14 EDwaRD M. HaRRIs aND DavID M. LEwIs
Bithynia on the opposite shore issued coins on the same standard and with
similar types to make trade easier between their markets.
Beyond regional markets, there were interregional markets in some com-
modities. In a world without refrigeration not all commodities were suitable
for long-distance transport. On the other hand, one should not underestimate
the volume of interregional trade. The Athenian comic poet Hermippus (fr. 63
K-A) provides a long list of items found in the Athenian agora:From Cyrene stalks of silphium, and oxhides, from the Hellespont mack-
erel and all sorts of dried fish, from Thessaly pudding, and ribs of beef ...
the Syracusans bring pigs and cheese ... From Egypt masts with sails
and papyrus. From Syria frankincense, beautiful Crete supplies cypress
for the gods, Libya much ivory for sale, Rhodes raisins and dried figs
for sweet dreams. Slaves come from Phrygia, mercenaries from Arcadia,
Pagasae sends slaves and tattooed men. The Paphlagonians send Zeus’
acorns and shining almonds (these are what adorn a feast). Phoenicia for
its part sends fruits of palm and semodalin, Carthage carpets and richly
colored pillows.The archaeological record and other sources show that this is not just poetic
invention. Several essays in this volume deal with the specifics of medium and
long-distance trade, drawing upon the rich data provided by archaeologists to
enhance our understanding of the trade in different commodities. Kron shows
how the Greeks carried on an intensive trade in many types of commodities,
which helped to raise the living standards of not only the elite but also many
average families.
Chavdar Tzochev’s contribution to this volume focuses upon the trade in
Thasian wine as a case study. He examines the evidence for export of Thasian
wine to the Black Sea, with striking results: this was not an irregular occur-
rence where Thasians occasionally exported wine surpluses as a result of
unusually high grape harvests. The stamps on Thasian amphoras allow us to
view exports diachronically, and this evidence shows the regular annual export
of large quantities of Thasian wine to the Black Sea littoral. The evidence of
amphoras can be used in other ways, too: Tania Panagou’s contribution, which
surveys the distribution of amphora stamps across the Greek world, shows how
a city like Corcyra might transport commodities in amphoras to ports as dis-
tant as Sicily and Athens. Her collation of the data enables us to see – albeit in
a broad sense – the export tendencies of many Greek poleis. Mark Lawall’s con-
tribution, on the other hand, discusses the amphora as an aspect of ‘imperfect
markets’ – the ways in which the realities of Greek markets do not meet the
pristine expectations of neoclassical economics. His discussion takes us down
to the level of haggling between buyer and seller in the agora, discussing some
of the realities of market exchange in the ancient marketplace. Psoma’s essay
shows how Macedonian monarchs and Greek city-states might mint different