Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 03 Property and The Propertied

    Uploaded by

    karen santos
    40 views47 pages

    Original Title

    03 Property and the Propertied

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    40 views47 pages

    03 Property and The Propertied

    Uploaded by

    karen santos

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 47
    I Property and the Propertied @ ‘The conditions of production: land and unfree labour Inthe ancent world he principal ‘means of prods’, in the sense in which dosing tat term, were lnd and unfee about. The later expression should Tilly nel, n adion o chattel avery and serfdom and debe bondage (to Be docu! in Section iv ofthis chapel kinds of compulsory Isbooe Servien etcted ffom the exploited caster by ical cy goverment ora royal Sr Roman imperil adminstraon; burl find iemore convenient dese hse {abour services performed for poversicnal authorities (rms of indirect (icteecplisto’ alam cling them se1V below de ext chapter hich Jeah'prncpaly withthe pesnry. The owner of land and the Power to excl une labour, largely unite inthe ands ef the same cast, Fogete const, therefore the nakcy to the cas strc of the ant Gk communis. Free wage bor, which ply te eset pare in ep Sine production, way carey unimporant nant ee Section vof cis Shape) Ina sea, Marx insane, te ited inboorer isnot aly fee, abe eri alco ln i er pore roe he epi Tour (as Mars els) rom hic the employer drives prof i ven: wena ‘equivalent, ei ‘in essence it always remains forced labour, no Tater how mach eimay scem to rest rom fee contrac agreement (Cp. THrSt9), tan the Roman sae was eld by fers, the wage odour ound tas owmerbyinvisbetreads, The appearance ofindependence Kept tp by mets of a constant change of employers. and by te fe jr of bonrier (Cap. 1578, Vert deapperance of ep, economically orsocaly ite abou and io replacement by wage labour entered in under a contrat which ean tues good dea of ie choice ine avery rel ep forward. es neat be dvsing specs of pil that tenors urls abou ia manet sd ender sondians which are more aévanrageoss othe development ofthe prosctncees socal aony adhe ctor fthedenes for anewaad Fgh form than under the preceding forme of slavery. serfdom et (Cop Iifb19)° whether tis eval our atebutng, to the amo bed labore» poston superior to thao the save or srfs a doubt point co which we shall zum in Seaton wf this chap. Te ban pasage in Wage, Pre nd Profi, hx (raping in ashy eierent form in Capi! 159-40), Mare draws ation the most obvious Gifrence nthe elotaon ofthe dave, the ser and the wage labourer. The ‘ives labeur has he appearaesof ing tory np be works lth ine muster and eccves nce onlyenogh low hi olieand pecs ILL. Property and the Properted (i) 113 reproduce himself ‘Since no bargain ie struck between him and his maser, sad fn acts of selling and buying are going on between the two partes ahs labour Sesto be given away for nothing.” With the ser lable Yo labour rent, or he pessine subjected the covée, wha works for so many dayson te field whichis Fegatded 25 his own possesion, and For so many days on his lonts fd he realty emerges clearly: “the paid and unpaid parts of labocr are sensibly sepa rated” The position of the wage-labourer, ikethatof theslave, canalso give se to confusion: all ¢he labour given by the hited worker has the appeannce oF being paid, even that “surplus labour’ ax Marx called it, out of whieh comes the employer's profit, the ‘surplus value” yielded up by the worker. “The matureof the whole cansacton s completely misked by th mterventon of contract nd the pay received at the end ofthe week. The grasitous kbour appears to be voluntarily given in the one instance, and tobe compulsory nthe other [the ese of the slave or ser]. That makes all the difference.’ Iwill add only that ‘the inccrvention of a contract’ similarly masks the exploitation by a landlord of 3 leasehold tenant who is not tied this plotbutisfcetoleave itand go elsewhere to negotiate a lease on beter terms with nother landlord, iPhe cn, or 0 tke service a8 3 wage-labourer, (Wage, Pre and Profit ix = MESW 210-12. Hiow were the properied clases of the Greek and Roman world to obtin their surplus? Lersng land (and houses) to fre tenants was always practised in somedegree; bu (as have shown n I. sbove) ie wonld naturally yield lower rte of exploitation than working the land directly, with unfree labour. wage labour, of 2 combination of the two, Now wage laboar was, as Thave sud already (and will demonstrate in dealin Section vi of ths chapter), of litle account in antiquity, in particular because ie was generally unskilled and rot plenifully available Therefore, there was simply no way in which the proper~ tied cisses ofthe Greek world could obtain a substantial surplus directly excepe through unfree labour ~2 most powerful argement For the role played by sush labour in the economy ofall dhe Greek states, which sto efter neglected. Tis very interesting fo find that Arstot, in 4 passage near the beginning of tie Palit (4, 1253°33-4"1), can imagine only one alternative to using slaves —and ‘hat comple automation that of the statues endowed with ie by Daedalus orof the tripods made by the god Hephaestus, which Home- had described a¢ running on wheel oftheir own accord to Olyanpus! (lad XVIIL376). Much the same idea is amusingly expressed by the Athenian comic poet Crates (7 14.15, ap. Athen. VI.267e8s). There were also, itis true, ways m which the properied class could obtain part of its surplus indirectly, even while a very lenge number of humble Greeks, including most af those sm calling peasans” (ce IV iv below), were stil ina condition of freedom and could not esily be ‘exploited directly to any intense degre: tis indirectexplotation, which mainly {ook the form of exation and compulsory services is ater a dificul sbjec. best left until Chapter 1V, in which Isball be dealing with the peasanery and. ther small, fee, independent producers. When, in the Later Roman Empire there was apparently a considerable increase inthe exploitation ofthe snl fee producers, the use of slave labour in the strict sense was in principle less hecestary: but the Greek and Roman world always remained what we may loosely ella ‘save sociery, with unfree labour continuing tobe a main source of explotation, aud wli it boamenecesry forthe serew tobe ogtened Upon 114 The Class Strugele in the Ancient Greek World theprsny ge ur ofa were rund om fom, Ee metic 2 geal avlabor warempiayed jo Ca A area? Box tnprnnt ear ef cnc oR Oi i ht err) dee ene cna stsvy tah or haere, alvays colle by ee ery ree secre bagi de oe ey azn ny Roman Seah gece wetexoapees ifonen ng tn re gncor pespann eA fevacnonedine tong nntys he Sean if wea need Oar Set thot ince my enoofeeone ses Sram pla nd autores eee Cn ey te eis oe area) streamer a Sey amen a aalty anterees oes St anciarscuventing, which was cope of inguin propery en Wear eves dsnmer to ave ar cmecp of et prof, without eee en