Greeks in the Western Mediterranean and Economy of the Greek City States Flashcards
why the colonized areas in the west were wealthy?
the locations the Greek chose to settle in had fertile soils and favourable locations with good transport possibilities.
6th century developments in the western areas.
the Greek city states became marginal as the trading center of Carthage rose to power and the Etruscans in Italy became more influential. Greeks could not form colonies in Corsica for exactly those reasons around 545 BC.
5th century developments in the western areas
480 BC was the year in which Carthage attempted to gain control over Sicily. The Syracusan tyrant Gelon (485-478 BC) defeated them. Syracuse became the most powerful Greek polei in the west (after Athens the second most densely populated). the Etruscans were marginalized as a threat after 474 BC, but souther Italian tribes proved to be a constant threat. Sicily was the seat of constant battles between Syracuse and native tribes,
3rd century developments in the western areas
between 282-270 BC, Roman control asserted itself over the Greek cities. Wars in Sicily only ended when Rome fully took control in 241 BC.
4th century developments in the western areas
Greek polei were pressured to cooperate in the wake of a powerful enemy.
what the Greeks contributed to the cultural life in the west?
they contributed to the Greek literature, philosophy, art and architecture. they enabled the future assimilation of Greek culture by the Romans, Gauls and other Western Europeans.
preconditions for trade in the Greek world
due to several Greek cities in the west and also in the east of Mediterranean, they had created a kind of network and it easily enabled them to trade with one-another and also other cultures. Athens exported olive oil, ceramics, and silver.
basis of the economy
agriculture, which depended on rainfall (made it a risky choice for an economic basis) many greek poleis were therefore dependent on import of grain from the Black Sea.
payment in the Greek world
first to use coins as money. coinage was invented in Lydia, sometime around 550 BC. Drachma became the standard coin.
the reasons why the Greek city states functioned well
they were small, and their success depended on the fact that people knew one-another in the area. it enabled them to make decisions in the councils and assemblies. great organizations did not exist in the poleis and that meant that means of production were fully in the hands of the citizens. this also meant that the level of taxations was lower. however, the city states were not politically very influential (with a couple of exceptions) and thus remained politically weak.
