter-regional trade with classical Athens were mainly poor and foreign (hence politically inert at Athens). Moreover, Athens, as well as other classical Greek poleis, resorted to limited measures, well short of war or other modes of economic imperialism, to attract them. However, at least in the minds of individual Athenians considerations of traders' indispensability to Athens displaced what otherwise would have been low estimations of their social status.

Discusses the nature of maritime trade with Athens and official and unofficial interest in it.

About the Author
Charles Reed is William States Lee Professor of History at Queens College, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Reviews
'... a scholarly study of the highest order ... he has made it accessible to a wider range of scholars. It will remain the last word on the subject until the unlikely event of the appearance of significant new evidence.' The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology



Book Information
ISBN 9780521044189
Author C. M. Reed
Format Paperback
Page Count 180
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 276g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 153mm * 12mm