Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T20:44:49.031Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

17 - The Archaeology of Markets and Trade

from Part III - Business/Commerce

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2021

By
Mark L. Lawall
Edited by
Jenifer Neils  and
Dylan K. Rogers
Jenifer Neils
Affiliation:
American School of Classical Studies, Athens
Dylan K. Rogers
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
Get access

Summary

Ancient markets and trading activity in the city of Athens are attested not only through literary sources describing where to buy certain goods and what happens when deals fall through, but also through the archaeology of market buildings, the equipment of buying and selling, and the containers for transporting and storing wine, oil, and other commodities.

Keywords

stoaamphorawinegraffiti
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Athens , pp. 244 - 256
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Further Reading

Comprehensive studies of ancient Greek economies, including important historiographic essays, are now available with Scheidel et al. 2007 and Bresson 2016. For the relatively sparse evidence related to Early Iron Age markets and trade at Athens, Papadopoulos 2003. The commercial topography of Athens is discussed by Rotroff 2009. Thompson and Wycherley 1972 remain very useful for the literary evidence regarding the Agora. Townsend 1995 covers the remains along the east side of the Agora, including Hellenistic shops preceding the construction of the Stoa of Attalos. The commercial importance of the Stoa of Attalos is made clear by Kaye 2016. For the wine-selling area to the southeast, see Lawall 2000. On transport amphoras as evidence for Athenian trade, see Lawall 2013 and Tzochev 2016. The tools of commerce such as balance weights and other measuring devices are published in Lang and Crosby 1964; graffiti and dipinti are covered in Lang 1976, with further examples and discussion in Lawall 2000.

Bibliography

Additional resources to accompany this chapter can be found at: www.cambridge.org/NeilsRogers

Bresson, A. 2016. The Making of the Ancient Greek Economy: Institutions, Markets, and Growth in the City-States. Princeton.Google Scholar
Kaye, N. 2016. “The Dedicatory Inscription of the Stoa of Attalos in the Athenian Agora. Public Property, Commercial Space, and Hellenistic Kings.” Hesperia 85: 537–558.Google Scholar
Lang, M. 1976. Graffiti and Dipinti. Agora 21. Princeton.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lang, M., and Crosby, M.. 1964. Weights, Measures, and Tokens. Agora 10. Princeton.Google Scholar
Lawall, M.L. 2000. “Graffiti, Wine Selling, and the Reuse of Amphoras in the Athenian Agora, ca. 430 to 400 bc.” Hesperia 69: 3–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawall, M.L. 2013. “Transport Amphoras, Tribute, and Trade.” In Handels- und Finanzgebaren in der Ägäis im 5 Jh. v. Chr., ed. Slawisch, A., Istanbul, 103–120.Google Scholar
Papadopoulos, J.K. 2003. Ceramicus Redivivus: The Early Iron Age Potters’ Field in the Area of the Classical Athenian Agora. Princeton.Google Scholar
Rotroff, S.I. 2009. “Commerce and Crafts around the Athenian Agora.” In The Athenian Agora: New Perspectives on an Ancient Site, eds. Camp, J.M. and Mauzy, C.A., Mainz am Rhein, 39–46.Google Scholar
Scheidel, W., Morris, I., and Saller, R.P., eds. 2007. The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Thompson, H.A., and Wycherley, R.E.. 1972. The Agora of Athens: The History, Shape, and Uses of an Ancient City Center. Agora 14. Princeton.Google Scholar
Townsend, R. 1995. The East Side of the Agora: The Remains beneath the Stoa of Attalos. Agora 27. Princeton.Google Scholar
Tzochev, C. 2016. Amphora Stamps from Thasos. Agora 37. Princeton.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×