Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 1 - The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

 The Roman Republic

So,ontheonehand,Caesar’saccountindicatesaconsiderableshort-term
effect of civil war on a local agricultural economy. On the other it takes
us to a quite different theme, the question of long-distance trade by sea,
whichturnsupeverywhereinournarrativesourcesasanassumedpartof
the background against which the conflicts of the Roman revolution take
place.Pompey,forinstance,fledfromPharsalusin..andboardedatrad-
ingshipsailingfromThessalyalongthecoasttoAmphipolis,fromwherehe
crossedtoMytilene;^53 HerodtheGreat,fleeingfromtheParthiansin..,
reachedAlexandriaandtookatradingvesselroundthecoasttoPamphylia
andthenRhodes,fromwherehewentontoBrundisium.^54 In..Lentu-
lusreported(privatelytoCiceroandpubliclytothemagistrates,Senate,and
peopleofRome)thatDolabellahadroundedupmerchantshipsonthe
coastofLycia(southernTurkey),noneoflessthan,amphorae(orsome
tons)burthen,andwouldusethemtotakehisarmytoSyria.^55 Ineednot
continuewithexamples,sincenoaccumulationofexampleswillgiveusany
ideaofthescaleofseabornetradeor(stillless)ofitsimportancewithinthe
total economy.What is clear is simply that its presence could be assumed
everywhere;inwhatwaytheoperationsofthestateaffecteditsdirectionor
contentremainsveryobscure.Nodoubtweshouldassumethatthesteady
flowoftributecorn,carriedtoRomefromSicily,Sardinia,andAfricainpri-
vatemerchantvessels,^56 substantiallyaffectedtheoverallpatternoftrade;to
putitatitssimplest,theshipsbringingwheattoRomemustpresumablyhave
carriedsomethingintheoppositedirection.Butnoonecommentedonthese
developmentsatthetime.Itisonlylatersourceswhichprovidesomegen-
eralizationsabouttradeinthisperiod:PlinytheElder,talkingaboutthein-
creasingimportofGreekwinestoRomeinthefirstcentury,impliesthatthe
volumeofthetradecouldhavebeensubstantial;forinstance,herecordsthat
Hortensiusin..leftover,jarsofChianwineinhiswill.^57 Pliny
alsoseemstoimplythatitwasinthesthatItalianoliveoilwasfirstex-
portedtotheprovinces;byhisowntime,thelaterfirstcentury..,theolive
wascultivatedwellintotheinteriorofGaulandSpain.^58 Allthatcontempo-
rarysourcescanprovideisillustrativeexamplesofthemovementofluxury

. Plutarch,Pomp.–;compareCatotakingatradingvesselfromThessalytoAenus
in..:Plutarch,Cat. Min..
. Josephus,AJ,,–(–).
. Cicero,Fam.,,,and,(ShackletonBailey,nos.–).
. SeeG.E.Rickman,The Corn Supply of Ancient Rome().
. Pliny,NH,–.
. Pliny,NH,–.