Features of the development of the economy of ancient Greece. Economy of ancient greece
Economy of Ancient Greece
On
at the turn of the III-II millennium BC NS. in the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula
the ancient Greek republic arose. Early economic growth
facilitated by a convenient geographical location (trade routes),
improvement of the productive forces (the production of copper was mastered, and then
bronze). The basis of agriculture was the farming of a new multicultural
type - the so-called "Mediterranean triad", focused on the simultaneous
the cultivation of three crops - cereals, mainly barley, grapes and
olives. A significant shift was observed around 2200 BC. NS. Became famous
potter's wheel, exchange developed. Affected the neighborhood of the ancient eastern
civilizations.
Can
highlight the following periods in the development of Ancient Greece: Crete-Meken (XXX-XII centuries.
BC BC), Homeric (XI-IX centuries BC),
archaic (VIII-VI centuries BC), classical (V-IV centuries BC)
BC BC) and Hellenistic (late 4th-1st centuries BC). The basis
economic life in Crete-Meken
period there was a palace economy. Palaces arose at the turn of III-II
thousand BC e., simultaneously in different areas of Crete. The lands were
palace, private and communal. The agricultural population was taxed
in kind and labor services for the benefit of the palaces.
A palace like this
Thus, it performed truly universal functions. He was at the same time
administrative and religious center, the main granary, workshop and
factories. In more advanced societies, cities played this role.
The state on the island of Crete reached its highest prosperity in the 16th-15th centuries.
BC NS. Magnificent palaces were rebuilt,
roads, there was a single system of measures. High efficiency
agricultural labor, the presence of a surplus product, led to differentiation
society, enrichment of the nobility. In the middle of the 15th century. BC NS. civilization on
the island of Crete disappeared in a violent earthquake, and the leadership
passed to the Achaeans. The highest flowering came in the XV-XIII centuries. BC NS. lead role
played by the Mekens. Their economic development was characterized by a further rise
agriculture and crafts.
Earth
was divided into state and community. Know could lease land
small plots, the state gave land on conditional holding rights.
The lands were also in the hands of individual holders - teletests.
At the end of the VII century.
BC NS. The Cretan-Meken palace civilization left the historical arena.
Economy of the Homeric period
was rather backward (thrown back to the stage of the primitive communal system).
Subsistence farming prevailed, livestock was considered a measure of wealth, money
society did not know.
But,
during this period important changes took place. First, in the X-IX centuries. BC NS. in greek
the economy is widely rooted in iron. Secondly,
autonomous economy of a small patriarchal family. Land plots firmly
entrenched in individual families.
On the face
property stratification, however, even the highest strata of the population lived in
simplicity, even the palace elite lacked comfort. Slavery has not received
wide use. Labor was used in aristocratic farms
temporarily hired day laborers - fetas.
The polis settlement became the political and economic center. The main
the population of the city is not traders and artisans, but cattle breeders and farmers.
So
Thus, by the end of this period, Greece was a world of small
policies-communities, associations of peasants-farmers, with the lack of external relations,
the top of the society was not strongly singled out.
During the archaic period, Greece overtook everything
neighbouring countries in its development. Agriculture has intensified:
peasants switched to growing more profitable crops - grapes and olives.
The main cells of agricultural production were small peasant
farms and larger estates of the clan nobility. Lands were leased, in
The tenants charged ½ of the harvest as a payment.
Craft
concentrated in cities. Main industries: metallurgy, metalworking,
shipbuilding. Trade became the leading industry. Money appeared. Was born
usury, and with it debt slavery.
In VIII-VI
centuries BC NS. the Great Greek colonization was carried out. Reasons for colonization
the following: lack of land, due to an increase in population and its concentration
in the hands of the nobility, the need for new sources of raw materials, the search for sales markets for
their products, the need for metal (in Greece itself, it remained very
few), the desire of the Greeks to control all sea trade routes,
political struggle.
Allocate
three main directions of colonization: the first is the western (the most powerful), the second
northeast, third - south and southeast (the weakest, since there was
met with stubborn resistance from local settlers). Colonization
contributed to the development of trade and crafts.
In VIII-VI
centuries BC NS. the formation of ancient policies was in progress. The policies were based on
antique form of ownership. The polis had the right of supreme ownership of
the ground. The basic economic principle of the policy was the idea of self-sufficiency.
Can
distinguish two main types of policies:
-
agrarian
- the absolute predominance of agriculture, poor development of handicrafts,
trade, high specific
the weight of dependent workers, as a rule, with an oligarchic structure;
-
trade and craft
with a large share of trade and crafts, commodity
money relation,
the introduction of slavery into the means of production, a democratic system.
In Sparta
the most fertile lands were divided into 9000 allotments and distributed in
temporary possession of the most full-fledged citizens. They could not be given
split, bequeath, etc., after the death of the owner, they returned
to the state. There was a desire for complete equality, contempt for luxury, a ban
for craft, trade, use of gold and silver. Actively
the enslaved population - helots - was exploited.
Athens in
economically were more developed. Draconis Laws (621 BC)
formalized the right to private property. In 594 BC. NS. through reforms
Solon, all debts made under the mortgage of the land were forgiven, taken into slavery for
debts were prohibited, the export of olive oil was allowed abroad for the purpose of
profit, and the grain was banned. The craft was encouraged. Clifen Legislation (509 BC)
BC BC) completed the elimination of the tribal stratum - everyone became equal, regardless of
various property contrasts.
In the classical period, the main feature
economic development has become the domination of policies and distribution in
trade and craft policies of slavery of the classical type. Classic slavery
was aimed at creating surplus value.
Sources of slavery:
-
sale
prisoners;
-
debt
slavery for persons without
citizenship;
-
internally
reproduction of slaves;
-
piracy;
-
self-sale.
In that
period, slave labor penetrated into all spheres of life and production. 30-35% of the total
the population was made up of slaves. They brought in high income. The slaves were released on
rent, rented, but, having accumulated a certain amount of money, the slave could go to
freedom.
New
phenomena in the V century. BC NS. increased marketability of agricultural
farms, regional specialization. Olives oil and wine were items
very profitable export.
For
convenience in conducting trading operations, merchants, especially those associated with overseas
trade, created associations - fias. The purposes of creating fias were as follows:
mutual revenue, insurance, etc.
IV century. before
n. NS. - the time of the crisis of the classic polis. He passed in condition
economic recovery caused by the recovery of the economy after the Peloponnesian
war (431-404 BC), in which Athens was defeated. Police
principles prevented a significant part of the wealthy inhabitants of Athens, the metecs, from engaging in
craft, trade. Without the rights of citizenship, they did not have the right to receive in
mortgage land. At the same time, not land, but money became a prestigious form
wealth: in the IV century. BC NS. the number of transactions increased dramatically
purchase and sale of land. The result was the concentration of land ownership in
hands alone. The principle of polis life was undermined - the unity of the concept of a citizen and
land owner: it was possible to be a citizen and not have land and
vice versa.
Antique
the form of ownership was increasingly supplanted by private property, polis
morality gave way to individualism. The number of slaves grew, they began to meet
Greek slaves. Increasingly, even in agriculture, the labor of freedmen began to work. Has intensified
social differentiation, which undermined the foundations of the polis. Autarky
and autonomy hindered the expansion of economic ties.
but
the policy did not disappear from the historical arena, and at the Hellenistic stage of development
ancient Greek civilization (late IV-I centuries BC) received new
impulses for existence, being included in the framework of a large state,
which ensured the autonomy of the policy and its security. By the end of the 1st century. before
n. NS. the Hellenistic states were subject to Rome.
List of used literature:
1.
"History
world economy ”, A. Markov (Moscow, 1996).
2.
"Economic
history of foreign countries ”, Golubovich (Moscow, 1995).
3.
"World
history ", A. N. Markova, G. A. Polyakov (Moscow, 1997).
Autarky - 1. Reactionary in nature
the policy of capitalist states aimed at creating a closed
national economy, isolated from the economy of other countries. 2. System
a separate national economy capable of doing without import
essential goods.
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Formation approach
According to the formational approach, representatives of which were K. Marx, F. Engels, V.I. Lenin and others, society in its development passes through certain, successive stages - socio-economic formations - primitive communal, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist and communist. Socio-economic formation Is a historical type of society based on a certain mode of production. Mode of production includes productive forces and production relations. TO productive forces includes means of production and people with their knowledge and practical experience in the field of economics. Means of production, in turn, include objects of labor(what is processed in the labor process - land, raw materials, materials) and means of labor(that with the help of which the objects of labor are processed - tools, equipment, machinery, production facilities). Relations of production- these are relations that arise in the production process and depend on the form of ownership of the means of production.
The formation approach proceeds from the fact that the development of society, various countries and peoples proceeds along certain stages: the primitive communal system, the slave system, feudalism, capitalism and communism. This process is based on changes in production. Supporters of the formational approach believe that the leading role in social development historical laws play, objective laws within the framework of which a person acts. Society is steadily moving along the path of progress, since each subsequent socio-economic formation is more progressive than the previous one. Progress is associated with the improvement of productive forces and production relations.
Civilization approach
Among them, two main types can be distinguished.
Theories of the stadial development of civilization(K. Jaspers, P. Sorokin, W. Rostow, O. Tofler and others) consider civilization as a single process of the progressive development of mankind, in which certain stages (stages) are distinguished.
Rostow created stage theory economic growth:
1) Traditional society... Agrarian societies with primitive technology, the predominance of agriculture in the economy, estate-class structure and the power of large landowners.
2) Transitional society... Agricultural production is growing, a new type of activity appears - entrepreneurship and a new type of entrepreneurial people. Centralized states are emerging, national self-awareness is growing.
3) The stage of "shift". Industrial revolutions are taking place, followed by socio-economic and political transformations.
4) Stage of "maturity". There is a scientific and technological revolution, the importance of cities and the size of the urban population are growing.
5) The era of "high mass consumption". There is a significant growth in the sphere of services, production of consumer goods and their transformation into the main sector of the economy.
Theories of local civilizations(N.Ya.Danilevsky, A. Toynbee):
Civilization is a closed society, characterized by a set of defining characteristics (the selection criteria are religion, the form of its organization and territorial feature), each civilization has a certain cultural and creative core, around which the forms of spiritual life, socio-political and economic organization inherent in this civilization are being built.
Toynbee considered the following as the driving forces of civilization: a challenge to civilization from the outside (disadvantageous geographical position, lagging behind other civilizations, military aggression); the response of civilization as a whole to this challenge; activities of great people, talented individuals.
There is a creative minority that leads an inert majority to respond to the challenges of civilization. At the same time, the inert majority is inclined to “extinguish” and absorb the energy of the minority. This leads to the cessation of development, stagnation. Thus, each civilization goes through certain stages: origin, growth, breakdown and disintegration, ending in death and complete disappearance of civilization.
Toynbee identifies 21 civilizations: Egyptian, Andean, Chinese, Minoan, Sumerian, Mayan, Indian, Hellenic, Western, Orthodox Christian (in Russia), Far Eastern (in Korea and Japan), Iranian, Arab, Hindu, Mexican, Yucatan and Babylonian.