ee eekaiahe Tore tepstobne bec Se) ee py grtiea ec eapeeery te Td eames we Set a ce gen aay d Acaming aed YA Ma Neo Sey SATIS) Ean con orcas) Stren the common herd thor Tam caling the propertied case’, who could Beg ers rere ete ee ee rar ere oe Capea ele eee eee IIL. Property and the Propertied (ii) 115 of the third century ofthe Christian era, they would normally have to spend most of their time working for thei livelihood, with thet families, at some- where near the subsistence level, and would not beable ta ive securely and st, leisure, as members ofthe upper class. (deal very briefly with these smal free producers in TV it and vi below) By and age, s comforabl, lured xstence Could be secured only by the possession of propery (primarily in land: nce Section i of this chapter), which alone gave the upper cases tht command over the labour of ethers which made it posible fr chem to ive the good hfe, the Greeks saw it, a ifenot constrained by the inescapable necessity of working for ‘ones ving, alife which could be devoted ta the pursuits considcred proper for gentleman: politics or generalship, intellectual or atistic purus, hunting Or athletics. Isocrates (VIL48), writing inthe mid-fourth century B.C. charsce teristicaly brackets together ‘horsemanship, athletics, mtn and philosopiy a the very proper avocations fostered by the Athenians inne good ald Jays enabling some men to develop outstanding qualities and oches atleast to avoid is. (For the prestige that might be derved from athlese prowess, seem OPH 355.) For the present we can largely forget about the sell pestan, de artisan and their like, who formed the very backbone of many Greck sates: we shall come co them in Chapter IV below. Our concern here 8 withthe proper. tied (hoi porch tas ous echt, and many similar expresions) who lrne had the leisure (cole, or in Latin oriam), 2 prerequisite of what was then considered to be the good life, a8 [have defined it The dividing line heeween such people and the more orless propertyless masses below them was eeatedby the possession of sufiient propery 0 make ie possible for them to lve with discretion an unconstrained life f Isr (orto lives Iisuted Hfeliberally and ‘scholazonteseeutheis hama ka siphronts, as Aristo put i PL 30-2). Most Grecks would have pu less erophass onthe restraint which Aristole and his like choughe so important. Heracleides Ponticus, 4 contemporary of Aristotle, declared in his trestite On plea that pleasare and lusury, wich relieve and remforce the mind, ae the characeristicsof Fee mer labour (9 ponet) on the other hand, i for slaves and humble men (open ‘whose minds accordingly become shrunken (tellona).* ‘These men, liberated from toil, ae the people who produced virally all Greek art and literature and science and philosophy, and provided a. good proportion of the armies which won rematkable viiores by lind ever the Persian invaders at Marathon in 490 and at Plataea in 479 B.C. In a very real sense most of them were parasitic upon other men, thei lavessbove sl: most ‘of them were nor supporters of the democracy which ancient Greece invented and which was its great conteibation to politcal progress, although they did supply almost allt taders;and they provided litte more than the commanders of the invincible navy organised by Athens which kept the Greek citer of the ‘Acgean secure against Persia. But what we know as Greck civilisation expressed itselfin and through chem above all, and tis they who will normally cecapy the centre of our picture. may add that they were a distincdy smaller cass han the combined hoplites (heavy-atmed infantry) and cavalry, the hplaparecrneret ‘who must always have included atthe lowest hoplite level acerams numer of ‘men who needed to spend 2 cerain amount of thir time working for thir living, generally 2s peasant farmers. As Thopel have made clear steady Galli a 116 The Class above), a man’s position asamember ofthe propetied clas member of the same ‘propertid class’ as the much smaler figures I have mentioned when they are being collectively contrasted with the exploits classes and the pessantry. [shall sometimes speak of ‘the propertied classes sometimes of the propertied cast the latter expression willbe paticulatly appropriate when we ae thinking ofall the men of property a single en lover against the non-properied “The Greek properted cls, then, consisted essentially of those who were able to have themselves set fre to live 3 civilised lf by their command over the labour of ethers, who bore the burden of providing them with te necesitis {Gnd the uxuries) ofthe goed life. This redo ofthe Greck propertied classi what Aristotle has principally in mind in some very interesting pasages, of Which I shall single out one here: che concluding sentence of the dicossion fo Rhetoric 9, 1367-28-32, of de concep of kaon =the noble, perhaps; bu chee s no precise English equivalen, In his parsage the word elethee, erally fee is applied in the peculiar sense in whaich Aristotle and other Greeks sometimes used it, tothe gentleman, the man whos fll fre from ll constraining oi 8 rruggle in the Ancient Greek World IL, Property and the Properted (i) 1 ‘opposed to the aceutheras, who works for another's benefit. Aristotle rewarks that at Spara itis kalow to have long hair, and he adds, forts the mark of 2 ‘gentleman [an eleatheroe,since't is not casy for aman with longhair odo work. Appropriate roa hired labourer (ergo thitikon. And he goce straight on to give, {another example of alow, ‘aot careymg on a menial caf [a hana teh], fort isthe mark of a gentleman otto lve forthe benefit of another (1m ros allon zn). Finley mistranslates this passage, “The eondition ofa free man that hae not live under the constraint of another." However, in view of Aristotle's ‘other uses ofthe phrase im question and similar ones there i not ee sgitest ‘doubr that he means what T have state in the ext above: and in the contest the {istnetion is berween the vulgar aresan and ch gentleman; slavery andthe dave fre never mentioned there. (Hut Finley goes on to say, quite correctly, that ‘Aristotie’s ‘notion of ving under restraint was not restricted to slaves but wae ‘extended to wage labour and w others who were ecnmically dependent) Tes dsiable res pointtossuea warning. In most ofthe universities ofthis country and others in the Wowcrn world amd the Antipode, the expression “Greek history i likely tobe tak ro apply to che history of Old Greece from the eights co the fourth century D.C. and above all the mainland sen, (specially Athens apd {to aless extent) Sparca. This may be tatoral enoogh, Tecamae of cour a lange proportion of the sarviving Berary evidenee (> of those parts of the archacologisl and epigraphic evidence which have bee collected and published in a form scecsble to non-specialists) relates to Old Greece in general andl to Athons m particular” Right up to the end of the tundergradvate stage thin situation is Hkelyto persist, even fin specialist studies interest happens