TRADE AND MONEY CIRCULATION OF ANCIENT GREECE

Abstract

The article is devoted to highlighting the main directions and features of trade and money circulation in Ancient Greece. In the introduction, the author notes that the Kingdom of Egypt and the state entities of Mesopotamia were the first centers of regional trade. A separate "branch" of the trade system of the Mediterranean was made up of numerous polises of Ancient Greece, which were essentially separate states. It was the sea spaces that played a major role in a Greek trade. The latter contributed to the formation, on the one hand, of a unique "Mediterranean world", and on the other - the Greeks became the creators of a universal civilization that had an extremely great influence on the formation of the future political, economic and cultural "face" of the world. Considering the main features of the economy of the inhabitants of Hellas, the author emphasizes that the main occupation of the Greeks was agriculture. The population was engaged in agriculture, sowing wheat and barley. But in the future, preference was given to viticulture, horticulture and olive growing. The further deepening of the division of labor is characteristic of craft manufacture. The main owner of the land was the polis (city-state), whose economic activity was based on the idea of autarky (self-sufficiency). Considering trade, the author of the article notes that the availability of convenient "access to the sea" of most of the polises contributed to the development of shipbuilding and navigation. The long coastal line facilitated cabotage transportation. Interpolis trade within the Aegean Sea was, to a large extent, under the control of the Athenian state. In addition, the Greeks conducted trade with other states of the Mediterranean world, and also sailed to the Black Sea. Grain remained the main import item during the existence of Greek civilization. It was mainly imported from: the Northern Black Sea region; the islands of Sicily, Cyprus and Euboea; Thrace and Egypt. Athens had to import wood as well as charcoal needed for silver ІСТОР ІЯ ЕКОНОМІКИ ТА ЕКОНОМІЧНОЇ ДУМКИ 10 Випуск IІ (90), 2023 smelting. Copper, gold, iron and tin were imported too. Among the export products, olive oil, marble, and painted vases prevailed. The most important Athenian resource was silver, which was exported in ingots or silver coins. Trade contributed to the development of money circulation and usury. The materials of the article can be useful for general and specialized courses on economic history, ancient history of international trade, for writing master's diploma, course theses.