Variants of periodization of economic history
There are three theories of the periodization of economic history:
1) The theory of the historical cycle. It proceeds from the fact that the history of mankind is in a constant cycle. Nations rise and fall back to a barbaric state. (Representative Gicombatisto Vico)
2) The theory of civilizations. Representatives of Toynbee and Danilevsky believed that the history of mankind is a collection of isolated civilizations, each of which goes through the same stages: emergence, growth, decay and death.
3) Karl Marx. Formation theory of Marx. Identifies five socio-economic formations that almost every country in the world went through: primitive communal, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist, communist.
3. Primitive communal model of economic development: the main stages of formation and features.
Signs:
Low level of development of productive forces and their slow improvement
Collective appropriation natural resources and production results
Equal distribution, social equality
Lack of private property, exploitation, classes and state
Low rates of development of society.
Stages:
Paleolithic (ancient Stone Age) - 3 million - 12 thousand years BC
Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) - 12 - 8 thousand years BC
Neolithic (New Stone Age) - 8 - 3 thousand years BC
1st Early Paleolithic (up to 100 thousand years BC). Pithecanthropus, Sinanthropus, Neanderthals - gathering, fishing and driven hunting.
2-Middle Paleolithic (ended 40 thousand years ago). Cro-Magnon man along with Neanderthals. Articulate speech. Making fire. Stone technology.
3-late Paleolithic (ended in the XII millennium BC). Matriarchy. Public prohibitions. Simple appropriative economy - hunting, fishing and gathering. The level of stone technology has increased. Labor as a simple cooperation without division. Everything is collectively owned. Labor distribution of production. Exchange between communities.
4-Mesolithic (XII-VIII millennium BC). Individual hunting. Improvement of weapons, the appearance of a bow. New techniques in fishing. Lightening the weight and reducing the volume of stone tools. An appropriating farm of lower hunters, gatherers and fishermen. The principle of collectivization. Use of boats. Development of new lands. Several of the closest clans began to unite into a tribe. Patriarchy.
5th Neolithic (VIII-IV millennium BC). The first social division of labor into agricultural and cattle breeding. Then the second social division of labor - the separation of handicrafts from agriculture - the individualization of labor, the emergence and development of private property. The first craft is pottery. "Neolithic revolution" - the emergence of new technology, forms of production and way of life, the development of new territories and their effective use. The origin of exchange - because surplus agricultural and handicraft industries appeared. The transition to a sedentary lifestyle.
6-Eneolithic (4-3 thousand BC). The appearance of metal - copper, gold, bronze. Irrigated and plow farming system, increasing property inequality.
4. "Neolithic revolution": causes, essence and consequences.
Essence:
The emergence of new technology, forms of production, human development of new territories and their more efficient use were of a radical nature. This is a Neolithic revolution - the transition of humanity from existence through hunting and gathering to living through agriculture.
Causes:
A sharp rise in temperature on the planet between the 11th and 9th millennia BC. NS. -> a decrease in the number of animals -> man had to learn how to cultivate cereals and raise livestock in captivity, which brought much more benefits with less labor. As a consequence, an increase in the population.
Effects:
Improvement of the productive forces (the use of metal at the end of the Eneolithic), commodity production, social division of labor. Individualization thereof. The emergence of surplus production, the emergence of exchange, the formation of market relations. The emergence of private property.
5. "Eastern" model of economic development: main features and characteristics.
"Asian mode of production" - a term introduced by Karl Marx, characterizes the essence of the socio-economic development of Eastern (non-European) societies.
The Asian mode of production was the basis of the first class socio-economic formation, which first emerged in the East at the end of the 4th millennium BC. and existed there until the end of the second millennium AD.
The eastern (Asian) model of economic development is characterized by the following traits:
1. Slaves did not constitute the main productive force of society, i.e. people who were considered free were engaged in the production of material goods in agriculture and handicrafts.
2. The land was not in private, but in state or state-communal property.
3. Between the state and the communal farmers, a relationship of subjection has developed - the absence of rights with the unconditional bearing of obligations in favor of the state.
4. The state in the East has acquired the form of "Eastern despotism", ie. complete lack of rights of subjects in the face of the state. That is why this type of society is called "the society of eastern slavery."
5. The communities were distinguished by their stability, which was associated with the need to create and maintain in proper condition the irrigation system of agriculture.
6. The economy was characterized by conservatism, which led the society to stagnation.
Peculiarities:
In the Ancient East, before the rest of the world, a fairly high material culture (favorable climatic conditions) began to flourish, it was possible to obtain a significant surplus product with a low level of farming technology and the cost of small human resources. As a result, people have free time and the opportunity to devote themselves not only to finding food. There is a division of society into classes.
Everything in Eastern society belongs to the state, and effective centralized control over society is exercised. Participation in power gives privileges.
The Asian mode of production is built, in contrast to the slave-owning, on the exploitation not of slaves, but of community members. The number of slaves is very small, they are not used in large-scale commodity production, but as servants. There are also few artisans and merchants, and besides, trade is less developed in comparison with the slave system.
In the Asian mode of production, two major classes can be distinguished: the peasantry and the bureaucracy. The peasantry is formally free, but the impossibility of selling land and some duties in favor of the state resemble feudal dependence.
The overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of the states of the Ancient East were employed in the structure of agriculture. But land without water was of no value. Irrigation systems were the property of the state. The development of such systems required large human resources. Community labor service soon became a state service. Thus, the state subjugated the communal farmers, and they practically ceased to be free. They were used in the creation of complex irrigation systems, in the construction of temples and other cyclopean structures. Unlike slaves, it was a free labor force that did not need to be fed or clothed. Their labor could be used very wastefully.
Economically, these countries hardly developed. This is commonly referred to as eastern stagnation. The main reason for the stagnation was that the interests of the individual were subordinated to the public. The interests of the community, caste, state. Any entrepreneurial initiative was suppressed, which is impossible without free disposal of property.
The main features of the economic development of Ancient Greece.
Slavery in ancient Greece had a military origin, there was no enslavement slavery, there was a production use of slaves. The economy of ancient states is the economy of cities of states (policies). In ancient Greece, there was a military nature of the reproduction of labor, the political system was military democracy. That is, people served in the kind of troops in which prosperity allowed. The bulk - people of average income - served in the infantry; the rich - in the cavalry (or equipping ships); the poor, armed with what they had at their disposal (darts, stones), participated in hostilities, a citizen of the polis and the owner of a plot of land could only be in wars.
The Athenian type of economy widespread in Ancient Greece is characterized as handicraft.
The universal participation of all citizens in hostilities gradually led to changes in economic life .. The ancient military system (phalanx) ensured ancient reproduction, but at the same time this system absorbed the free peasantry. Peasants who could not cultivate their land went bankrupt and left for the city.
In ancient Greece, in Athens, the use of slaves in handicraft production prevailed, since the land was not suitable for agriculture. Bad roads and lack of food products led to the development of foreign trade. Since the number was regulated in the policies, the surplus population had to immigrate. This process was carried out in three directions: to the south (North Africa), to the east (the Black Sea region), to the west (to Spain). This process is called the great Greek colonization.
In Greece, the money-changing business developed, since each policy had its own coin. The money changers were called meals, and the food exchange offices themselves. Meals are a prototype of a bank, since in addition to exchange, they settled for goods, accepted deposits, and issued loans. In general, commodity - money relations in Ancient Greece depended on the influx of slaves, and when the flow began to decline, an economic crisis began.
7. The development of the economy of Ancient Rome: the main features and characteristics.
The periodization of the history of Ancient Rome is based on the forms of government, which in turn reflected the socio-political situation: from the tsarist rule at the beginning of history to the dominant empire at its end.
Periods of the history of Ancient Rome:
8-6 in. BC NS. royal Rome;
6-1 in. BC NS. republic;
1 c. BC NS. - 1 c. n. NS. empire;
· 395 AD NS. the collapse of the Roman Empire into western and eastern (the latter existed until 1453).
Tsarist period: there was no monarchical state. Roman "kings" are military leaders. The social system of Rome during this period is a military democracy.
In the VI century. BC NS. a state emerges. The period of the republic is coming. Rome of this period is a city-state, similar to the Greek polis. During the wars of conquest, Rome subjugated other Italian states. The defeated peoples recognized their dependence on Rome, but were not included in the Roman polis.
The Roman Republic was aristocratic - power remained in the hands of the tribal aristocracy. With the economic development, urban economy, crafts and trade appeared, and with them the "new rich", who sought to share power with the old Roman nobility, to get into its ranks. Separate parts of Italy are gradually merging into one state. However, political and property rights remain in the hands of citizens of only the Roman polis - quirits -> social tensions and political conflicts.
The army becomes the decisive force. The military leaders seize power in the country and become emperors. In the 1st century. BC NS. The Roman Republic is replaced by an empire that existed until the 5th century. n. NS.
The leading branch of the economy is agriculture. Fertile soils and mild climate ensured high yields. The rapid rise of agriculture in the II-I centuries. BC NS. can be explained by three reasons:
Widespread introduction of slavery,
Development of simple commodity production,
· The transition from small-scale farming to large-scale production.
The dominant type of economy is a large slave estate that carries out commodity production and subsistence farming at the same time. Also, the distribution of land in small plots for rent to landless and land-poor free tenants - colonists.
The concentration of land, the spread of private property, the development of crafts, trade, money circulation, the emergence of a commodity economy required cheap labor. It was difficult to get a free small proprietor who wanted equality and was given a piece of land to work. Such a labor force could be a slave, deprived of all rights and property, received from outside. This explains the aggressiveness of Rome, its endless wars, massive robbery and enslavement of the conquered population. Successful wars contributed to an abundant influx of slaves, the growth and introduction of slavery.
The use of slave labor destroyed the subsistence economy. In the II-I centuries. BC NS. landowners and artisans sought not only to obtain a larger surplus product, but also to realize it in monetary terms. All this caused an increase in the exploitation of slaves, who became the main commodity producer.
As a result, the number of slaves increased steadily. They became the most numerous class in Roman society. Slavery spread in agriculture, mining, metallurgy, and construction. The labor of free or semi-dependent workers was still used, but played a subordinate role.
In the II-III centuries. n. NS. there was a crisis of the slave system.
8. The crisis of the "antique" model of economic development: causes, essence and consequences.
1. Dominance in the economy of small private farms
2. Formation of a special group of feudally dependent peasants
3. Class struggle
4. Economic and political fragmentation
5. Activation of barbarians
6. New religions that helped strengthen the power of the new land magnates
Essence:
1. Low community productivity
2. Decline of state farms
3. Difficulties in expanding production of small farms and independent policies
4. Insufficient political protection in international relations
5. Excessive centralization of power
Effects:
1. The gradual relocation of private slave holdings to cities
2. Nationalization of most of the rural area
3. The emergence of self-governing farms within large states
4. Decline of the economy
5. Development of land ownership independent of the community
6. The decay of the community
7. The decline of the city centers of the commodity slave economy
9. The main types and features of the feudal economic model.
The main moments of the origin of the feudal mode of production were the transformation of free producers of material goods and slaves into feudal-dependent peasants and the formation of large feudal land tenure. These processes were prepared by feudal tendencies that arose in the process of the disintegration of the primitive communal system and ancient society.
