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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Recurso digital |
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Zenodo
2025
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17773062 |
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Table of Contents:
- This paper explores the profound impact of strategic resource control, specifically salt and silver, on the economic development, political sovereignty, and cultural identity of Greek city-states across the Mediterranean from the Archaic to the Hellenistic periods. It argues that access to and management of these vital commodities were not merely economic factors but fundamental drivers in shaping the geopolitical landscape of the ancient Greek world. Silver, primarily from sources like the Laurion mines, fueled Athenian naval power, coinage, and imperial ambitions, directly influencing its rise to hegemony. Salt, while often overlooked, was indispensable for food preservation, trade, and even as a form of currency, thus playing a crucial, albeit less spectacular, role in sustaining populations and facilitating long-distance exchange. Through an interdisciplinary analysis of archaeological evidence, textual sources, and economic theory, this study illuminates how the mastery of these natural resources enabled certain poleis to project power, establish extensive trade networks, and ultimately define their unique forms of sovereignty within a complex and competitive Mediterranean environment. The paper also examines the social implications of resource extraction, particularly the widespread use of enslaved labor, and the eventual shifts in resource control that contributed to the decline of some city-states and the emergence of new powers.