"Ancient Greenbacks": Athenian Owls, the Law of Nikophon, and the Greek Economy

Abstract

The ancient Greek economy has been the subject of a debate that has long defied resolution. Arguments have been put forth for a primitive or a modern economy, for an embedded or a disembedded economy, for formalist or substantivist perspectives on the economy, and even for the impossibility of understanding the ancient Greek economy at all. Although the view that the economy was fundamentally embedded in traditional social and political institutions has prevailed over the last thirty years, the debate continues largely because of sketchy evidence, poorly defined terms, overgeneralization, and excessive polarization. But even as the debate continues, new evidence and innovative approaches have been pointing the way toward moving beyond its limiting confines. Evidence from coinage, which until recently has been largely overlooked in the debate, can also contribute to this positive trend. This paper will argue that the numismatic policies of Athens in the Classical period were motivated in part by economic concerns and provide evidence for a more productive interest and involvement in the economy on the part of the state than is commonly held to have existed at this time. Moreover, the general conclusion will follow that we should not limit ourselves solely to the kind of broad characterizations of the ancient Greek economy that have led to such a polarized debate. Closer inspection of particular economic sectors can reveal details and complexities that will provide us with a more thorough and nuanced understanding of what looks to be an ancient Greek economy that is in some ways both embedded and disembedded.

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