to shift sav fromm the Archie and Classical periods — which, however, cam ill be made o yield fresh material, by archarologists and others, and the economic and social history of which sell aflers great opportunities. “anyone whose training has no been too narrowly coafined within dhe tradition ‘of stricly historical rescarch, and who is not content to remain inditierent (like 0 many ancient historians) to che tecinigues developod by sociologist, andhro- pologists and economists. Bur we must never forget ~and this is the warning” ‘of which I spoke a moment ago ~ that even i cheir great days, in thefts and fourth centuries B.C., dhe Greeks ofthe mainland inhabited a very poor county. ‘with lede nanural wealth, agricultural or mineral, and cht the predominance of the great sates, Sparta and Athens, was duc ¢9 mulitary oF naval strength, resting upon an organised system of sllances: Spats Pelopormesian League lor the Delisn League which grew into an Athenian empire nd was oucooedd in the fourth century by che much weaker Second Athenian Confederacy." Wis of ‘mainland Greece that Herodotus was thinking when he raade Dematatus say ‘hat Greece and poverty had alwaysbeen foser-sistrs (VIL. 102.1). ‘What many people sil fil to realises thar some of the most importa cites ‘on the west coast of Asia Minor and its offhore islands were already, by the carly fourth century, on the way to becoming more wealthy than the cits of ‘mainland Greece ~ just a8 Syracuse under the rule ofits remarkable tyrant, Dionysius I in roughly the fre dhe decades ofthe Fourth century, achieved {greater strerigth than any ofthe contemporary cites onthe Greck mainland, and built up a small empire of its own m Staly and south Iraly. The Asiatic cities scarcely ever enjoyed political power and independence i the same way a5 118 The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek Wo ‘Athens and Spar in thee pay dassituatta they were onthe fing of he areat Persian emir, they were fom hele cont eamry to the Ie rth {hen they were Sally bred! hy Akane the Grea her under Pesan contol oreubjct to stung mine at peste rom Pesan rsp or nates ‘Tynan, except whon they wersunct At rane ithe theenry Uhave remarked upon hs sation ebewhere(OPIF M0) deserve much more dead nvensgation tar tas yet ceived. Hee twill only sa that fan remember the shock ofsurpie with which it ele the spine of ‘be information given by Xenophon espedaly in HG IIL 2-8 ct. OPW 3 bout the vast ahh ofthe fly of Zens of Dara and bs widow Mani, ‘who collected the revemies of lage ares the Tread on behalf the Pesan Satrap Pharr nthe years around #0 B,C, We ean hardly doubt that he bulk ofthe foreune ofthis til willhave been invested a and whether twas within the troy of Dardants and other Grech cites or whether it formed parvo the adjacent Persian empite; but heres good evidence fom Kenophon {hatches thesased ovale wealth toned tes the murder of Mana by et son-in-law Medi) ina tremor inthe fortress town of Geng above the Scamander valley ikl ro have been worth between 900 ard 400 lent far larger fortune (cven without the Family's landed propery, key t0 have been more valuable sl) tansy which canbe confctly abut to any inhabitant of mainland GreceSelor the Roman pros este that according to Plutarch (Agi 9.5: Garth $1.7) the forte te thid-century Spartan Ki ‘AgsIV (whichis eohave buted amongh low) hd talents of coined money, apart from a quantity of agricultural and pasture land: but this is probably great exaggeration. The Athan Hipponius sono Gillis, offen sd to beth rich Grek of his day (around dhe 420), as xedited with propre (inland and personal effec) to the vac of only 2 talents (Lys. XI 48. We do hear of ome larger fortunes alleged to exit athe fourth cotary B.C., but all dhe figures are spun unreable. Alexander lh of ‘Acols, who hal tc sume reputation a Hipponcts a ile ovr two eotares Inter, is said by Polybius (XXL xxv.914) eo have poseted propery tothe ‘aloe of more than 20 tale’ Foran wich thee of Zens and Mani Suggest, were posible only for the few Fortunate Greeks who enjoyed the favour ofthe rest King or one of his straps, We kw of ome oer such fames in the fifth sod fourth century, bv particular the Gongylis and Demaratids and Themistacey allo whom recsved vat estates in western AS “Minor fom the King inthe fifth entry (ce OPI 37-1, “The wealth of the Great King war enormous by Greck standards, and ome of his straps were many times richer than any Gresko ther day. We happen 0 know that Asm, a gree Persian noble who was satrap of Figypt in he ate S86 cerry B.C wn ad inn es han irc ae ec Si and Egypt including Arbelaand Darna) ad in Lower and Upper too." Ths need not astonish us, fr although the Achaemenid ruler oF the Persian empite seem not to have cacted excive tbat, aeording to ancient standard, fFom the satanic of ther empires but to have allows the local ruling class considerable abare im the spi extort from the Primary producers, ye there were evident allots opportunites for saraps to make Lege personal ge. quite apart fom the but UL Property and the Propertied (ii) no Alctander te Great who conquered the whole Pein empre etween 34 an S38 and es Sacer, who divided phi sat Kingdom between he MEcablcw mabey of very rest vale ther flower. namone add. her ne nce nde aber of how wach ward ad grown ever botore (Nccandt had completed bis cong in the fc that wehres Dios thant of Spaces made 2 prec of 10 mite (IBID) drachmae. or 1% {Bint to he merecary copa Arcy os fr beng che fit man oer wall tap ege of Mocyain ily 308 (Dod XIV 53.4), Axandrn 327, athe boot tie Sonam rocks offered the fn man wo xaleche walla revard SFRS Tes than ees (Arch IVI 7) probly prea sum than he Stole forame of any excepts handel of Athnans 3 Acar’ day The {ratctates handed our to ome ofthe King’ fends" mn Asia Miner, Syrian ype must have made tr owt ar her tan ny mainlnd Greek bad Eeefbcens is no srs tod that Ptsch, i he ery mor rere to Shove in which he pes of King Ae 1V of Sparta ss owning 0 teats im S2icl reoney ape rors hi ld, ato makes Ap ay dha the saps and Sinus of Rives Pokey and Slew pomeed more that al the Kings of Spars conn (Agi In dhe Hees tnd Roman period the lading fies ofthe cic of Asa ved greater wea than cveP* and wee sponte srongst sopprt of itdnan te Largely beruse of ther consplevous wealth they began vo eet the ownan Semis euty Principe, alc dow, but Se entoral flies they provided teal ocreses in tse fn htc ery, and {rhein ladan ‘etal tov bee lox on neu th WTestcret ithe chan of becoming seats nd ven ecg the fonts of pratr sad coml Recent rare, séniahy summa By Fifuthe 190," has led to a matked revoiaon ofthe evidence and 9 ‘alsaton ea speak loosely of Greek” oor senators ca fit 9 {Nlvrng of some nortan cstinesons, Fs, we mit separate rom ge re the Seconda of ema or i) fai od 0 Be eter province and now inabeng othe Agusan miliary clonic {Palla Anooch Aamir in the Fr) or tows wth porta ous of falsn sees sh as Pengamum, Atalcu i Panphyia, Epos, and Myton Secondly, 