This comprehensive introduction to the ancient Greek economy revolutionizes our understanding of the subject and its possibilities. Alain Bresson is one of the world’s leading authorities in the field, and he is helping to redefine it. Here he combines a thorough knowledge of ancient sources with innovative new approaches grounded in recent economic historiography to provide a detailed picture of the Greek economy between the last century of the Archaic Age and the closing of the Hellenistic period. Focusing on the city-state, which he sees as the most important economic institution in the Greek world, Bresson addresses all of the city-states rather than only Athens.
An expanded and updated English edition of an acclaimed work originally published in French, the book offers a groundbreaking new theoretical framework for studying the economy of ancient Greece; presents a masterful survey and analysis of the most important economic institutions, resources, and other factors; and addresses some major historiographical debates. Among the many topics covered are climate, demography, transportation, agricultural production, market institutions, money and credit, taxes, exchange, long-distance trade, and economic growth.
The result is an unparalleled demonstration that, unlike just a generation ago, it is possible today to study the ancient Greek economy as an economy and not merely as a secondary aspect of social or political history. This is essential reading for students, historians of antiquity, and economic historians of all periods.
Awards and Recognition
- Winner of the 2017 James Henry Breasted Prize, American Historical Association
Alain Bresson is professor of classics at the University of Chicago.
"This book must surely sweep the field. Whether one is an undergraduate student, an early-career scholar, has been chewing over the ancient economy for a career, or is simply a general reader with a curiosity about how the ancient economy worked, this is now the go-to work. [Bresson] has produced a book that is at the same time something of an encyclopaedia of the ancient Greek economy, full of in-depth discussions about more or less every product and every economic phenomenon, a sourcebook of texts, particularly epigraphic texts, illustrating economic phenomena, and a book with an argument."—Professor Robin Osborne, Classics for All
"This authoritative introduction to and survey of the ancient Greek economy translates, updates, expands, and combines the author's original two-volume French edition. Bresson documents the unprecedented and unparalleled economic growth of the Greek world from the Archaic through the Hellenistic periods. . . . [A] thoroughly informed masterwork."—Choice
"What is truly outstanding about Alain Bresson is the range of his skills: in philology and archaeology but also in the social sciences, including demography, economics, sociology, and anthropology. This is a great book and a model of its kind."—François de Callataÿ, Royal Library of Belgium
"In this lucid, fine-grained, at times meditative, and witty account of the economy of ancient Greece, Bresson's prose sparkles with a full command of the ancient sources, the economic history literature, and the debates about how to use both. This is a marvelous, evocative book that is sure to provoke reactions in many quarters."—J. G. Manning, Yale University
"This magisterial book provides an entirely new way of thinking about the ancient Greek economy. Alain Bresson is one of the world's leading authorities on the subject and has contributed mightily to reconfiguring the debate about it. Combining new theoretical approaches, a deep knowledge of ancient sources, and a remarkably wide reading in the economic history of other periods, he provides a comprehensive introduction full of detail, evidence, and argument. And he avoids jargon and insider talk, writing in a direct and clear prose that invites one in. This groundbreaking book will be read for many years to come."—Gary Reger, Trinity College
