suggest a more unstable and less ordered society, a social
framework that would typify the next archaeological pe-
riod: the Iron Age.
Th e parallel expansions of the Phoenicians and Greeks in
the Mediterranean and that of the Romans in continental Eu-
rope later, undoubtedly played a crucial role in the formation
of important trade networks in Iron Age Europe. Barbarian
societies at the edge of the advancing powers reacted in dif-
ferent ways to the Mediterranean expansion, but all were fas-
cinated by the new and exotic traded goods (wine, olive oil,
and luxury items). At the same time, however, Mediterranean
societies were interested in continental goods, such as met-
als (of which iron was becoming more and more widespread),
amber, and salt. Th e unstable equilibrium that characterized
the European Iron Age, with hill forts and competition for
social status in the north and fi ghting for supremacy in the
Mediterranean, did not hinder the trade systems. In fact,
more and more ports of trade were established throughout
the continent as far as Scandinavia (among them, the various
amber ports of trade located in northeastern Poland and Lith-
uania). It is well known that the Romans conquered Europe
economically well before it did so politically. Paradoxically, it
was the existing pre-empire trade that facilitated the Roman
conquest of Iberia (present-day Spain) and Gaul (present-day
France) in the fi rst century b.c.e.
Trade and exchange between Rome and the barbarian
world continued throughout the empire. A trade buff er zone
had even developed just beyond the empire’s borders. Th at
area was of great economic and political importance to both
the Romans and the barbarians, with ports of trade between
the two worlds located there. Th e barbarians would obtain
prestigious and valuable items from the Romans and in re-
turn would acquire everything the empire needed, including
cheap labor in the form of slaves (especially from eastern and
northeastern Europe). Sadly, slaves became the “items” the
barbarians most oft en exported to the Roman world during
the empire’s heyday.
Th e fall of Rome and the subsequent Nordic southward
migrations created a period of serious instability within Eu-
rope’s trading networks, but trade experienced no regression.
In fact, some trade centers experienced further development
and would become important emporia in early medieval
times; examples are Lundeborg and Gudme in Denmark.
Despite sociopolitical insecurity and massive migrations of
peoples, goods continued to be moved all over Europe and
beyond, linking even the most remote regions of the north-
east in increasingly solid and sophisticated trade networks.GREECE
BY EDWARD M. W. A. ROWLANDS
From prehistoric times the Greeks were able to gain access to
markets beyond their shores. By the sixth century b.c.e. Greek
city-states had established colonies throughout the Mediter-
ranean and into the Black Sea; this protected access to im-portant goods such as grain, wood, and silver. Concurrently,
coins developed into a popular means of exchange. In sharp
contrast was the city of Sparta, which disapproved of trade
and lived on the produce of its occupied territories. By 323
b.c.e. Alexander the Great from Macedon had conquered the
Persian Empire, and on his death Greece became part of one
of several Hellenistic kingdoms. Th e Hellenistic Period, and
the later Roman dominance of the Mediterranean, opened up
larger markets to the Greeks, but the economic power and
infl uence of the Greek city-states were lost forever.
At Grave Circle A—a circle of six graves in Mycenae dat-
ing to the beginning of the Late Bronze Age—fi nds show that
by 1600 b.c.e. people in the Peloponnese could import not
only golden jewelry from Crete and the Aegean but also am-
ber from as far as the Baltic Sea. At that time Greece and the
surrounding islands were tied into European and Mediter-
ranean trade networks. As a result, the powerful militaris-
tic peoples known as the Mycenaeans were able to establish
kingdoms throughout Greece, Crete, and the Aegean Islands.
By controlling access to the items traded and through patron-
age of traded goods, the Mycenaean leadership could keep
control over the elite of the kingdom.
Over the coming centuries the Greeks were to sail far
and wide across the Mediterranean and into the Black Sea.
Colonies were founded from the island of Sicily in the west to
Crimea, in modern-day Ukraine, to the east. Th rough their
colonies, trade centers like Athens, Th ebes, Corinth, and Ar-
gos gained access to markets previously out of their reach.
Th e Greeks imported goods such as wood, slaves, gold, silver,
copper, and tin in exchange for products like wine, pottery,
and olive oil. Th is trade increased the power of the trading
centers, enabling them to monopolize production from their
colonies and establishing them as powerful metropolises
within their regions.
Most of the written evidence about trade and exchange
that is available to modern classicists is from Athens. Th e
city of Athens rose to serious power during the fi ft h century
b.c.e. Western civilization has benefi ted from the art, drama,
philosophy, and democracy developed at the height of the
Athenian empire. Th ose developments were possible only be-
cause Athens, as a great sea power, could protect trade routes
and colonies from attack. By the fi ft h century b.c.e. Athens
had grown into a large city, and its surrounding territory of
Attica could not supply enough grain to keep all Athenians
alive. It was therefore imperative to maintain a route through
the Bosporus and into the Black Sea, where large amounts of
grain could be accessed. According to the Athenian states-
man Demosthenes, in the fourth century from the Crimea
alone Athens was importing 400,000 medimnoi a year, which
in modern terms is equivalent to millions of gallons of grain.
Athenian legislation was also written to make sure that grain
produced in Attica could not be exported and that all grain
coming into the port of Piraeus had to be sold in Attica.
Coinage came to Greece in the sixth century b.c.e.
from cities situated on the coast of modern-day Turkey. Ittrade and exchange: Greece 11030895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1103 1103 10/10/07 2:31:05 PM