2 uch has aghlyemphasnel,we mat nt Fal © tele among he ‘victal snstor ey inportant pop of members the ‘hl dynase Lin of Asta Mino snd Syro-Pakatin tb ate Repl nd tary Preps, sotteines posse of vce ea and muh ne tontceed by tmartage among tee ae decendany of the Atay of Pergamum; of Galan rch td he Galan King Deora of Archean th Posto he ings of pps and Pot and King Herd of ads Thirly the spree esti of men who can be ented immediate dlscenin of new ‘ort senators nt tenes becouse aye Stentor fo they were members ofthe snail ordre wih he oder Stnutorl nts nd coud morally expect Boome enators in hee ths pacar mportan hn we se comparing regs or pegs and {tying tosechow many new Gres need she Seat arg coco hem, "TE ungestfonune we euro the Reman cnpies however. mays remained tose of Wester senators. evan the iter mp onthe BRR ee 120 ‘The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World century the governing dass in the West lost many of their possessions through bbarbarisn conquest of areas where some oftheir great estates lay: North Aft Spain, Gaul, and Briain." tn the erly Principate in particular, some Romans acquired immense wealth through the munificence of the emperors, especially ‘Augusta, who after the civil wars could dispose of confiscated propery on 1 vast scale. An Teaian novus homo who became suffect consul it BIC. 16, L ‘Tarius Rufus, described by Pliny the Elder as 1 man ‘of exceedingly low birth (infmasatliom humiliate, NH XVII), acquired throogh the generosity oF Augustus, according to Pliny, a fortune of about 3 hundted milion sstetes (well over 4,000 Atccsilver talents, which he procceded to dissipate by unwise purchases of agricultural lands in Picenum, although he remained “in other ‘espects a man of old-fashioned pasimoniowsnest’(anlguae alias parsnnae) ™ But it is the Western senators of around A.D. 400 who are credited with the ‘most enormous fortunes ofall. A famous fragment ofthe historian Olympio= ddorus, of Egyptian Thebes (f. 44, Dindorf or Mueller), gives some figures for alleged tnnsal incomes in both the richest and the idling senatorial grades ‘These ate almost beyond belie: even senators of scond-ovder weslth (dtr ck) ae said to have had incomes of 1,000 to 1,50 pounds of gol they tara ‘our to include the great orator Q. Aurelius Symmachus (consul in 391), who is placedamong the men of middle fortunes’ (dn metnén). The iches senators are $aid to enjoy incomes of 4,000 pounds of gold, plus about third as much again in the value of what they cceive by way of agricultural produce in kind (Doct this perhaps imply that about tree quarters ofthe rens of Wester senators 3t this period were pai in gold and about one quartrin kind?) Those who held eran effices were expected to spend lavishly on public entertainments, the ‘games’, and we hear of vase sums being spent om single celebration: 1.20, 2,000, and even 4,000 pounds of gold.® We have no way of verifying these Figures, bur they ought not tobe rejected out ofhand." Tshould sy that we ean Pethaps tke 1,000 pounds of gold as noc fa shore of HS4¥4 million during the arly Principate (1b. gokd = 42-45 aurei = HS 4, 200-4, 50). have given some ofthe figures forthe reputed wealth ofthe great men of later perods in order to place in better perspective the relatively mean lle estates possessed by even the aristocracy’ of Classical Greece Gi) Land, as the principal source of wealth Wealth in the Greck world inthe Archaic, Clasical and Hellenistic periods, as in the Roman empire throughou its history, was always esentally wealth in land, upon which was conducted the cultivation of cereals (providing the main source of food) and of other agricultural products, especialy those of the olive and the vine, and abo the pasturing of eatle, sheep and horses, The rating classes ofall the Greek states were always primarily landowners: the oft repeated notion thatthe governing cases of places like Aegis and Corinth were metchants,2'Kaufinannsaritokratic’ in invention of modem scholar. ship (c. my OPH 266-7, esp. n.61). A citizen merchant who did happen to ‘make hispile and aspired to lead the fe ofa gentleman would have tortie and buy land, “Agricultural land (agrs)," says Amphis, a comic poet of the fourth LL. Property and the Proprted (i) 121 century B.C. "ste father of if to man: fad slone knows how to cover ep eet Fort potave pany of eo (Latin ari), nthe ste Fee emit mumags fn nd king a mceysuperrbory nest Breton tm ie Onin of Xenophon» a of sgh ‘orthodox and traditional ans, who wrote the work in question ar some Sor send and uth decdes ofthe for century B.C ea Thc intcatd isto Kenophon the noble of pars eT anit aac my of igi oi eb {Sats vu (Vso othe peta who pd 1 hs Ferree nding mone prone td above ay ey fo lear anit Nee ont copay forthe seal ployee ef ure forthe ral Tor es kag (on whom see OPI 37 me porate Fens eopatn fn slant sts ranch fede na: Feta incother autor, muy peshotsne ssf ae od coal Zire the wor ohm, bure twee andes at re Seer tes ter plcnur and forthe ake of he plea and rom Hee fs cocedn cat tna and not bene ceo ees Or Rims work, Neyo er tg uran comanerLysorcps hn tr yen te Pan poe Cyn lm Se ont park dt) at Sars andaculydonesome of ie id Flown bead snl Cys tals hina was pene never To int uel he fad creed sl ysemovly nome cof aro poe (Oem 305i pay eed Cle xm 9) Eve flonan empsor ad abe prt ip cee get met 3 potty swe by fling wo tater nthe grapes wees of Arson tdhbscs hue dony anoneccaton ne mies i eice thar he sid ate wre ofthe Grok ad Roman proper erence Cr mDialog Pete 305 whch ag sh fc ov an omor nos no dea Meee wee bn et ncn pp acer aaa es crue he b conducting, 0 ficlandownes canbe aaa Ere loa aarofcomewn owed: at com lien, Se ea eng and spa the prong of wes and oer ree, aaa a ike arin which auch ange ane och owed ogee a gan in writers of some leading guns in he ey ete ict cnc ayo hk re ou pampenar OL it) ty own very sal a Game ofthe erg feta ae aay Se ‘eli tha wht op mar senate fui Chcnratn i {$50 shu Mt Caras Deyn (onl 295,27). The Former. weare wld sa sully ache plough when normed shat be had beos nominated cate Fe RSE ENC carn he tdi th such men ere spy "sinned Ca far example ins psegembinteincon od {Ean mi Seay ea pee gong pth be Pla ore, (tips 5 Stason Canam Cras col Cee eit naickes tne word cabo (cy degen hrc) a — 122 The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World sdelecarione Cwith enjoyment’; ant he gocs ot show that the sor of farmer he basin mind fs a well-co-co master (bminas), wlbose Farmhouse (il) 8 wel stocked (louple) and whose storchouse is fll of wine and oll ad other pros ¥isions (§ 56). Quite dtfcent were the smal farmers who actualy ad to Work alongside their slaves he; do not form part of wat Uae: calling “the properiod lass". On the border: of that class wi be those who needed to work with ‘hei saves only occasionally. They may have been quit » large gromp inthe Grech states of the Classical and Hellenistic pends. (We may compare the sitwation inthe Amer can Old South a