Lesson 12
Ancient Greece
Herodotos 3.6.1-2 The Mystery of the missing Amphorai
1. Pleket Epigraphica I,
no. 2: The Wine Trade on Thasos
Neither sweet wine nor wine from the crop on the vines shall be brought before the first of Plynterion; whoever transgresses and buys it, shall be bound to pay stater for stater, one half to the city and the other half to the prosecutor. The lawsuit shall be as for cases of violence. But if someone buys wine in wine-jars the purchase shall be valid, if the seller has stamped a seal on wine jars.
From all of Greece, and from Phoenicia as well, earthenware jars full of wine are imported into Egypt throughout the year, yet one could say that not a wine jar is to be seen anywhere. Obviously, one should ask, where are these disposed of ? I will explain this, Each Mayor has to collect all the wine jars from his city and send them with water and take them to the waterless regions of Syria.
They alone of Greeks and barbarians are able to possess wealth. For if a city is rich on timber for shipbuilding, where will it dispose of it unless it has the consent of the rulers of the sea ? If a city is rich in iron, copper or flax, where will it dispose of these unless it has the consent of the rulers of the sea ? 12. In addition they will not permit exports elsewhere to wherever any of the rivals are, on pain of not being able to use the sea. And I thought i do nothing have all these things from the land because of the sea, while no other city has two of them; the same city does not have timber and flax, but where there is most flax the land is smooth and timber less, the same city does not even have copper and iron, nor do any have two or three of the rest come from a single city, but one from this ad one from that.
This was like that other saying of Xerxes when he was at Abydos and saw ships laden with corn sailing out of the Pontus through the Hellespont on their way to Aegina and the Peloponnese. His counsellors, perceiving that they were enemy ships, were for taking them, and looked to the king for orders to do so. [3] Xerxes, however, asked them where the ships were sailing, and they answered: “To your enemies, Sire, carrying corn.” Xerxes then answered, “And are not we too sailing to the same places as they, with corn among all our other provisions? What wrong are they doing us in carrying food there?
Xenophon constitution of the Athenians 2.11-12
Herodotos 7.147.2-3: Grain from the Black Sea
Primary Sources Analysis
In the assigned groups students are required to analysis their chosen source and discuss the main points taken from the source. Student will present their main points to the class through the WebTool "Wallwisher".