The feudal system was formed in the following principles:
• domination of large land property and the monopoly of feudal lords on it;
· Direct producer - the peasant conducts an independent individual economy on the land received from the feudal lord for temporary or hereditary use;
• non-economic coercion, which is a form of dependence of the direct commodity producer on the feudal lord;
· Rent relations, in-kind form of payments - corvee, quitrent;
· Class incompleteness of peasants (dependence);
· Domination of natural economy and small-scale production; the predominance of the agricultural sector of the economy;
· The primitive level of technology used in production (individual production skills are of particular importance);
· The estate character of society;
· The hierarchical structure of the feudal estate;
· Corporate relations.
Feudal systems evolved unevenly in different parts of Europe, Asia, Africa. The development of feudalism in each country had significant regional features, which allows us to talk about different types feudal systems.
The main types of feudal systems:
· European feudalism;
· Eastern feudalism.
European feudalism is the result of the implementation of three types of development of feudalism:
· Birth directly from the primitive communal system of barbarians, bypassing the stage of a developed slave-owning society. In Europe, an example of such an option is England, Scandinavia, Trans-Rhine Germany, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic.
· The emergence of feudal relations on the basis of maturing within the slave-owning society, formed at the last stage of the development of the primitive communal system of barbarians. This type of genesis of feudalism found its embodiment in Northern Gaul, among a number of South Slavic peoples.
· The emergence on the basis of the synthesis of elements of late antique society with feudal relations that were formed in barbarian societies, with a clear predominance of ancient principles. This path was typical for Byzantium, Italy, Southern Gaul, Visigothic Spain.
Eastern feudalism developed on the basis of the Asian mode of production. Its main features:
· Prevalence of state feudal land ownership;
· Preservation of specific forms of communal organization of the peasantry;
· Special forms of organization of the estate of feudal lords;
· A high degree of state centralization.
10. Formation and development of the feudal economy in Western Europe: stages and main directions.
The feudal society of the Middle Ages passed in its development three main stages:
· Early Middle Ages (V-X centuries). During this period, the first shoots of feudalism appeared: the land was concentrated among the upper strata of society; a layer of dependent peasantry was formed
· Developed feudalism (XI-XV centuries) - the period of maturity of the feudal economy. It is characterized by the formation of feudal cities, the development of an internal market, and commodity production.
· Late Middle Ages (late 15th - mid-18th centuries) - the era of decomposition of feudal society, a market economy was born.
Topic: Features of the economic development of Ancient Greece
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Introduction 3
1. Stages of economic development and the role of the state in the economy of Ancient Greece 4
1.1. Economic development of Ancient Greece in the III-II millennium BC e 4
1.2. Ancient Greece in the XI-VI centuries BC e 4
1.3. Greek economy of the classical period (V-IV centuries BC) 5
1.4. Ancient Greece of the Hellenistic era (IV-I centuries BC) 7
2. Organization of production in Ancient Greece 8
3. Monetary relations in Ancient Greece 9
Conclusion 10
List of used literature 12
Introduction
At the turn of the III-II millennium BC. in the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, the ancient Greek republic arose. Greece never aspired to dominance, the inhabitants participated in only a few battles, and few generals gained great glory. For the last two millennia, Greece has been under the rule of foreign conquerors, and only a century and a half ago Greece regained its independence and became an independent state.
Two and a half millennia ago, the culture of Greece reached a great heyday, unlike other later states that could not achieve such a flourish. Convenient geographic location promoted early economic development. The slave-owning system of Ancient Greece differed significantly from the ancient Eastern slavery by the high level of development of the productive forces.
This country played a special role on the political and economic map of that time. Its internal economic system and external economic relations deserve detailed study and may be interesting from the point of view of modern economics.
Thus, the topic of the test "Features of the economic development of Ancient Greece" is relevant and interesting to study.
- Stages of economic development and the role of the state in the economy of Ancient Greece.
1.1. Economic development of the Greek lands in III- IIthousand BC
Throughout the III millennium BC. Metallurgy and ceramic production have achieved success. In agriculture, the leading branch was agriculture, in which the main place is occupied by the "Mediterranean triad": cereals, grapes, olives. On the Greek islands, seafaring, trade, and handicraft were actively developing.
At the heart of the socio-economic structure of states were palaces - huge complexes that included residential and religious premises, many storerooms, workshops, etc. All categories of the population were dependent on the palace. The king was at the head of the state. He performed political and religious functions, and the palace administration was engaged in the management. Also, all groups of the population paid taxes on various types of products. Foreign trade was controlled by the kings, special attention was paid to security, the fight against pirates.
1.2. Ancient Greece in XI- VIcenturies BC.
This period covers two stages in the history of Ancient Greece: the Dark Ages (XI-IX centuries BC) and the Archaic period (VIII-VI centuries BC).
In the XI-IX centuries. BC. in the Greek economy, a natural type of economy appeared, the craft was not separated from agriculture. Improvement of labor tools took place, a plow with a metal opener appeared. Livestock was considered one of the main types of wealth, so livestock played an important role in agriculture. Weaving, metallurgy, and ceramics were developed in the craft. However, production was focused only on meeting the needs of people, and therefore trade developed very slowly.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC. economy of ancient Greece has changed. The craft was separated from agriculture, and agriculture remained the leading branch of the economy. Also during this period, Greek colonization took place, the reason for which was the underdeveloped agricultural production and the inability to provide the population with food. Main function the colonies became the provision of the metropolises with bread. During the period of colonization, agriculture and handicrafts began to orient themselves towards the market. Many Greek city-states are becoming craft centers.
Greek trade during the period of colonization is developing very actively. Constant ties are being established between the metropolises. The most important sector of the economy in the developed Greek policies is becoming sea trade.
The main distinguishing feature of the Greek polis was the participation of all members of the civil community in the government. Many Greek cities had laws. In most parts of Greece, the development of commodity production and the lack of land led to the growth of large-scale land tenure.
1.3. Greek economy of the classical period (V- IVcenturies BC.)
"V century. BC NS. - the time of the highest rise of Greek civilization. " ... During this period, the polis reaches its heyday - a city-state, a community of citizens, with own bodies management, laws, army, court, and classical slavery is formed. After the Greco-Persian Wars, Athens became the leading state in the Greek world. During the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), commodity-money relations began to develop.
Agriculture remained the main branch of the Greek economy and employed the majority of the population. Sales of products are increasing. However, subsistence farming was not completely supplanted. Polises remain independent from the outside world, remain independent in politics and economics. During the period of economic growth, there is an expansion of production and division of labor. Legal proceedings, navigation, mining and ceramics are actively developing.
Foreign sea trade is of the greatest importance. The Greeks exported agricultural and handicraft products, mainly metal products, ceramics, wine and olive oil. And they imported food products, various types of raw materials and slaves to Greece.
However, domestic trade was much less developed in the Greek city-states. In the city market, peasants traded their agricultural products, and in exchange they received handicraft products.
In most Greek policies, the state economy was not organized, so there was no permanent income. There was also no direct taxation of citizens. Voluntary donations were made to compensate for the lack of a stable income.
An important issue in economic policy was the provision of bread for the Greek policies. In many policies, from the wealthy citizens, they elected commissions for the purchase and distribution of bread among citizens. Officials appeared in the domestic markets to maintain order, they controlled the quality of products, the correctness of measures and weights, and charged duties.
Currently IV century. BC NS. viewed as a period of crisis in the classical Greek polis. The manifestations of this crisis are changes in land relations. The widespread use of transactions for the sale and purchase of land is seen as one of the sources of income, and not as the basis for the life of citizens. The lease of private estates is spreading, the exclusive right of citizens to own land is more often violated, and thus, the non-civilian population begins to master the sphere of agriculture.
Many citizens start to engage in other activities, such as: sea trade, mining, interest-bearing loans and much more. Money becomes the main value. They determine the position of people in society.
1.4. Ancient Greece of the Hellenistic era (IV- Icenturies BC.)
In 338 BC. Greece lost its independence and subordination to Philip the Great. One of the reasons is the loss of polis unity. His son Alexander created in the 30-20s of the IV century. BC. a major world power. From that time on, the policies were replaced by the Hellenistic monarchies.
After Alexander's death, the empire split into several states: the Greco-Macedonian kingdom, the Seleucid state, Egypt, the Pergamon and Pontic kingdoms in Asia Minor.
An important role in economic development was played by the exchange of experience between the Eastern peoples and the ancient Greeks. This contributed to the development of technology and the emergence of new crops. During this period, science and technology received significant development: the famous scientist Archimedes discovered the hydraulic law, the law of the lever, invented the bolt, the screw water-drawing machine and much more.
Large cities became trade and craft centers, they were administrative units. Self-government bodies have been preserved in them.
Classical slavery began to spread in the states. In agriculture, the number of slaves increased. Also, the land was cultivated by members of communities that were dependent on the state.
- Organization of production in Ancient Greece.
An important change took place in the organization of production, and classical slavery began to form. This process was associated with the development of commodity production. A sharp increase in the number of slaves was ensured by wars, slave trade, and piracy. These are all major sources of slavery. Slaves are deprived of all rights, they are used in all spheres of production and they become the main labor force. The labor of slaves is actively used in craft workshops, which were called ergasteria. The use of slave labor in mining was very large-scale.
Slave labor played a minor role in Greek agriculture. This was due to the fact that when growing crops it was not profitable to use the low-productive labor of slaves. Greek peasants worked the land with their whole family. As an additional force, they used the labor of 1-7 slaves, or used hired labor, especially during seasonal work.
Also, slaves were actively used as domestic servants. They could be rented out or issued for rent. In such cases, the owner did not interfere in his life. A slave could buy his workshop or be hired. There were also state slaves who could fill positions in the city administration or carry out the police service.
- Monetary relations in ancient Greece.
In the II-I millennium BC. NS. there was no money as such. This was due to the predominance of subsistence farming and the weak development of trade. The role of money was played by cattle. Coin minting begins at the turn of the 7th-6th centuries. BC NS.
By the VI century. BC NS. in Greece, there were two main monetary systems - the Aeginian and Euboean. The basis of each system was talent - a weight unit, which on Euboea was 26.2 kg, and on Aegina - 37 kg. From one talent, 6 thousand drachmas were minted - silver coins. The Aeginian standard was spread in most of the territory of Greece and the Aegean islands, the Euboean - on the island of Euboea, in many western Greek colonies, as well as in the two largest city-states - Corinth and Athens.
In the V century. BC NS. the minting of a bronze small change begins. All independent Greek policies enjoyed the right to mint their own coins. As a result, a new profession of moneychanger in trade appeared. Money changers performed some of the functions of banks: issuing money loans, storing money, and transferring various amounts from one client's account to another. They also performed the functions of notary offices: they kept documents, transactions were concluded and a bill of sale was drawn up.