described hy Stapp, PISS) As Peter (Gamsey has well sai, speaking ofthe Roman ‘penane cule of the Late Roman, Republic, “The idealistion of the peasant parriarch was ten, asin the ewentied ‘century, primarily an expression of te nationiititenlogy othe lng cae of 4 milcarist State’ (PARS 225), In a treatise of Cicero's which was considered an important part of the education ofthe eighteouth-centary English gentleman ~ Tully's Oe it was then generally called there ts amachquotedstatement, Deaf 1.181, whichis Just as characteristic ofthe outlook of the Greek ay of the Roman propertcd lass: indeed, it is probably derived for: the Rhodian Stoic peiloeen Panactis, of the second century IC. (liere I agree with Brunt’ valuable article, ASTDCS. alttough I vould be inclined to allow Cicero eaher anger contribution in some respects than woul Brunt and some other.) The Hit oF the merchant, we ate tod, fe operates on 4 very lage seal, & not entindy contemptible: and Cicero warmly commends the merchant who, ated (0 athe, satisfied) with his profits retires from the barbour eo the feds» But Cicero concludes, ‘ofall means of acquiring wealth there's nothing beter, nothing more proftabc. nothing sweeter, nothing mor ory of fee man, ‘than agricdure— which bere also means, of course, not working a farm but ing one: just as, ‘in the writings ofthe physiocrats, the evltiraeur does mot Stand forthe acral tlerof dhe oi, but forthe big aemer' (Marx, Cap. 11.60), ‘Veyne and Finley have expressed the fundsmentl ide admirably. tn antiquity land ownership ona sufficient scale marks “the absence of any occupation ace Finley, AE 4 and 1850.19), Theliteof the landowner ta lit oflesure ef Ce De 2). The peatant farmer who has to work his own land is very diferent creature. In a fragment ofthe Athenian comic post Menander. 2 ine hich says that arming i slave's work is precede by ane which explains hat iis deeds of war by which aman ought to prove his superionty” (30, ed A Koerte IP. 183). For ‘deeds of war’. others might subsarute politics or phil sophy. athletics or hunting (ef. Section il of this chapter). Cicero quotes a passage ftom 4 play of Terence (from a Greck original by Mewanden). prose 4p 163 B.C... in which a character, Chremes, refers to such act a8 digeing, ploughing and carying as what Cicero cll literals laer, "ungenlerany tl (Defi. 1.3)~andindeedin he pla itself Chremex strongly advocates leaving al such work to one’s slaves (Heaw., Act I, Sei. In aly in the tein of Nero farming. was regarded by the upper clases a8 « dememsing employment 3 sordidum opus (Colum.,. RRL. prac. 2. The ctsertial thing that ne should not reed to work for one’s ily bread ‘The characeriste members of my ‘propertict dass’ then, anc esensially Machiavelli's gentry” (getiomia), defined by him the Discourses on he Find IIL. Property andthe Properie (it) 12 Peel a bo = anv to do ee sith thee ronan oc labour essential 9’ Bat Maciaveli canst cane, “Such tan ea pes [rem-inin amy epublica fn any : (fist gets dof the ‘tho proposes 0 at wp the Venetian Republic. Who ee te Greek Rj that the gentleman should ae ih ths n farm, & etree wit ol Wi sgt at se Gorld.te: opher, both to supervise the work on his farm and actually to erecta cpp ofthe ate is ccs. Masons ae died the pastoral life Ntgsones says thatthe earth repays So a eo beg al pc on shca eoF ec tne mula win omer ese hain pr aero Asean rng bee Howcast ee wen i Sie loins tengo th ny ft Chin Hoar pany one tthe ony oe the Roman equestrian 208 S =— ~~ 124 The Chae Sirggle inthe Ancient Greck World ‘ne notorious exampe of shin Te Clans Aticu (ne ther ofthe oot Sipe eer Ae otiory hha het ugh neta a Upc nt rang aes Decree ander, pact whine Ari deo canal Hae it Srna sr ai et og Rice gage ole at cm exer oso carpal hace a she ee ah Roper ors tn Sor ties hp ee Herod ricochet tow ond qn waa fli jb and thesove open only tos on he was wel cease tel the Cea pao anos ine el shee anton a and ‘know-how’) by being born into the right sort of # one | ould have ena eet he top. eee Octo To of Tec, han gal from poner is rough ra or melt Fen uaa in trade or industry, however, would so seriously affect one’s life-style th rane Gal aly bape sped ese tc we Suncom fsck ty shay red Ptn on gp elt yah Cnt wean be Athnanorsrlecrtes bolad inchoate gla of ra yom vo fe ena ae OPW 2345 and n-7, Ponta wl amit thar lscrt ther Tsedorn St tn py bot tnt chi dg so ying ab cometh hans mig mr wel Roe Seg heared wih stnee mph wd yma ‘ pena 17:1 tempted to recall Aris. Pol, VIN.6, L34118-%8, a diate st) The pr oot lamas a a iw vente ow fs mans cs chp: Whee See Cntunnope ret it wesy Tbe Ana ae ir i ars i, on reed aa an that made all the dference, becuse by Irv one vaeves te worked Se saprnan ofa mgr wks wed ieee a ign online ony ancy ee cea sels topo deer oa ch Sen be fo se fom te dae ham Tht Was eos ee Prominent fit and tarvcnany Aabten oa ie ne wery co the firs cen ry, found alargesum LIL. Property and the Properted (iif) 125 as tanners and lather-sllers and cobblers and potters and catleealers and iirezelles: since politics atany rate at the top level, wasa alltime occupation ie Greek city, ifore was politician one would nor goin personaly for ar dicey (see OPH 2345, 957. 371), It would only be among the sobs bike [Adstophanes that ene would then ‘lose fae’ because one's fortune (or. mote help that of one’ futher or even grandfather: see OPW? 235 n.7)oniginally ine from industry or trade. Not few of those among Aristophanes’ audience iho laughed at hisnasty lite jokes abour the ‘demagogues'he vo detested must Pave been tradesrren of one sort or another and are not likely to have fle tiaincaned by thee calling (ef 1V.vi below) ~ although of course chey would Sobably all Fave been glad to cxcape fom the practic ofa trade and sete down rrandowners if they could. The ideas of a dominanc class (at leas if itis not Zanqucring, ain ace) are always accepted in some mcasureby those texploits, Sod tnose ofall (as modem experience shows) by those who ae near the toplevel af the exploited ard see themselves ab about t0 rise into the ruling class. And tnost ofthe words ased in Grock fo express socal qualities and distinctions were envy loaded wit the moral overtones which had alwaysbeen associated with them (cf, VILiv below). so thatthe pooces Greek would find it hard to avoid expressing himselfn the very terms which proclaimed his unworthiness. ihe situation Ihave depicted remained truco the Greck world (as ofthe Latin ares of the Roman worls} throughoot its existence. Marx noticed that ‘he secret history ofthe Roman Republics the history ofits landed property" (Cap. 1.81 ful, on p.82). In Rostovtref's remarkably fall survey ofthe evidence, in his [rekt work on thesocal and economic history ofthe Roman emit, ther ae erretal statements which may give a misleading impression if takcn by them ves, tothe elec that, for instance, “The main source of large fortunes, now {ALD 69-192] 2s before, wae commerce’ (SEHRE* 153, cf. 157): oF, ‘Com Incree, and