P2--Research Paper #2Time Era: c. 700s AD-c. 1550s AD Research Paper Requirements: A clearly stated thesis in the beginning of the paper, your 4-5 points clearly stated within. Analyze 4-5 significant

Smith 7

John Smith

Professor Robinson

EUH 2000

July 3, 2017

Research Paper #1

The Prolific Influence of Coinage on Ancient Greece

The concept of barter exchange has existed long before that of recorded history. A man with a surplus of one asset could readily exchange these goods with another in need of the same goods. While this system sufficed for centuries on a small scale, as societies expanded and individual specialization increased, the valuation of goods became problematic. After all, how many tanned hides are a basket of apples worth? Furthermore, how many baskets of apples are two oxen worth? The answer to this problem was found in a third source of value, which all others could be compared against. Coinage evolved to become this equalizing force that dissolved the quandary of valuation among vastly dissimilar materials and goods. The Ancient Greeks used the system of common coinage to further progress their societies on multiple levels. This essay will explore the origins of Ancient Greek coinage, and extrapolate its influence on individual commerce, as well as governmental, military, and social practices.

The earliest examples of coinage were found in the Lydian city of Ephesus, retrieved from the Temple of Artemis.1 These coins were composed of a material called electrum, a natural bimetal blend of gold and silver. Electrum was a readily available resource found along the mountains near Lydian cities. It is roughly estimated that the dates of the coins correspond to the building of the temple, which puts their production around 600-550 BCE. The coins found at Artemision were crudely minted through the process of striking, with images of animals appearing on one side of many of the coins.2 These images may denote the artisan who produced them, or the issuing authority of the currency. Although the initial purposes and values of these first coins are unconfirmed, the minting and use of coinage spread across the Aegean Sea and eventually found widespread acceptance in Ancient Greece. The Lydian coins ultimately evolved to more regulated forms of currency. Since the ratio of precious metals in electrum varied from each ore deposit, coins of a singular substance were minted. Gold, Silver, and sometimes even iron was used by local principalities to mint coins. Precious materials that were previously valued by weight, began to be valued by denomination. This made frequent use of currency a trivial and normal task. The leaders of city-states began to issue and enforce regulatory control over their individual currencies. After many of these improvements, currency took on a life of its own. The use of coinage found its way into every facet of Ancient Greek life.

As is the case today, one of the ubiquitous uses of coinage in Ancient Greece was in commercial pursuits, namely trade. Aristotle plainly described the use of money by Greek citizens in Politics, where he described, “People came to an agreement of that sort, namely for the purposes of exchange, to give and take from each other something which, being itself something useful, was easily adaptable to the needs of life.”3 This use of a common standard opened trade among Greeks beyond the age-old barter system. Since coinage had a common and agreed upon form and valuation, a person didn’t have to rest his or her hopes on the other party’s assessment of goods. The common valuation of the currency held sway. This innovation also furthered foreign trade by allowing the transport of currency one way. Rather than moving goods to the destination, and then hauling the traded goods back, coinage streamlined this process to a singular transaction. Since many city-states and kingdoms used their own local currency, exchange rates between currencies became fluid, and sometimes complicated interstate commerce. This was often alleviated by merchants who kept multiple forms of currency on hand. Although money is usually considered the bedrock of business, Ancient Greeks often used it as a convenience, with the state being the primary user of coinage.

Early Ancient Greek coinage had multiple uses beyond simply to facilitate mercantile transactions. For instance, many Archaic Greek laws prescribed punishment and recompense via the local currency. Plutarch’s Life of Solon enumerated fines that followed various offenses in Athens. It is important to note that monetary fines made up most of the punitive actions taken by the Athenian government, as opposed to incarceration, corporeal, or capital punishments. The fine for slander was three drachmas to the injured party and two to the state. Additionally, the fine for rape was 100 drachmas, unless it was deemed by persuasive means, then the fine was only 20 drachmas.4 The state also used standard coinage to collect taxes and payments, as this eased the logistical concerns over transporting and managing payments made with material objects such as grain or livestock. This also solidified power in the central government by making them the issuing authority, and ultimately, the regulatory body of currency.