Conclusion
The Dark Ages in Ancient Greece were characterized by the dominance of subsistence farming. Society did not know money, cattle was the measure of wealth. Slavery is not yet widespread. Thus, by the end of this period, the top of the society was not strongly distinguished, there were no external ties, and Greece was an association of peasant farmers.
In the archaic period, Greece overtook all neighboring countries in its development. Trade became the leading industry. Money appeared. Usury arose, and with it debt slavery.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC NS. the Great Greek colonization took place, the reasons for which are: lack of land, political struggle, the search for markets for products, the need for metal and sources of raw materials, as well as the desire of the Greeks to control all sea routes. The formation of property policies took place.
In the classical period, the main feature of economic development was the domination of polises and the spread of slavery of the classical type in trade and craft policies. Classical slavery was aimed at creating surplus value. During this period, slave labor penetrated into all spheres of life and production.
In the V century. BC NS. new phenomena were the increase in the marketability of agriculture, and regional specialization.
In the IV-I centuries. BC. there is a fragmentation of Greece into several Hellenistic states. The exchange of experience between Greeks and Eastern peoples has played an important role in economic development. The trade turnover has increased.
Also, this period is characterized by significant development of science and technology. Classical and debt slavery is spreading.
From all that has been said, it should be concluded that a new type of economy has developed in Greece. He demanded significant investments, a high level of organization of the economy, the use of slave labor, created very favorable conditions for the very existence of Greek society, as well as the development of Greek culture.
The study of the features of the economy of Ancient Greece in this work allows you to see what role economic science plays in the development of such a powerful civilization.
List of used literature
1. History of the World Economy: Textbook / Ed. G.B. Polyaka, A.N. Markova. - M .: Unity, 2000 .-- 386s.
2. Zoloeva L. A., Poryaz A. G. World culture: Ancient Greece. Ancient Rome. - M .: Olma-press, 2001 .-- 324s.
3. Economic theory: Textbook / Ed. A.I. Dobrynina, L.S. Tarasevich. - SPb .: Publishing house SPbGUEF, 2007 .-- 454p.
4. Fisher S. Economics. - M .: Delo, 1998 .-- 278p.
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Greece is usually called the 3rd - 2nd millennium BC. During this period, bronze tools of labor spread both on the islands of the Aegean Sea and in the mainland, contributing to the acceleration of economic development and the creation of the first states. Throughout the 3rd millennium BC. the most developed were the Cyclades Islands, located in the southern part of the Aegean Sea. From the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. the most influential among others is the island of Crete, located at the intersection of ancient sea routes. The Cretan (or Minoan) civilization reached its heyday around the middle of the 2nd millennium BC.
Development of mainland Greece in the 3rd millennium BC went not so fast, but in some coastal areas already in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. rather developed cultures emerge. At the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Greek tribes (Achaeans) migrated from Northern Greece to the south, who in most areas drove out the pre-Greek population (Pelasgians) and by the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. created their own states, which flourished in the XV-XIII centuries. BC, and from the XIV century. BC. the most influential among them was the city of Mycenae in Argolis (northeast of the Peloponnese).
Around the XII century. BC. from the north of the Balkan Peninsula, a new wave of settlers is approaching, the leading role among which was played by the Greek tribe of the Dorians. Most of the centers of the Achaean culture were destroyed.
Throughout the 3rd millennium BC. metallurgy and ceramic production are making significant progress since about the XXIII century. BC. the potter's wheel began to be used. In agriculture, the leading positions are occupied by the so-called Mediterranean triad: cereals (especially barley), grapes, olives. Most active in the 3rd and first half of the 2nd millennium BC. the Greek islands developed, on which sea crafts, trade, and crafts, including artistic ones, were of particular importance. Cycladic seafarers maintained contacts with the lands located in the basins of the Aegean and Adriatic seas, reached the shores of Spain and the Danube.
The Archaic period is characterized by two main processes that had a decisive influence on the development of Greek civilization: (1) Great colonization - the development by the Greeks of the coasts of the Mediterranean, Black, Azov seas, (2) registration of the policy! how special type communities.
From the natural type of economy to the commodity In the XI-IX centuries. BC. in the Greek economy, the natural type of economy prevailed; handicrafts were not separated from agriculture. As before, the main agricultural crops were cereals (barley, wheat), grapes, olives. As before, irrigation systems were created, soil fertilization was applied. There was some improvement in the tools of labor, a plow with a metal (especially iron) opener appeared. Livestock also played an important role in agriculture, with livestock being considered one of the main types of wealth. There was some differentiation in the craft of this period, weaving, metallurgy, and ceramics were especially developed, but production, as in agriculture, was focused only on meeting the basic needs of people. In this regard, trade developed very slowly and was mainly of an exchange nature.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC. the economic situation in ancient Greece has changed significantly. During this period, the craft separated from agriculture, which remains the leading branch of the economy. The poor development of agricultural production at the previous stage, the inability to provide food for the growing population of the policies became one of the main reasons for Greek colonization. The most important function of the colonies located in the Black Sea basin was the supply of the metropolises with "bread. In many Greek policies they refused to grow cereals, and the main attention was paid to crops, the cultivation of which was more in line with the natural conditions of Greece: grapes, olives, all kinds of vegetable and garden crops. As a result, agriculture is becoming more market-oriented, and the more widespread use of iron tools also contributes to this.
Handicraft production is also acquiring a commodity character, and, as in agriculture, Greek colonization played an important role in this, which contributed to the expansion of the raw material base and the development of trade. Many Greek city-states are becoming large handicraft centers, with craftsmen quarters appearing in them. In Chalcis, Miletus, Corinth, Argos, Athens, metallurgy was especially developed, the improvement of which in the archaic era was facilitated by the discovery of the technique of iron brazing and bronze casting. Important centers of ceramic production were Corinth and Athens, here from the turn of the 7th-6th centuries. BC. serial production begins. The Greek cities of Asia Minor, as well as Megara, were famous for the manufacture of textiles.
Greek trade in the era of the Great colonization developed very actively. Constant ties were established between the metropolises, which exported mainly handicraft products, and the colonies that supplied various types of raw materials (especially metal, timber) and agricultural products (especially grain). In addition, the colonies become intermediaries between Greece and the remote barbarian periphery. In the most developed Greek policies, maritime trade becomes one of the most important sectors of the economy, from the end of the 6th century. BC. Navklers, the owners and captains of merchant ships, are beginning to play a significant role.
During the Dark Ages, the land was the property of the territorial community, the main production unit was the oikos (from the Greek. House) - the economy of the patriarchal family. Each family in the community was assigned a piece of land that was inherited; however, it is possible that land redistributions were carried out from time to time. Slavery in the 11th-9th centuries BC. still had a patriarchal character, the main producer of products was a free farmer.
The archaic period introduced great changes in property relations. Polis (or antique) became the leading form of land ownership - only citizens had the right to own land on the territory of the polis; personally free people who were not citizens (megeks) did not have this right. Citizens could sell land, lease it.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC. an important change in the organization of production also takes place - slavery of the classical type begins to form. This process was associated with the development of commodity production and a significant increase in the number of foreign slaves coming from the colonies. Cheap slave labor made it possible to obtain more income and was more actively used in the main branches of production.
At the turn of the 2nd millennium BC. due to the predominance of subsistence farming and the weak development of trade, there was no money as such, their role was played mainly by cattle. In the era of the Great Colonization, metal ingots, bars are increasingly used as money, and finally, at the turn of the 7th-6th centuries. BC. coin minting begins. By the VI century. BC. in Greece, there were two main monetary systems - the Aeginian and Evebeian. The basis of each system was talent - a weight unit, which on Euboea was 26.2 kg, and on Aegina - 37 kg. From one talent, 6 thousand drachmas were minted - silver coins. The Aeginian standard was spread over most of Greece and the Aegean islands, the Euboean standard on the island of Euboea, in many western Greek colonies, as well as in the two largest city-states - Corinth and Athens.
In the archaic period, along with money circulation, usury developed, and insolvent debtors, as a rule, were turned into slaves and could even be sold abroad.
The main distinguishing feature of the Greek polis was the participation of all members of the civil community in government, and this feature largely determined domestic policy policies. In particular, in many Greek city-states there were laws that limited the acquisition and sale of land and aimed at protecting the land ownership of individual citizens. However, despite this, in most regions of Greece, the development of commodity production and a shortage of land led to the growth of large land tenure, increased social differentiation and aggravation of the conflict between the aristocracy and the demos (people). In many policies of the archaic era, socio-political conflicts often ended in the establishment of tyranny - a regime of personal power. In most cases, tyrants sought to enlist the support of the demos, took care of improving its position, promoted the development of crafts and trade, and the improvement of cities. However, tyrants constantly needed money and in various ways siphoned it out of the population; in the end, tyranny was overthrown in most city-states.
Ancient Greek legislators Salon and Lycurgus
An important role in the further socio-political and economic development of Greece was played by the reforms carried out in the archaic era. The most famous and interesting are the reforms in Athens and Sparta, which most clearly represented two main types of polis - trade and craft and agrarian.
One of the largest Athenian reformers - Solon - a politician and poet, considered one of the seven Greek sages. In 594 BC. Solon was endowed with extraordinary powers and began transformations aimed at restoring the unity of the civilian collective. First of all, he carried out seisakhteyu (Greek shaking off the burden): all debts made on the security of land, and the interest accumulated on them, were declared null and void. Slavery for debts was abolished, the debtor Athenians, sold abroad, were redeemed at the expense of the state. Seysakhteya, as well as laws prohibiting the acquisition of land in excess of a certain rate, prevented the ruin of the peasants and contributed to the development of mainly medium and small landholdings in Attica. To facilitate the trade of Athens with Asia Minor and the western part of the Mediterranean Sea, the unification of weights and measures was carried out, and the previously dominant Aeginian monetary system was replaced by a lighter Euboean one. Measures were also taken to strengthen the marketability of agriculture: the development of horticultural crops was encouraged, and the export of olive oil abroad was allowed. Much attention was also paid to the craft: in particular, it was established that if the father did not teach his son any craft, he could not apply for filial support in old age. In addition, the export of raw materials was prohibited; foreign artisans were attracted to Athens, and Athenian citizenship was granted to many metecs who were involved in crafts.
The important transformations of Solon, testifying to the achievement of a high level of commodity-money relations in Athens in the 7th-6th centuries. BC, there were the introduction of freedom of wills and the replacement of family privileges by property: depending on the land income, all citizens were divided into four categories.
In Sparta, Lycurgus was considered the legendary legislator who laid the foundations of the state structure. The land in Sparta was actually state property, the allotments of individual families were inalienable, their number changed only with the annexation of new territories, in particular, with the conquest of Messenia - a rich region in the southwest of the Peloponnese peninsula - at the turn of the VM-VI centuries. BC. the redistribution of land was carried out: approximately nine thousand allotments were allocated according to the number of citizens. The land was cultivated by the helots attached to it - the population of Laconia and Messenia, conquered by the Spartans, turned into state slaves. The helots paid the owner of the allotment a fixed amount in kind annually.