especally forcign and interprovindial maritime commerce, pro- Tided the main sources of wealth in the Roman empire [inthe rstewo centaris Sf the Christan af (bid. 172). And the second of these statements convince Smmediatcy, "Mx of the noweou: cher owed their money toit [commerce] Inthese and other cases, where RostovtrefTapeaks as ifeommerce were the main Source of Roman wealth, he bas in mind new fortunes, cass of upward social mobility, in which men rose from below inc the propertied clas. Inchis he may {oll be fasinly right. But in the continuation ofboth the passages Ihave just (quoted, as elsewhere, Rostovtzell shows he recognised that lange profits miade By commerce would not be ce-cmployed in commerce so much a8 invest in something, quite different: land above all, also perhaps morigages, moncy- lending, even indastry (bid, 153, 172,218; cf. 17, 7-8, 223-6 ec). He knew that commerce took second place to agriculture inthe economic life of the empire even in the eatly Principate (bid. 66), chat agriculture was of ‘apital Importance’ that iis no exaggeration to say that most of the provinces were Limost exclasively apricaltaral countries, and that ‘the largest part of the population ofthe empire was crgaged in agricaltre, ether actually ein the OH or living on an income drawn from the lane” (bid 43) che rural population had “enormous importance. for dhe empire in general ar exceeding the city Population sn number and indeed the country people who tiled the soil formed Se enormous malerty ofthe population ofthe empire’ (bid. 45-6). Ins section OO Se 126 The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World cn he Afcan provinces inte ei’ A.D. 8 12he anythin evry ese ster we on eet ogling oun of wey rege es ‘tind them to have bcs derived fom omentap of ae Po i ey Sat looks aft ght ike ea dere fom incey” oe te once Sse examination ro be wen devel Fam ounetpol te hen ich the indsry war caved on. Tht as half sed by Toney Pra oot decades ago. Heerngo the ren seroymnt ol th rkdgorinor ee, near Rome ofthe Dom pining yh the som of Deon Ais famous orator, who ded in A B.S an whose es-prandonen ee smother of the Lnpeor Maris As) ecient the eo ie Eily was probably no thought oa oning oman from Crt expan ofthe sesources of tine ees = Te perfectly ue, But rank wonton to cee is se scythe Inaancem'» thousand yan of Roman hatry i wie wc ee india ue enebted plea sinc ude op leh eae tet we an now ogni tobe nar fr een er eB eae Fomth scholars at onic haveshown atthe snarenostorptoashet Domitand snr andownss hose name appew Goosen ng «fin on baketmpr iad any der coneeson wi ckerebg orth peed othe Roman Pancpatcand as Eng ee do ore than fro Rowowey gsc wrk ciedabovest At M Joni Spe tl) nd two vc up Oy os oe oa eat eet Krvouns ofthe Roman empire 105, ete oer Ancona th economy: Rome’ 5 pba 19 ath re now come a Pinte in Jones RE 5-0 and 10-9) In tater Ramen Sone oF Seything an cven ever vohe of evden: han h ccber Pee hee overwhcining resonance fap in ie ceosone ore Inthocestr povinceat much inte Ltn Wess ithoaghahee eer ee oflanid propery ma few bands sons ohave bon aes eked Ens Tht predominance of once over Wass tl sey oe er taken for gramed. {propo Howere to give here aioe hur dees interetng perso vince (wha noallar wells ty toaigie) fom the eal code: thse concern manly he poston of daca oe sees ofthe local Town Counc sbout mtu lf nes ge als {iy nV kelon Tho pal ees ae pricy sabe aly allmen of substantial property who were nat cre tea bog ey (enerbers of some supenor prem soe) wereby now obheed hes sees of tht Counc ts tn the foes hes Bone ed miniersive burs invalved stay Romane the fist alo he hed centy iced in the Dig i 12 assaying ths hoe ho ded wh goose snd Ses fa sen nga evn) sent erased fom i eae a Ini efi, and soul not be died a vis sone, oes they ate lable be fogged bythe ses: Neverelon hese uetcoming (hoonen) fr fac pears vo We tree ney ened Counc espe n how aus wiih hae soopiystoctonsa wes deficiency a te le bik makes ecsary alow te foes he Sccess toi mania Seca ase TEN Grane le Barons’ stitution, of 370, opens with che words. “If any trader ipreer iter a eartmat cari rates meny dst sree th eqotment on te ty Counc Oe Darn prove See i ariaetamronrteras cies ia i cee rnc eee oe SE eT penie find name rily landowners, to whose estates was attached the naviadara functie, the 128 The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World =] and not —as: Pe stated by Cardascia and Garnsey . >in by ly whch have Ro svi erred to Sbseqne distinct from landowners: chey had in fa in Becbold ted Pr pee for the due performance of their obligations. vi doar aera rats rae ghar rank of protector (Amm. Marc, XVIIL.v.1 fF; cf. VIM. iii below). ic a ~tonegtisters oF His have bon sng soot minor ae of one indy in the fre a te prope ea e Grek sed trout ee Came etre oan hg tetsemuhet ninhalheva mpage sigan ee tei Gaby tetrown cons water sn eee ee Undownct en hy eI ein nnd Dae bas die och ce cn crs del sco oe one oto, Lun nr concede nae Pat We eh ee na which had ony 2 al erie) sand ou 2 Perhaps he one Wve from land." Lugatmom, Arate and Nab. the tee pesompee oon Gaul and to Augusta Treverorum (Teves. Te), wer eee na scae ‘commercial towns, in that 3 lage volume of poods parsed through thems be iereming din cha arora dcr ee wel hough wdc and ty en tohae lee fecaronense The ecing tommerel cy’ he wis onmse Asean oak tad some rich merchants among is cae they accounted for ny sabuamil proportion fis goverane a whether be stoned they: One of chaem, Femur sal eae eee a source, the Hori Angst Frm 3.23) both t have beens mera and to hae aspired to the incr power im Some Kind of rset agaist the Esipetor Auchan (im 272). IFboth thse sxcmens ne coeese rus would cersnly be nique bu th fs may not be tua he sean cr IIT, Property and the Propertied (iti) 129 probly aleastagreatexaeation, The whole story ne. ay be fio Hoa ee PRINT 158) Ohherwe, [Know of po spec evidence for nih ta ow ecancna execpt Late apogee sures, whch = fOr aera rh pesko-frtmes that workout t about 275,70 and 3b aaa ey area ERE HT, RE 1), Bur even telargestof tse fom the ra encharam 6 Gin MPL XXi 486), expedite way might have Han e erady Bncpare would have come ourarno very mach morethan HS Ho sernimaam quahtcton ofs Roman seaator and nether th othe? cnetid ave reached te equstran alfieation of 1540, the Ease the ome ean example of city which mus uly have had 2 tiene rtp of oerchants is Palmyra, which wa of ASireat prance wel nthe century BG, ten repli re eeRizchann did Payea ind mac ofits wea fom ks control of BER Lette pae ofthe profiale caravan ade with de Est” Peta may well TeeE bccn andther such own, on aathr smaller sae, and T suppose there may Tie oe atmyrsand ofits vit olein the Easter trae reminds one ofthe ers, bey. which were levied there and at some other cm dh item Foner ofthcempre namo and export, Theresa Pac ocr in Pilar Lee Apolloi of ans Lx abot a joorey a ode by Apallonus, who kf the Roman empizet Zsugma onthe Tee eae Thea collect tock Apollonia up