Currency in Ancient Greece was also tantamount to direct power via its ability to raise, and maintain, military power. Without a standard form of currency whose worth was widely accepted, military force could only be easily raised from those with a stake in the conflict. The advent of coinage opened the possibility of mercenary forces who otherwise would be without adequate motivation to fight for any side. The use of coinage to hire mercenaries is one of the earliest instituted uses of Greek currency. This tightened the relationship between monetary wealth and physical power. The events of Peisistratus’ rise to power are a good example of the result of this new relationship. Peisistratus, after being exiled from Athens, used his amassed wealth to return at the head of a massive hired army. With no worthy force to challenge him, he was able to instill himself as tyrannical dictator. The Athenian ruler Themistocles also transformed currency into military power through the expansion of the Athenian navy. After pouring enormous amounts of currency into the procurement of ships and sailors to crew them, Athens became the resident naval powerhouse in the Aegean. This would not have been possible in the years before the introduction of currency, which spurred this form of transaction5. This transformation of wealth into power laid the foundation for Athens to head the Delian League, and ultimately the expansion of the Athenian Empire.

Coinage also played a significant role in the religious and social lives of Ancient Greeks. Priests of Greek temples adopted the local currency as an accepted commodity for tribute, as well as religiously incurred fines. Favor with the gods could be curried through the payment of money at the temples. Marriage, a religious institution in its own right, also made use of this new all-purpose money. Wedding dowries were used to negotiate a bride’s possible worth, as well as to make an assertion of her social standing. Von Reden explained that, “There is no doubt that throughout the classical period a dowry could be of considerable monetary value and was usually paid in cash.”6 The cash dowry was of such importance that Herodotus observed Lydian women who worked as prostitutes to earn enough money for an adequate dowry.7 Furthermore, coinage was the preeminent way to reward the victors of state-sponsored athletics competitions, as seen gifted to Achilles for the games of Patroclus in the Iliad.8 Since the currency was issued by the ruler, a prize of coinage conveyed the favor of the king, and elevated the social status of those who received it. These prizes contributed to the power of currency to denote social status above merely a sign of wealth in of itself.

The fact that coinage is representative of value has shown a continued importance throughout its history, and is still present in modernity. This once curious and novel invention enable many cultures to expand and prosper. This is seen most clearly in the case of Ancient Greece. The Greeks took the example of the Lydians, and developed coinage into a staple that permeated all facets of society. The influence of common-use money was most prevalently seen in individual commerce, governmental procedure, access to military power, and the social practices of the Ancient Greeks.

Bibliography

Davis, Gil. "Dating the Drachmas in Solon’s Laws." Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte 61, no. 2 (2012): 127-58. Published by Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Schaps, David. The Invention of Coinage and the Monetization of Ancient Greece. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2010.

Seaford, Richard. Money and the Early Greek Mind: Homer, Philosophy, Tragedy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Simpson, Peter L. Phillips, ed. Politics of Aristotle. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1999.

Von Reden, Sitta. "Money, Law and Exchange: Coinage in the Greek Polis." The Journal of Hellenic Studies 117 (1997): 154-76. London: Published by The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies.

1 David Schaps, The Invention of Coinage and the Monetization of Ancient Greece. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2010, p.93.

2 Schaps, p.93.

3 Peter Simpson, Politics of Aristotle. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999), p.55.

4 Gil Davis, “Dating the Drachmas in Solon’s Laws,” Historia: Zeitschrift Fur Alte Geschichte 61, no. 2 (2012): p.146.

5 Schaps, p.139.

6 Sitta von Reden, “Money, Law and Exchange: Coinage in the Greek Polis,” The Journal of Hellenic Studies 117 (1997): p.163.

7 Von Reden, p.169.

8 Richard Seaford, Money and the Early Greek Mind: Homer, Philosophy, Tragedy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004: p.23.