Citizens of Sparta were considered equal to each other in everything - both in everyday life, and in the political and economic spheres. Lycurgus is credited with establishing a ban on the use of gold and silver coins, only extremely inconvenient and cumbersome iron coins were allowed. The main occupation of the Spartans was military affairs, craft and trade were considered shameful for a citizen. These types of activities were given to the periecs - deprived of political rights, but personally free residents of Laconia. The Spartan system practically did not change for several centuries (up to the 4th century BC) and determined the economic and cultural lag of this polis from others.
Greek economy of the 1st classical period (V-IV centuries BC)
5th century BC - the time of the highest rise of Greek civilization. During this period, classical slavery was finally formed, the polis reached its heyday. A huge role in the development of Greece was played by the victory in the Greco-Persian wars (500-449 BC), which temporarily turned Athens into the leading state of the Greek world. The last decades of the century were marked by the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) between the eternal opponents - Athens and Sparta, which accelerated the development of commodity-money relations and contributed to the onset of the crisis of the polis in the IV century. BC.
In the V century. BC. coinage covers the entire Greek world. As a result of the development of retail trade, at this time, the minting of a bronze small change began. All independent Greek policies enjoyed the right to mint their own coins, so it is not surprising that the development of trade in the 5th century. BC. brought to life a special profession of money changers (meals). Gradually (mainly from the end of the 5th century BC), money changers begin to perform some of the functions typical of banks: storing money, transferring various amounts from one client's account to another, issuing money loans. The usual loan interest on the security of land, a city house was about 15%, on sea loans (against more unreliable collateral of ships and goods) could exceed 30%. The meals also performed some of the functions of notary offices - they concluded deals, drew up a bill of sale, kept documents.
In most Greek policies, there was no organized state economy that brought a constant and significant income, there was no direct taxation of citizens.The absence of a stable source of replenishment of the state treasury was partly compensated by voluntary donations and liturgies - taxes from wealthy citizens for the needs of the state.In the period of wars, all citizens were charged an emergency military tax - esfora. Many policies had other sources of replenishment of the treasury. Thus, in Athens, state revenues were replenished at the expense of the Lavrion silver mines. For example, during the Greco-Persian wars in 482 BC. Themisto (524-459 BC) offered to build warships using the proceeds from the mines. In the future, these mines were leased to private individuals - citizens of Athens.
The supply of bread was the most important issue in the economic policy of most Greek policies. Special officials took care of the uninterrupted supply of grain, and special norms for its transit were established. At the end of the 5th century. BC. in many policies, commissions for the purchase and distribution of grain among citizens were elected from the richest citizens. In a number of cases, similar regulation also applied to building materials, firewood, flax, oil, etc.
To maintain order in the domestic markets in many policies, special officials were appointed - agoranoms (market rangers) who collected duties, monitored the quality of products, the correctness of measures and weights, etc.
Policy crisis. Land relations
In connection with the crisis of the policy, significant changes have taken place in the sphere of slavery. Since the Peloponnesian War, the number of Greek slaves has increased, which was previously almost unthinkable. In addition, as more profitable, the practice of giving slaves a quitrent is becoming more widespread. The number of freedmen - slaves who have managed to save money and redeem themselves free - is sharply increasing. In general, in the IV century. BC. classical slavery continues to develop, the number of slaves is increasing.
The crisis of the Greek polis in the 4th century. BC. was not associated with economic decline. On the contrary, the crisis phenomena, starting with changes in the land relations fundamental for the policy, are closely related to the development of commodity-money relations, the desire for enrichment, the development of interpolis economic ties. It was these processes that contributed to the weakening of the close connection between the citizen and his policy, created the preconditions for the development of contradictions between private and state interests, for the collision of various social groups within the civil society.
The loss of close polis unity became one of the important reasons for Greece's loss of independence and subordination in 338 BC. Philip of Macedon, whose son and heir, Alexander, created in the 30s-20s of the 4th century. BC. the largest world power of antiquity. From that time on, the poleis ceased to be the leading force in the Greek world, and were replaced by the Hellenistic monarchies.
The state of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) after his death split into a number of states: the Greco-Macedonian kingdom; Egypt ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty; the Seleucid state, the central core of which was Syria and Mesopotamia; Pergamon and Pontic kingdoms in Asia Minor, etc. In these Hellenistic states, a synthesis of Greek (Hellenic) and Eastern elements took place; this applied to the economic, socio-political, and cultural spheres.
The development of the economy during the Hellenistic era was favorably influenced by the transformation of the eastern Mediterranean into the inland sea of the Greek world. In addition, in most of the Hellenistic states was preserved monetary system, the unification of which began during the reign of Alexander the Great: the weight standard adopted in Athens was taken as a basis, along with silver coins, gold coins began to be minted.
A very important role in economic development was played by the exchange of experience between the Greeks and the Eastern peoples, which contributed to the improvement of agricultural techniques, the cultivation of new agricultural crops, as well as the development of technology and further specialization in handicrafts. All this had a huge impact on the growth of marketability and the increase in trade turnover.
During the Hellenistic era, the center of economic life shifted from mainland Greece and the Aegean Sea to the south and east, where many new cities were founded on the coasts of the seas and on caravan routes. Large trade and craft centers were Alexandria in the Nile Delta in Egypt, Pergamum in the northwest of Asia Minor, Lntiochia on the Orontes River in Syria, Seleucia on the Tigris River in Mesopotamia, and others. BC. Hellenistic policies were flourishing.
Cities were administrative units, in most cases self-government bodies were retained in them, lands owned by the city and private individuals were attributed to them. The rest of the land fund was considered state: there were actually tsarist lands, as well as lands granted to the tsar's entourage, temples, transferred to the holding of the soldiers.
In the Hellenistic states, classical slavery gradually spread, however, along with it, debt slavery, characteristic of the Eastern economy, existed. In agriculture, the number of slaves increased, but most of the land was cultivated by members of rural communities, who were in varying degrees of dependence on the state. In the craft, along with private workshops, there were workshops, whose workers were also dependent on the state.
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Introduction
Greece is an ancient state located on the Balkan Peninsula and a group of small islands in the Mediterranean Sea. This country has gone through a peculiar path of economic development.
Ancient Greece occupies a special place in world history. The peculiarity of economic development was determined primarily by the peculiarities of the natural and climatic nature: the favorable Mediterranean climate, favorable geographical position, the presence of minerals favored early involvement in trade relations with many countries, especially with the Eastern states.
The uniqueness of the development of Ancient Greece makes the study of its history a very important process. There are important lessons to be learned from the emergence of the Greek economy.
The purpose of this essay is to consider the economy of Ancient Greece, its difference from the economies of other ancient states.
The history of Ancient Greece aroused great attention not only of specialists - antiquities, but also of wide public circles of Europe in the 19th century. For the young bourgeoisie, waging a struggle against the remnants of feudalism and feudal ideology, the world of the ancient Greek republican poleis seemed to be a kind of ideal of freedom, civic consciousness, and high culture. The works of ancient Greek writers were read by many educated people, they were quoted by politicians, works of Greek art (especially sculpture) began to be considered as the most valuable property of the best European museums.
The most intensive development of the history of Ancient Greece in the 19th century. went in Germany. The foundations of the scientific history of ancient art were laid by the German scientist I. Winkelmann, who in 1764 published the outstanding work History of the Art of Antiquity.
A. Boeck began the collection and publication of a consolidated corpus of Greek inscriptions (1825-1859). His student K. Müller drew attention to the history of individual cities and tribes (Dorians, the island of Aegina, etc.), Greek mythology and classical archeology. I. Droysen left a noticeable mark in European science, who was the first to turn to a systematic study of the last period of ancient Greek history, which began after the campaigns of Alexander the Great to the East and continued until the 1st century. BC.
J. Groth in his "History of Greece" (in 12 volumes, 1846-1856) subordinates the entire study of its socio-economic development.
In the middle of the XIX century. the original concept of ancient Greek history and culture was created by K. Marx and F. Engels. They viewed the history of ancient Greek and Roman society from the standpoint of a materialistic interpretation of history - as a society passing through the stage of socio-economic formation.
Successes in the study of the history of Ancient Greece in the second half of the XIX century. were associated with archaeological discoveries in Greece, abundant supplies of epigraphic material and more advanced methods of processing it. Of the archaeological works, the most outstanding were the excavations of G. Schliemann and W. Dörpfeld in Troy, Mycenae and Tiryns (1871-1894) and A. Evans in Crete (since 1900).
All of these scientists have made an invaluable contribution to history.
This work consists of 2 chapters, each with 4 points, which describe the views of ancient Greek thinkers on the economy, stages of development of Ancient Greece, methods of production, money relations and foreign economic relations.
1 . Stages of economic developmentanddevelopment economic thought in AncientGreece
1.1 Ancient Greece inXI - VIcenturies BC
This period of time covers two stages in the history of Ancient Greece: the so-called dark ages (XI-IX centuries BC) and the archaic period (VIII-VI centuries BC). The Dark Ages are often called the Homeric period, since along with archaeological data, the main source for the study of this time is the poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey" attributed to Homer.
Homeric (prepolis) period, "dark ages" (XI - IX centuries BC). It is characterized by the final destruction of the remnants of the Mycenaean (Achaean) civilization, the revival and dominance of tribal relations, their transition to early class, the formation of unique prepolis social structures.
In the economy of Homeric time, subsistence agriculture dominates, the main branches of which are agriculture and cattle breeding.
Livestock was considered the main measure of wealth. The number of head of livestock largely determined the position occupied by a person in society; the honor and respect accorded to him depended on him.
The patriarchal monogamous family, living in a closed economy (oikos), was the main economic unit of Homeric society. The main type of wealth, which was in the eyes of the Greeks of Homeric time, the land was considered the property of the entire community. From time to time, redistributions of land belonging to it were arranged in the community. Theoretically, every free commune member had the right to receive an allotment (these allotments were called in Greek kleers, that is, "lots," since their distribution was carried out by drawing lots). It is clear that next to the rich "multi-nadal" people (polikleroy) in the community there are those who did not have any land (akleroy). Obviously, these were poor peasants who did not have enough funds to farm on their small allotment. Driven to despair, they ceded their land to wealthy neighbors and thus turned into hopeless feta laborers.
As for the archaic period, it can be characterized by two very important processes that later had a significant impact on the development of the Greek state:
1) Great colonization - the process of the development of the coast of the Black, Azov and Mediterranean seas by the Greeks;
2) Formation of a special type of community - polis.
At this stage in the development of Greece, such a type of power as tyranny appeared (VII and VI centuries BC). Of the tyrannies, the most famous are: Corinthian, Sikion, Megarian, Athenian, Syracuse, the most ancient Argive (Fidon).
During this era, the ethnic consolidation of the Hellenic communities took place. What contributed to the economic recovery. The introduction of iron in all spheres of production allowed the transition to the creation of commercial production. The development of metallurgy contributed to the development of trade.