ote nouce-bourd and asked Pare had declare, Apollonia epled with string of feminine nous: Fencrinaice, View, Chany, Courage, Pesevennce’ The ax cars took hereto be femalesiaves, who weresometes piven such mares so om export dary would have to be paid ~ we know that the dty en rad rate a Cope in Egypt in A.D, 90 wan a ch as HS 108 of 27 dena POLIS O78 We lit Egyptian drachmac). So he demanded is ofthe San Ab aad Apollonis, seen as ever ts not slaves Lam aking $i bur ladies to whom am slave pons). governing las consisting governing ‘Wernced not doubt that Grek (and Roman) landowners took caret dispose of the produces of their estates in ways 35 profitable co themselves as possible Navually, this will normaly have volved arranging for its erensport to the fearest market, but we hane extraordinary litle evidence about :his kind of scivity, cannot believe thatmember of the properti class (my sens) would themselves take their produce even © dir ety market if they could help it Be one eransportit actos the, or otherwise indulge personaly im commer. Solon nny be taken aa tet ease for modern works constantly staeitasa ict thar he went on sea journeys asa merchant both 26a young man and after the Pati of is ws in S94/3 B.C. The source most usually yoote for che tte Pacmatis Aratote (writing nearly thre centuries later), wo certainly speaks Of Solon’s voyage to Egypt afer 394 a ‘combining business with pleasure he swentssaye Atote, ka prion ham ka thdran (Ath. pl. 111), However. i Bi ferp ivteresting to Bind thas our earliest witness by far, smely Herodots TLD). }), when giving botha pretext and a cause forthe later voyage (t0 EEYPE 130 The Class Stragele in the Ancient Gareck World and chewherc. ays nota word about tad: Solon's pretence Wat that he ‘ante to se the worl, the eal ranon was that be wabed to void being -presed 10 repeal hi avs. And I siggest tat Antonis expres. ko Dorian han al ian has ot bom corey ersood precy what tans an et he dosed om curt ma ex of tea fourth ‘eoiry B.C, crates XVI (Trapesino 4 teeny oer amp ofthe phrase thac have been able afin The speaker. a young man fom te Pone Kingdom im the Crime, ys shat whew be sae Ati ns father. ane ings journey. sent wh ir ships aed with or and here sry Significant that thecsprsson uscd pevocy te ames he one Arte a Inter fo ws fo Son's travels the your man went han prin ht thera, the single ‘omtmercal actvy ng undertaken oe largo of his experience rather tha an exononie purpose Tie pls in question, otic excep forthe word-orde) im ocrts nd Anstote, ran hae beens familar expreson inthe fourth century, since i ky that any Greek whe ‘as sling sow fom one pict anecern the Miecrancan word mg take some ofthe products of one place tose ats proftin anther aa mean paying for bis eaves One of the stor im Drogen Laetas (VE9} about Antisthencs ells of another Ponti youth who fineed a sty a Ach with shipload of another commodity that was regains exported rom the Ponts Athens sak ih, And even Pato is sid by larch hae financed to Eaygt by sing ln ol So 28. Ar Solem ch wo wing early seven centuries seri) snot ances with erodoten whe he says that Soles el moti fr singe nn Ae ar 394 ss he Hopethat the Athenians wel eo to sts his as bare ees eros in favour ofvomeunknown wer whon he mann that Solem gate out hat he wasleaving Atheson account bs nua, wh engheto mean bse ineests 2s a shipowner (Sol 25.0. Phtarch bo quotes satcment by the tunreiable Hellesic biographer Hennpps hat when Std wan x youn an etre to reach tami orsne, ngely dpa by habe mays of charity (Unie mranng touch), by going infor comme Comper Sgninst his, pesaps remcmbcring Herodot, Paar spy we sre ae ta tht Solon taveled Yor the sake gain expeience and knowledge [aly Bere and her] athe than moneyvikng [imam (Sa 2 ee er ‘0a) Evidenly the parepstion of Solon Comite wast ry tht grew withthe years and the ling eis sential to reais hat unt a Hesiod had reprerentedrade as pislle foe the peasint who was unable to make ving from te land eV shelow) son Selo wade cae hen ctv o whch s mun muy be ren who properties (atin and under the compulsion of povery (ei fe 11) En clearly the merchant's ein Sohn's mind ished an dango one After the trader comes the agricultural labourer who hires himself out by the Yea 1 the the le erence have fom er Ate 0h Beopl exept forthe name ofthe lowes of Slo's fur propery the {hae a word which normally meane wogeaboures, New i the st we have th aan: and the inengraay Woo ayo king ~ he ot he seer and te doctor. Actual, Solon dacs not pk sighing of any of thine ope even oftetratcrorthelabour orc us ie te coho III, Property and the Propertied (ii) BI ed gentleman (see esp. fr. 1-216; Hisown basicoutookis surly haf he his t324 7) it pebatly a rel ofthe eborstion inthe Helse period of ia tats af those {have mentioned above conceming Solon that Phare (St Sa) was ready to comast whathe tok cobethecondivonsof the Ardaieane “fin thon that obtain ac nd in sown day, and dare hain thse aes the Archaic ped] work was no grace’ (ese four words are quot {iors Flesiods HTD 31,2 wade or cat (tra brought no stigma abo), send commerce empai) was in good repute, 38 gave a man firey with icon countries, erlchip wits Kings and 9 wide experene of lars some [facthant] Beene funders of gen cit, ax Prot of Masala Av ther Vcc before concluding with be remark aboot Pato which [navel Ijuoted dds “They sa hat Tals and Fppocats the mathemati went ecommerce’ but he surviving suret referee to Fippocates allege ‘ny as. merchant (por) are even ate han Plutarch ce Diels Kranz, HV 5¢ yo .2.9), an the only sory preserved about Ths alegel “cm fretcal ssivtes the one fia rom Arsote, about bow Thales secured a ‘Monopoly by hriagal ene clive presce of Miles and Chien ene pertialar Secasibn wih the stiied expectation ofeecstngs large post ina ye which fe forenw would produce an exceponal crop of ove! (Poli, 139°521 TE Dlog Laure 120) Patchisabk woe no god evidenceof any kind forts Stemi abou the san of wales he Acc period “We av happen to Kao thatthe fs half ofthe sth century Chas of Lesbon son of Seamandronyans nd bother of Sappho the pores, alto Naversdsin Egypt and aecordng co Strabo (who of couse lived more han bat 2 millenium at) Chara brought to NeuratiacangoofLesban wine, snporon (XVI, p88: Aen, XU.S9-), ats cue, Charees ay ittebcen deliberating to obtain ahigher price forks win by curing the midde-mans or hemay simply have Been 'secing the wodd, snd he sal of the ine may have been merely incidental anda means of fnancig is YOyepe— thereimna evidence oshow whether journey was anne orarepeacdene Ie churaceritc ofthe sures for early Grerkcooomichitory, bythe way that we only hearofths vat of Charonu fo Navas ease Caras, ie in Egyre happened fo become coamoured of « fimous couresan. tuned Dor ch or Rhodopis butts may have been hr rckname), a mésliame for which he wes apparealy reproached By his sister in poem knewn 0 Hero- {ous (1305, cp. 15.9 burnot rows and prhaprsympatised with n seme fragments recovered 90 long ago among