One Of The Kings Of That
Country, Leucon II., Who Reigned About The Time Of Demosthenes, Favoured
Them Very Much.
As the harbours were unsafe and inconvenient, he formed a
new one, called Theodosia, or, in the language of the country, Ardauda:
He
likewise exempted their vessels from paying the duty on corn, to which all
other vessels were subject on exporting it - this duty amounted to a
thirtieth part, - and allowed their merchants a free trade to all parts of
his kingdom. In return, the Athenians made him and his children citizens of
Athens, and granted to such of his subjects as traded in Attica the same
privileges and exemptions which their citizens enjoyed in Bosphorus. It was
one of the charges against Demosthenes, by his rival, the orator Dinarchus,
that the sons and successors of Leucon sent yearly to him a thousand
bushels of wheat. Besides the new port of Theodosia, the Athenians traded
also to Panticapaeum for corn: the quantity they exported is stated by
Demosthenes to have amounted to 400,000 mediniri, or bushels, yearly, as
appeared from the custom books; and this was by far the greatest quantity
of corn they received from foreign countries. Lucian, indeed, informs us
that a ship, which, from his description, must have been about the size of
our third-rates, contained as much corn as maintained all Attica for a
twelvemonth; but, in the time of this author, Athens was not nearly so
populous as it had been: and besides, as is justly remarked by Hume, it is
not safe to trust to such loose rhetorical illustrations.
From a passage in Thucydides we may learn that the Athenians derived part
of their supply of corn from Euboea; this passage is also curious as
exhibiting a surprising instance of the imperfection of ancient navigation.
Among the inconveniences experienced by the Athenians, from the fortifying
of Dacelia by the Lacedemonians, this historian particularly mentions, as
one of the most considerable, that they could not bring over their corn
from Euboea by land, passing by Oropus, but were under the necessity of
embarking it, and sailing round Cape Sunium; and yet the water carriage
could not be more than double the land carriage.
The articles imported by the Athenians from the Euxine Sea, besides corn,
were timber for building, slaves, salt, honey, wax, wool, leather, and
goat-skins; from Byzantium and other ports of Thrace and Macedonia, salt
fish and timber; from Phrygia and Miletus, carpets, coverlets for beds, and
the fine wool, of which their cloths were made; from the islands of Egean
Sea, wine and different fruits; and from Thrace, Thessaly, Phrygia, &c., a
great number of slaves.
The traffic in slaves was, next to that in corn, of the greatest
consequence to the Athenians, for the citizens were not in sufficient
numbers, and, if they had been, were not by any means disposed, to
cultivate the land, work the mines, and carry on the various trades and
manufactures. The number of slaves in Attica, during the most flourishing
period of the republic, was estimated at 400,000: of these the greater part
had been imported; the rest were natives of Greece, whom the fate of arms
had thrown into the hands of a conqueror irritated by too obstinate a
resistance. The slaves most esteemed, and which brought the highest price,
were imported from Syria and Thrace, the male slaves of the former country,
and the females of the latter: the slaves from Macedonia were the least
valued. The price of a slave seems to have been extremely low, as Xenophon
mentions that some were sold at Athens for half an Attic mina, or rather
more than thirty shillings: those, however, who had acquired a trade, or
were otherwise particularly useful, were valued at five minae, or about
fifteen pounds.
Our idea of the commerce of Athens, and of Greece in general, would be very
imperfect and inadequate if we neglected to notice their fairs. It has been
ingeniously supposed, that at the celebrated games of Greece, such as those
of Olympia, &c., trade was no subordinate object; and this idea is
certainly confirmed by various passages in ancient authors. Cicero
expressly informs us, that even so early as the age of Pythagoras, a great
number of people attended the religious games for the express purpose of
trading. At Delphi, Nemaea, Delos, or the Isthmus of Corinth, a fair was
held almost every year. The amphyctionic fairs were held twice a year. In
the time of Chrysostom, these lairs were infamously distinguished for a
traffic in slaves, destined for public incontinence. The amphyctionic
spring fair was held at Delphi, and at Thermopylae in the autumn; in fact,
at the same times that the deputies from the states of Greece formed the
amphyctionic council; - another proof that wherever large assemblies of
people took place in Greece, for religious or political purposes, advantage
was taken of them to carry on traffic. At the fairs of Thermopylae medicinal
herbs and roots, especially hellebore, were sold in large quantities. One
principal reason why the religious games or political assemblies of the
states were fixed upon to hold fairs was, that during them all hostilities
were suspended; and every person might go with his merchandize in safety to
them, even through an enemy's country. The priests, so far from regarding
these fairs as a profanation of the religions ceremonies, encouraged them;
and the priests of Jupiter, in particular, advanced large sums on interest
to such merchants as had good credit, but had not sufficient money with
them.
The island of Delos calls for our particular attention, as the grand mart
of the Athenians, as well as of the rest of Greece, and of the other
countries in the Mediterranean, which at this period were engaged in
commerce. The peace of this island always remained undisturbed, from an
opinion that it was under the special protection of Apollo and Diana; and
when the fleets of enemies met there, out of respect to the sacredness of
the place, they forbore all manner of hostilities.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 64 of 268
Words from 64385 to 65401
of 273188