Agriculture in this period was of a specific nature. While the policies abandoned the cultivation of cereals in favor of other crops such as grapes, olives, various fruit trees, the colonies were forced to focus on the market and grow bread in order to provide the metropolis.
1.2 Greek economy of the classical period (V -IV centuries. BC.)
The classical period in Greek history is also called the heyday of the polis system. The formation of Greek city-states, accompanied by violent social and political upheavals, was completed by the end of the 6th century. BC NS. The internal situation in Balkan Greece stabilized, economic life revived in numerous policies, the political position of the middle strata of citizenship was strengthened, and conditions were created for the development of culture. This is the time of the highest rise of Greek civilization.
At the same time, classical slavery took shape to the end.
Ancient Greece knew two options for slavery:
Polis or Athenian, was characteristic of economically developed areas, the main source of slaves was trade. Polis slavery was peculiar in terms of forms of ownership. State slavery did not receive much development due to the fact that large types of work, requiring the use of a large amount of labor, were carried out not by the state, but by private individuals. State slaves could start a family, own property. The state owned a small number of slaves who were very rarely used in the production process. Slaves, owned by various private individuals, were used in urban industrial production, including ergasteries. The forms of exploitation of slaves were also peculiar. The bulk of slave labor was used in the cities in handicraft production. Slaves were often rented out and hired as income assets. Debt slavery was not widely developed;
The Spartan version of slavery, which in nature was closer to the Egyptian and Roman. The main source of slaves was wars. In addition, slaves, like land, were considered public goods in Sparta. Each Spartan received a land allotment and a certain number of slaves only for temporary use. The sale of slaves was prohibited. Equality of land allotments was envisaged, which excluded the individual concentration of land and slaves. Agriculture was the main form of slave exploitation. At the same time, slaves could have some property, tools of production, they could run their own household and start families. Their duty was to obey the masters and hand over a certain amount of food. A quitrent relationship arose, characteristic of the Roman colonial and medieval serfdom.
The Greek policies were developed trade and craft cities, quite populated, with a high culture, so Persia drew attention to them.
The reasons for the Greco-Persian wars were:
1) The apparent weakness of the Greek city-states, fueled Persia to start the war;
2) The capture of Balkan Greece is important from a strategic point of view, since it gave the entire Eastern Mediterranean into the hands of Persia.
Reflection of the Persian invasion became possible thanks to the unification of the Greek city-states and, above all, Sparta, Corinth and Athens into the so-called Organization of the Delian Symmachy (First Athenian Maritime Union).
The victory in the Greco-Persian wars led to the creation of a vast trade zone. As a result of the victories over the Persian troops, the Greeks captured a rich booty, including material values and prisoners. ancient greece economy international
Under the influence of these factors in Greece from the middle of the 5th century. BC NS. an economic system was formed that existed without significant changes until the end of the 4th century. BC NS. It was based on the use of slave labor. The Greek economy as a whole was not homogeneous. Among the numerous policies, two main types can be distinguished, which differ in their structure. One type of polis is agrarian with an absolute predominance of agriculture, poor development of crafts and trade (the most striking example is Sparta, as well as the policies of Arcadia, Boeotia, Thessaly, etc.). And another type of polis, which can be conditionally defined as trade and craft, - in its structure, the role of craft production and trade was quite significant. In these policies, a commodity slave economy was created, which had a rather complex and dynamic structure, and the productive forces developed especially rapidly. An example of such policies were Athens, Corinth, Megara, Miletus, Rhodes, Syracuse, a number of others, usually located on the sea coast, sometimes having a small chora (land allotment), but at the same time a large population that needed to be fed, occupied productive labor. Polis of this type set the tone for economic development, were the leading economic centers of Greece in the 5th - 4th centuries. BC NS.
The most striking example is Athens. The study of the economic structure of Athens allows you to get a general idea of the peculiarities of the trade and craft policies of Greece in the classical period.
The definition of the leading type of Greek city-states as trade and handicraft does not mean that agriculture in them has receded into the background, has ceased to be an important industry. Agriculture in trade and handicraft policies was leading along with trade and handicrafts, and was the basis of the entire economic system. That is why the characterization of the economic life of trade and craft policies must begin with a description of agriculture as the most important foundation of their economy.
Cities during this period were the life centers of economically developed regions. Industry and trade were concentrated in the city, their growth reflected the most progressive trends in economic development. Handicraft activity mainly existed in the form of small-scale production based on manual labor with low productivity. It becomes more difficult industry structure production, the social division of labor developed.
Along with handicrafts, forms of large-scale production - ergasteria - appear in policies, mainly in metalworking, arms business, and tanning, with the number of employed 20-30 people. The division of labor within the ergasteria was only outlined and emerged sporadically.
Trade was developing intensively, there was a professional merchant class and wholesale trade, temporary companies arose to equip trade expeditions. To control the organization of trade and maintain order in the markets, a special supervisory administration was created, speculation was persecuted, especially in bread.
In the IV century. Greece was in decline. The crisis of slavery, the development of its internal contradictions associated with the lack of interest of this economic system in improving the tools of labor, accelerated this process. An extraordinary flourishing of culture was combined with a low technical level of production. Difficulty in the reproduction of slaves - the main productive force in this period - inevitably leads to an exacerbation of the problems of economic development.
1.3 Ancient Greece of the Hellenistic era (IV - I centuries BC)
What is Hellenism, what are its characteristic features? Hellenism became a violent (i.e., achieved as a result of fierce wars) unification of the ancient Greek and ancient Eastern worlds, which had previously developed separately, into a single system of states that have much in common in their socio-economic structure, political structure, and culture. As a result of the unification of the ancient Greek and ancient Eastern worlds within the framework of one system, a kind of society and culture was created.
Currently IV century. BC NS. viewed as a period of crisis of the classical IV century. BC. Greek polis. The process was straightforward
a consequence of the development of the Greek economy. The manifestations of the crisis of the traditional polis structure were, first of all, changes in land relations.
From the end of the 5th century. BC NS. very widespread transactions of sale and purchase of land, which in the IV century. BC e, is no longer considered as the basis of a citizen's life, but as one of the sources of income. In addition, in the IV century. BC NS. the exclusive right of citizens to own land is increasingly violated - those who have distinguished themselves by any merit are given privileges, including the opportunity to acquire land and a house. In addition, from the end of the 5th century. BC NS. the lease of private estates is spreading, and since the cultivation of someone else's land was considered shameful for a citizen, the tenants are mainly freedmen. Thus, the non-civilian population penetrates into the sphere of agriculture, which was previously practically closed to it.
Along with this, many citizens begin to engage in more profitable than agriculture, activities that were previously considered unworthy of a citizen: sea trade, interest-bearing loans, development of mines, etc.
All this, as well as the rapid development of crafts and trade, which were mainly engaged in meteki, objectively leads to an increase in the role of the free non-civilian population in the economy, the socio-political life of the polis, to the gradual destruction of the traditional polis structure; money becomes the main measure of value, it is they that determine the position of a person in society.
In connection with the crisis of the policy, significant changes have taken place in the sphere of slavery. Since the Peloponnesian War, the number of Greek slaves has increased, which was previously almost unthinkable. In addition, as more profitable, the practice of giving slaves a quitrent is becoming more widespread. The number of freedmen - slaves who have managed to save money and redeem themselves free - is sharply increasing. In general, in the IV century. BC e, classical slavery continues to develop, the number of slaves increases.
The crisis of the Greek polis in the 4th century BC NS. was not associated with economic decline. On the contrary, the crisis phenomena, starting with changes in the land relations fundamental for the policy, are closely related to the development of commodity-money relations, the desire for enrichment, the development of interpolis economic ties. It was these processes that contributed to the weakening of the close connection between the citizen and his policy, created the preconditions for the development of contradictions between private and state interests, for the collision of various social groups within the civil society.
The loss of close polis unity became one of the important reasons for Greece's loss of independence and subordination in 338 BC. NS. Philip the Great, whose son and heir, Alexander, created in the 30s-20s of the 4th century. BC NS. the largest world power of antiquity. From that time on, the poleis ceased to be the leading force in the Greek world, and were replaced by the Hellenistic monarchies.
In general, Hellenism became a higher stage in the historical development of the peoples of classical Greece and the Ancient East, who took a step forward in economic life, the complication of the social-class structure, state building, culture and religion.
1.4 Economic views of ancient Greek thinkers
Economic thought - presupposes generalization, abstraction, i.e. economic analysis.
Theoretically, the ancient Greeks made the greatest contribution to the development of the socio-economic thought of mankind. Their socio-economic worldview was based on views associated with private farming, which implied both their own work and hired and slave labor. The natural conditions in Ancient Greece are distinguished by the fact that for normal farming there is no need to build complex hydraulic structures, as in the ancient East.
The economic views of Xenophon, Plato and Aristotle were formed in the context of the crisis of the slave polis, the intensification of the struggle between the aristocracy, between the rich and the poor, between slaves and slave owners, which, undoubtedly, was strongly reflected in their works.
“Economics” is a word of ancient Greek origin, literally means “home economics” and is first encountered in Xenophon.
Socrates was his teacher. However, the philosophical ideas of that time, including the teachings of Socrates, had only a small impact on him. He adhered to the traditional thoughts and teachings of the time in which he was born.
The Domostroy tract, written by Xenophon, can be literally translated as “economics”. It is written in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and the Athenian Critobulus and tells about the rational management of the household, according to Socrates. In fact, this is the first essay on economics in history.
The economic views set forth in this work by Xenophon are, in fact, a guide on how to properly use the resources of the slave economy. The author considers agriculture to be the main branch of the slave economy. Xenophon has a negative attitude towards crafts. Considering them an occupation unworthy for any free Greek. At the same time, in the interests of the slave economy, Xenophon allowed the use of commodity-money relations.
"Domostroy" - this is numerous advice to slave owners to properly maintain the economy. Xenophon was one of the first thinkers of antiquity to pay great attention to the division of labor, considering it as a natural phenomenon, as important condition increasing the production of use values. He came close to the principle of the manufacturing division of labor. Xenophon was the first to point out the relationship between the development of the division of labor and the market. In his opinion, the division of professions depended on the size of the market.
Xenophon was the first to notice the twofold purpose of things: on the one hand, it is a consumer product, on the other, an exchange equivalent.
The ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC) also paid great attention to the role of economics in life. His most famous work is Politics or the State, in which he views the state as a community of people, which ultimately always divides into two parts - rich and poor.
Like Xenophon, Plato viewed the division of labor as a natural phenomenon. He understood the division into slaves and free people as a normal state. Slaves were the main productive force, and their use was a means of enriching landowners.
The main branch of the economy for Plato is also agriculture, but unlike Xenophon, he approves of handicrafts. The economic support of the state is a subsistence economy based on the use of slave labor.
Plato allowed petty trade. However, he reacted negatively to large-scale trade. Plato believes that foreigners and slaves should be engaged in it.