the Oxy yc papyi Gand 3b Page sec Page, SA 4231 contrat Gomme. in JIS 77(1957] 2562), Gomme, in'bis atack on Page's inerpctation of Sappho, fe. 5 and 150. takes very seriously the words ot emporan in Serabo, and el abe wo add coral. se Inch forthe family of "noble bith and high shin” (phrase of Me's). But the family surly wavan arstocratc one and we have son fom socates and ‘Anstrle hat ke enporian capable of meaning in such conten ‘Whats refered vos ‘rade or‘conimerce’ the Arche period and even rather Tater may prove on pection to be something very ifren from dhe Take for uample theory ted activities now connoted by such expression 132 The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World by Adhenaeus (VI.232sb) from Theopompus (FGr#t 115 F 193) concerning {event that occurred in the 470s B.C. Architcles the Corinthian, who had by egress boughtupa large quantity of gold, solditto the emissaic of Hiro, the tytant of Syracuse, adding 4 handful of gold by way of gift In rerum, the statefal Hiro sent Architeles a shipload of comm and many other gift wel, ‘This tansaction partakes noe only of trade inthe proper sense, but aso of the ancient practice of gif-exchange berwcen aristocrats, | ay ada tha now of ho specific reference to the conduct of the comrade of the city of Cori the proper sense, except the statement of Lycurgus (se OPW 243) tat the ‘Athenian Leocrates, some time afte 338 B.C., settled asa metic at Mega, and while living there shipped corn feom Fpine to Leucas and thence to Corath (Thae Corinth did somesimes import com from the Westis made very pobeble by the reference in Thc. 1186.4 to the export of com from Sicly to the Peloponnese: for Lechacumm, the westem port of Corinth i perhaps the most likely place to which such com would go) Pericles is said by Plutarch (Prr. 16.4) to have sold the whole produce of his catate on a single occasion cach yea, as if this were exceptional: devoted a3 he ‘was te politic, he di this, we are cold, with the aim of wasting as itl time a5 possitleon such things, and through anable slave, Evangelus, This may betrue, but once more it is the kind of thing Hellenistic biographers were fond of inventing. agree with a recent statement by Pleket that Yi is wu predominanly local ‘markets that urban landoveners will have sold ther product (comm, cl, wine) using as intermediaries ‘either their Geedmen or independent egoigore However, I think that in the latter part of the same paragraph, begining, ethaps we ae all brought up too much with the idea thatthe aristocracy i antiquity was an excusvely landed die’, Picket puts too much emphasison the ‘commercial interests of landowners", which were very minor. Our evidence about the way in which landowners deal with the proctac of thc estates is 00 scanty fr us to be able to produce a confident picture, though we may sie With Plket that inthe Later Roman Empire the widespread decline of wade is Hikely m have forced many landowners to take more active steps to promot the sale of thei crops. The essential fc is that these landowners always rerained Primary landowners, and that any ‘commercial’ activities they might indulge Jn never became more than a minor and wholly subsidiary part oftheir active Ses, [ets of tle significance that Rufins of Pergamum (at Pleket notes) had « shipowner in his service (a ids navel): that must have Been quite common phenomenon, According to Libanias, a rich man could be expected to yossent ships, along with land and gold and silver (ae Liebeschocte Ant. 75 and»), ‘We may also remember Myrinus of Zcleia in Phrygia, pragmatetes (Latin ain) of 2 landowning noblewoman, Claudia Bassa, who according to his own epitaph not only collected his mistress’ rent for thity-five years but aso lundertok journeys on her behalf to numerous distant plats, including aly. Dalmatia, istia, Libumnia and Alexandria.® And since, as I have mensoned above, the naviculari (the government shippers ~ of com in vast quantities, By the way, from Afficaand Egypt to Romie snl Constantinople) were landowters first and foremost, whose estates were saddled with the burden ofthis dy they at least would all have ro own ships, which ofcourse they could ese for IIL. Property and the Propertied (ii) 133 their own purposes, nso faras they were not requted for government trnsgort, i) Slavery and other forms of unfree labour hough ancient slavery hasbeen amined again and again, from many Stee eee at ow bev at am jedi kg Ye athe Sieonpe ob give a general eaten ofthe abject, i only beens of te tnethaologial curacerss of the acount shal preset Te hope tat have t lest moved te dscession ont diferent plane by ‘conducting the investigation in terms not merely of slavery in the narrow sense hace ssvery) lt of infe laour ine fren forms, of which slavery ect seose's only one, and norway he most important inthe spare 0 ual production =p for etons Taal explain towards tec this ‘Sew chev ays pled aery sien an Sony, the sation we have fo cami +12: one in whi th rod is Gcanedin Soon fh capt) xcs treater aco Js from ie woking poplaon by mets of ere Tati Ty fr mes fn png sw hat rk an ema) sy ui prsheon was done by saves, r even (Teast ntl he Latr Roman ramp by slaves srs and al oter nce workers pu togeer—Tam seit war nc my op, the ombned profi oe psn nd ra Tusttave cncteded that of unfee spice andindueal produces in mos aces aval des any rate wnt he foarth century ofthe Chystanera, when Rams of serfdom becrue general in the Roman empire. 1 have already ex fiained, in Lah above, why Lbeeve that che significa thing we ove to Foncentrate ons aot the overall role ofnfie compared with ee bow, but Sheol lye by enfec labour im providing te dorian proper sss the surplery llent question anda och morerntced one Toentirely open-ended & theother Ta this, Tam eran following the thought of larg for whom he fndamental ference betes the vos form of soc tye modein whic supalabous inca ce ata {Pom the acral produc, the sperfic economic form in which unpaid sarpls Tabor pumped out of te dre produces (op. at L791 cued mor filly inn above), Andin the oinon of Mar, exproned mos cyte Grains (186) "Direc foreed tour rele Zong the foundaon Shanon word! GT 265)~2 sateen which ms cori bei inshe ight of the pasages from Capt which Thave st moied accept thnk tock ot been ere tal che Grek and Romi) wd iveceonomy rie lsboul nota any song obetonafanyone ie wish foun dat preston, beeaue, a sal argue the propried dase xore the bul of he supa rom the woking poplin by mam of ve Ioan whch avery, ne si cnc, yl tome ped dominant cole snd was divas a highly sigan ctr a "Thidly, Tbave Wied to Wd the very common mastake of denying the cxintence oc nunivsig the exten, of slave bur in sostons whereall we favesighe to ae is at there ino, lite, eid fori The pomnteres thie we chen haveno ight expe such evidence. Ourknowicdge of helarge- 134 ‘The Class Serugele in the Ancient Greek World scale use of saves in production (espcilly i agriculture, which maters most)

    You might also like