Ideally, the state, according to Plato, should be divided into three classes:
1) Philosophers who govern the state;
3) Landowners, artisans, merchants
Slaves did not belong to more than one class, as they were considered as a tool of labor. Philosophers and warriors were a privileged part of society, which must be provided with everything necessary. Which gives reason to interpret this as a kind of "aristocratic communism."
Greatest contribution to development economic doctrines introduced by Aristotle (384-322 BC). He can be called the first economist in the history of science. As a student of Plato, he, however, did not share his ideas. In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle argued that exchange value or contractual equity requires the exchange of equivalents. Aristotle posed a problem that has become central to economists for centuries and is still the subject of debate, which is formulated: "What determines the proportions of exchange of goods" (what makes goods comparable).
His main views on the thoughts of Plato are set out in the work "Politics". Unlike Plato and Xenophon, Aristotle did not support the aristocracy, but was a supporter of slave democracy. At the same time, he justified the natural division of people into slaves and free, which can only be the Hellenes. As for foreigners, they can only be slaves.
He divided all the citizens of Greece into five classes: 1) the agricultural class, 2) the artisan class, 3) the merchant class, 4) the hired workers, 5) the military. Slaves made up a separate group that was not included in the civil society. Aristotle associated slavery with the natural division of labor, believing that slaves by their nature are such and are capable only of physical labor. The slave was equated with other things that belonged to the free, included in their property. Slaves, according to Aristotle, were supposed to provide all types of physical labor.
Aristotle, you are different from Xenfon and Plato, tried to grasp the very essence of economic phenomena.
As a supporter of a subsistence economy based on the exploitation of slaves, Aristotle considered economic phenomena in terms of their greatest benefits. Everything that corresponded to the interests of strengthening the economy was accepted as natural and just. And everything that harmed him is unnatural.
2. Organization of production in ancient Greece
2.1 Organization of production in agriculture
The separation of handicrafts from agriculture became an important factor and condition for the development of both agriculture and handicraft production, determined the growth of specialization and professionalism of workers. In the field of handicrafts, this contributed to technical progress and the organization of clearly formed industries: metallurgy and metal processing, ceramic production and shipbuilding. The Greeks learned to impart special hardness to iron (quench) through forging on a blacksmith's anvil or through the carburizing of iron, that is, they could receive some types of steel (Laconian steel was famous). Of great importance for the widespread use of iron in various industries was the development of a technology for joining various pieces of iron by welding and soldering, discovered by the master Chief from the island of Chios.
The main production cells in the agriculture of Greece in the 5th - 4th centuries. BC NS. there was a small plot of a farmer (3-5 hectares) - a citizen of this policy, cultivated by the labor of his family members, who could be helped by 1-2 slaves, and an estate of 15-25 hectares, cultivated by slaves (15-25 slaves) ... The farms of both types were diversified, practically every farm cultivated grain, a vineyard was planted, there were olive plantations, a garden of fruit trees, a vegetable garden, small flocks of sheep and goats grazed. If the products of the peasant household, as a rule, went to meet the needs of the farmer's family and had little connection with the market, then in the slave estates they received significant surpluses of products: grain, wine, oil, which were sold on the local market or exported.
Terrace farming
The "builders of the highland civilization" transformed the mountain slopes into fields by mastering terraced farming.
Terracing of slopes and irrigation is an integral and characteristic feature of ancient civilizations. These methods of increasing yields have long been known in Ancient Greece, where all city dwellers could count on a high standard of living only if they knew how to make a thin stream of water, travel a long way, and also protect the soil on the hills from erosion. The fact that terracing of slopes was carried out already in ancient times is evidenced by the fact that it is used, albeit on a much smaller scale, even by some modern African tribes up to western Darfur.
Hundreds of thousands of acres were carefully cultivated for crops that occupied the slopes almost to the summit.
Policy. Agricultural policy.
It was within the framework of the polis system that the ancient Greeks created in the classical period of their history a brilliant civilization, which became a great contribution to the treasury of world culture, provided the ancient Greek society with an honorable place in world history.
Each of the many Greek city-states was an individual phenomenon, but with all the originality and originality in most Greek states, some common features emerge that allow them to be considered precisely polis organisms.
The internal content of the policy cannot be reduced only to a specific state structure and system of spiritual values. Regardless of its size, each Greek city was a society in all its diversity of aspects, with a certain economic system, social structure, political organization and a complex complex of culture.
In terms of their size and population, the Greek city-states were different. There were very large policies. For example, Lacedaemon, or Sparta, had an area of 8400 square kilometers (1/5 of the Moscow region), and the population was about 150-200 thousand people. The policy of the Athenians had a total territory of about 2500 thousand square kilometers with a population of 120-150 thousand people, but there were very small policies with a territory of 30-40 square kilometers and a population of several hundred people, such as the Phokids policy Panopey (on the border with Boeotia).
However, the most common type of Greek polis had an area of about 100-200 square kilometers, i.e. 10x10 or 10x20 km with a population of 5-10 thousand people, including women, children, foreigners and slaves, full-fledged male warriors could be from 1 to 2 thousand people.
A typical Greek polis was a tiny state, the territory of which can be bypassed from end to end in one day, with a small number of inhabitants, most of whom knew each other by sight, with one center where the National Assembly gathered, there were temples of the most revered gods, craft workshops , the main population lived. The city stood either on the seashore, or a few kilometers from the seashore, but had a harbor or port on the seashore (Falera's harbor was located 5 km from Athens). The city center of the polis could be surrounded by a ring of defensive walls, but in the VI century. BC NS. many cities did not yet have fortifications. Most of the population of the policy was concentrated in the city center. In the city, on the central square, trade operations were carried out, city-wide festivals and sports competitions were held. Although there were several rural settlements on the territory of the policy, there was only one urban center. That is why the policy is also defined as a city-state.
The basis of the polis economy is agriculture. Due to natural conditions, agriculture included several branches: arable farming, viticulture, olive growing, horticulture, horticulture and cattle breeding.
Many Greek policies, due to their small size, did not have a sufficient amount of the necessary metals (iron, copper, bronze), timber and other types of raw materials on their territory. Therefore, it became necessary to purchase them in other places. Commodity relations, trade exchange have become one of the foundations of the entire economic life of the policy. The villagers brought wine, oil, grain, wool to the market in order to buy tools, fabrics, clothes, leather and other products necessary for life there. The polis economy opened up more opportunities than in the East for the development of commodity relations, and therefore the accumulation of wealth, the emergence of large estates in the countryside and large craft workshops in the city, using slaves.
The social structure of the policies implied the existence of three main classes: the ruling class, free small producers, slaves and dependent workers of various categories. The bulk of the polis population consisted of free small producers, primarily farmers (in Athens, they were called zevgits and fetas), as well as artisan and merchant people, earning a living by their own labor.
Slaves in the VI century. BC NS. was not much, the labor of slaves was used only in large estates and craft workshops, their role in the Greek city-states of the 6th century. BC NS. was small. However, as the complexity of the polis economy, the development of commodity-money relations, the flourishing of handicraft industries and the expansion of trade operations, the number of slaves in the polis increases.
The core of the social structure of the Greek polis was the existence of such a social category as a civic collective, which included full citizens: indigenous people (i.e., those who lived in a given area for several generations), owning a hereditary land plot, taking part in the activities of popular assemblies and having place in the phalanx of heavily armed hoplites. Those who came to live from other Greek cities, even from a neighboring polis located a few kilometers away, could not be part of the citizens and constituted a special class of metecs, non-citizens. Loss of land could lead to deprivation civil rights and dropping out of the civilian collective. True, in developed trade and craft centers, such as Corinth or Athens, citizens who had lost their land plots lived, who were forced to engage in crafts and trade. Such people were not deprived of their civil rights, but they were subjected to a kind of public censure, becoming second-class citizens. At the first opportunity, they sought to acquire a land plot and rehabilitate themselves in public opinion. The police authorities tried to help such landless citizens. In each policy there was a reserve fund, the so-called ager publicus (public field), from which new plots could be cut to give them to citizens who had lost their land. The ager publicus also included inconveniences, swamps, quarries, river floodplains, forests, lands that were used by the entire team of the policy.
The ownership of a land plot was considered as the main guarantee of the fulfillment by a citizen of his obligations to the policy, to the entire civilian collective. Citizens of policies owned their land plots as owners with the right of complete economic independence up to the sale of the land, however, the possibilities of selling the land were limited.
The most common features described above are inherent to one degree or another in each policy, however, among the many Greek city-states, two main types can be distinguished: an agricultural policy, with a weak development of trade and crafts, a large proportion of dependent workers and, as a rule, the dominance of the oligarchy. ... An example of this type is Lacedaemon, or Sparta. Another type was a society and a state with a large proportion of handicraft production and trade operations, commodity-money relations, the introduction of slave labor into production and everyday life, the active participation of citizens in public and political life, and a democratic system. The most striking example of such a polis is Athens.
The Greek polis became such a form of ancient society and state, within which favorable conditions were created for the development of the economy, public relations, political institutions, brilliant Greek culture, which opened one of the brightest pages in the history of world civilization.
In addition to the above features of the agrarian policy for Sparta, the factor of the conquest of the local population by the Dorians and its transformation into dependent helots was of paramount importance. The conquest explains the militarized organization of the ruling class of Spartans, the conservatism of the general structure and life of Spartan society.
2.2 The situation of small free producers
Small producers worked on land plots, in artisan workshops, mines or construction, where, as a rule, they did not use slave labor. There are known cases of the use of slave labor by small artisans or farmers as an additional labor force: the main labor force was the farmer or artisan himself and his family members. Small-scale producers included small-scale farmers; artisans and traders with civil rights; artisans and metek traders.
Associated with different sectors of the economy, having different legal status, these social groups differed from each other in interests, sometimes had different political orientations. In any Greek polis, the social group of small free farmers was one of the most important. The strength of polis institutions, the functioning of democratic institutions, and the nature of socio-political clashes depended on its economic well-being, political activity, and civic maturity. Smallholders are commonly referred to as peasants. This term is also applied to the farmers of the Greek city-states. The farmer, as a rule, did not pay taxes on the land. To purchase tools, clothing and other handicraft products, the peasant took out to the market and sold agricultural products, that is, he acted partly as a commodity producer. He was connected with the market, knew the prices, traders, had a well-known economic outlook. However, his ties with the market were sporadic, with only a small part of the harvest going for sale.
According to Greek law, only a member of the polis collective, a full citizen, could be the owner of the land. Small landowners were such full-fledged citizens, participants in popular assemblies, could be elected to various positions, served in the civilian militia. Participation in public meetings, where the most important issues of internal and external life were discussed, developed the personality of the ancient peasant, formed a sense of dignity and social significance.
The polis peasantry as a whole came out with a democratic program for the development of their hometown, but from a fairly moderate position, they were suspicious of radical democratic concepts, which was used in their interests by the conservative circles of Greek society.
The free small producers also included city dwellers living by their own labor, both citizens and metecs. Citizens - artisans and merchants - took an active part in the political life of the city, in the activities of popular assemblies and its numerous bodies. Their property situation, especially with the proliferation of large workshops, was very unstable, and the state took measures to ensure a living wage for this stratum of citizens. The most thought-out social policy towards them was carried out in Athens.
An important measure to maintain the wealth of the poorest citizens was to provide them with jobs for which they could get paid and provide for their families. With the ever increasing competition of slave labor, such a state policy was necessary and socially oriented.
The state made sure that the prices for bread, the main food product, were more or less stable; large fines were imposed on traders who artificially inflate prices.
The situation of artisans and traders-meteks was more difficult than artisans-citizens. They were excluded from the political life of the polis, did not have the right to withdraw to the colonies, the state cared little about them. At the same time, they paid a tax per person (in Athens it was called metoikion and reached 12 drachmas per year). The metecs had very few prospects of acquiring civil rights and at least legally equal to the artisans-citizens, side by side with whom they worked in workshops, ship docks, loaded ships, traded in the markets. Most of the free inhabitants without civil rights belonged precisely to this category of small producers, after the slaves, the most humiliated social group.
Nevertheless, in economically prosperous cities, even they found work, had a well-known living wage... According to the approximate calculations of modern historians, in Athens total number Metecs was quite impressive and reached 15-20% of the total population.
Another category of small producers - perieki - constituted a special class in a number of Greek policies of the agrarian type of Argolis, Elis, Thessaly, on the island of Crete. The periecs of Sparta are most fully studied. In the V-IV centuries. BC NS. The periecs were one of the three main estates of Spartan society (along with the Helots and Spartans). The Periecs, like the Spartiats, were considered Lacedaemonians (unlike the Helots), served in the army and had the right to an equal share of the war booty with the Spartans. However, they did not have the rights of the Spartiats, did not take part in popular meetings, were not as well trained and educated as the Spartiats. The Periecs lived separately in self-governing villages around the Laconian Valley, and engaged in agriculture. They performed duties, paid taxes directly to the state, were engaged in crafts and trade operations (excellent Laconian weapons were made by the periecs).
2.3 Monetary relations in ancient Greece
At the turn of the II-I millennium BC. NS. due to the predominance of subsistence farming and the weak development of trade, there was no money as such, their role was played mainly by cattle. In the era of the Great Colonization, metal ingots, bars are increasingly used as money, and, finally, around the turn of the 7th-6th centuries. BC NS. coin minting begins. By the VI century. BC NS. in Greece, there were two main monetary systems - the Aeginian and Euboean. The basis of each system was talent - a weight unit, which on Euboea was 26.2 kg, and on Aegina - 37 kg. From one talent, 6 thousand drachmas were minted - silver coins. The Aeginian standard was spread over most of Greece and the Aegean islands, the Euboean standard on the island of Euboea, in many western Greek colonies, as well as in the two largest city-states - Corinth and Athens.
In the archaic period, the people with money circulation developed usury, and insolvent debtors, as a rule, were turned into slaves and could even be sold abroad.
In the V century. BC NS. the minting of the coin covers the entire Greek world, at this time the minting of the bronze small change begins. All independent Greek policies enjoyed the right to mint their own coins, so it is not surprising that the development of trade in the 5th century. BC NS. gave rise to a special profession of money changers. Gradually, money changers begin to perform some of the functions typical of banks: storing money, transferring various amounts from one client's account to another, issuing money loans. The usual loan interest on the security of land, a city house was about 15%, the interest on sea loans (against a more unreliable security of ships and goods) could exceed 30%. The money changers also performed some functions of notary offices - they concluded transactions, drew up a bill of sale, kept documents ...
2.4 International relationsAncient Greece
The oldest form international relations and international law in Greece was "proxenia", that is, hospitality. Proxenia existed between individuals, clans, tribes and entire states. The proxenus of this city enjoyed in it, in comparison with other foreigners, certain rights and advantages in respect of trade, taxes, courts and all kinds of honorary privileges. For his part, the proxenus assumed a moral obligation towards the city, where he enjoyed hospitality, to promote his interests in everything and to be an intermediary between him and the authorities of his city. Diplomatic negotiations were conducted through the proxenes; the embassies that came to the city turned first of all to their proxenus.
The institute of proxenia, which became very widespread in Greece, formed the basis of all subsequent international relations of the ancient world.
Amphictyonies were just as ancient an international institution. This was the name of the religious unions that arose near the sanctuary of some especially revered deity. As the name itself shows, these unions included tribes that lived around the sanctuary (amphictyons - living around), regardless of their kinship. The original purpose of the amphictyony was general sacrifices and festivities in honor of the revered deity, the protection of the temple and its treasures, accumulated from private and public donations, as well as the punishment of blasphemers - violators of sacred customs.
If necessary, those gathered for the festivities consulted on public affairs of interest to all members of this amphictyony. During the festivities, it was forbidden to wage war and proclaimed "God's peace" (hieromemia). Thus, the amphictyonies turned into a religious and political institution of an international character.
The general meeting was the supreme body of the amphiktyony. It convened twice a year, in spring and autumn, at Thermopylae and Delphi. The decisions of the general meeting were binding on all amphictyons. The authorized persons of the assembly, in fact, in charge of all affairs, were the hieromemons, appointed by the states according to the number of votes of the amphictyony, that is, in the number of 24. One of the main duties of the hieromemons was the observance of "God's peace" and the organization of religious festivals.
At the end of the 5th and 4th centuries BC, a new collegium appeared - the "pilagors". Through the pilagors and hieromemons, the cities that were part of the amphictyon swore oaths to each other and assumed certain obligations in relation to the amphictyons. The Delphic-Thermopylae amphiktyonia represented a significant political force that exerted a great influence on the international politics of Greece. Both secular and spiritual power were concentrated in the hands of the Delphic-Thermopylae amphictyony. The Delphic priests declared and ended war, appointed and removed general rulers who were part of the amphictyony. The Hieromemons were considered heralds of the will of Apollo. According to legend, the Delphic priests had "secret books" that contained ancient predictions. They were allowed to be read only by those who were recognized as a descendant of Apollo himself, that is, priests and kings.
A powerful weapon in the hands of the Greek priesthood was the holy wars, which they directed against all who caused any damage to the sanctuary of Apollo. All members of the amphiktyony, bound by oath, were to take part in the holy war.
All political treaties, directly or indirectly, were approved by the Delphic priesthood. On all controversial issues of international law, the litigants appealed to Delphi. The strength of the priesthood lay not only in its spiritual, but also in material influence. Delphi possessed enormous capitals, formed from the contributions of cities, from income from the mass of pilgrims, from temple fairs and usurious deals. All this explains the passionate struggle that was fought between the Greek states for influence and votes in the Delphic amphictyony in the 5th-4th centuries BC.
The third type of international relations of Greece was treaties and military-political alliances - "simmahias". Of these, the most significant were the Lacedaemonic and Athenian (Delos) symmetry.
Lacedaemonic symmachia was formed in the 6th century BC as a union of cities and communities of the Peloponnese. Sparta was at the head of the union. The supreme union body was the All-Union Assembly (syllogos), convened by the hegemonic city (Sparta) once a year. All the cities that were part of the union had one vote in it, regardless of their size and significance. Cases were decided by a majority vote, after long debates and all kinds of diplomatic combinations.
Another major alliance of the Hellenic cities was the Athenian, or Delos, symmachia, which was headed by Athens. The Delosian symmachia was formed during the Greco-Persian wars to fight the Persians. The Delosian symmetry differed from the Lacedaemonian in two ways: first, the allies who were part of it paid a special contribution (foros) to the public treasury on Delos; secondly, they were more dependent on their hegemon - Athens. Over the course of time, the Delosian symmachia turned into the Athenian state (arche).
The relationship between the two symmacies was hostile from the start. Eventually, in the second half of the 5th century, this led to the Pan-Greek Peloponnesian War.
Conflicts that arose between communities and policies were resolved with the help of special authorized persons, or ambassadors. In Homeric Greece they were called messengers (keryuks, angelos), in classical Greece - elders (presbase).
In the states of Greece, as, for example, in Athens, Sparta, Corinth and others, ambassadors were elected by the People's Assembly from persons of venerable age, not less than 50 years old. This is where the term “elders” comes from. As a rule, ambassadors were elected from wealthy citizens who enjoyed authority, who had proxenes in other cities, sedate, reasonable and eloquent. Most often, ambassadorial assignments were given to the archons of a given city, and especially to the polemarch archon (military leader).
The number of members of the embassy was not established by law: it was determined depending on the conditions of the moment. All ambassadors were considered equal. Only later did it become a custom to elect the chief ambassador - the "archpriest", the chairman of the ambassadorial collegium. During their term of office, some sums of money, "travel money" were allocated for the maintenance of ambassadors. A certain staff of servants was assigned to ambassadors. When they were sent, they were given letters of recommendation (symbol) to the proxenes of the city to which the embassy traveled. The purpose of the embassy was determined by the instructions given by the elders, written in a letter, consisting of two sheets folded together. This is where the very term "diplomacy" comes from.
The instructions served as the main guide for the ambassadors. They indicated the purpose of the embassy; however, within the framework of these instructions, the ambassadors enjoyed a certain freedom and could show their own initiative.
Ambassadors arriving at their destination, alone or together with the proxenus, went to the official of the city in charge of diplomatic affairs. They showed him their certificates and received appropriate instructions and advice from him.
In the days following registration (in Athens, usually five days later), the ambassadors spoke at the Council or the People's Assembly explaining the purpose of their arrival. After that, a public debate was opened or the case was referred to a special commission.
As a rule, foreign ambassadors were treated with respect, provided them with a good reception, offered gifts, invited to theatrical performances, games and festivities. Upon returning to their hometown, members of the embassy reported to the People's Assembly on the results of their mission. If approved, they were awarded honorary awards. The tallest of these was a laurel wreath with an invitation to dine the next day at the Priory, a special building near the Acropolis where the honorary guests of the state dined. Every citizen was given the right, when the ambassador reported, to express his opinion and even to speak out against the ambassador with accusations.
One of the main duties of ambassadors in Greece, as well as in the ancient states in general, was the conclusion of alliances with other states and the signing of treaties. The treaty was viewed in the ancient world as something magical. Therefore, the conclusion of treaties and the conduct of diplomatic negotiations in Greece were hedged with strict formalities. Contractual obligations were sealed by oaths calling to witness the supernatural force, supposedly sanctifying the signed contract. Oaths were taken by both parties in the presence of the magistrates of the city where the treaty was signed. To the oath was added a curse that fell on the head of the violator of the treaty.
Disputes and collisions arising on the basis of violation of the agreement were referred to the arbitration commission. She imposed monetary penalties on the perpetrators of the violation, which were entered into the treasury of some deity - Apollo of Delphic, Zeus of Olympia, etc. Such penalties are known from the inscriptions, equal to ten or more talents, which at that time amounted to a very large amount. In case of stubborn unwillingness to obey the requirements of the arbitration court, coercive measures were taken against the rebellious cities, up to and including the Holy War.
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