Xenia in Classical Economies: the Function of Ritualized Interpersonal Relationships in Athenian Trade
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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-11-2017 12:00 AM Xenia in Classical Economies: The Function of Ritualized Interpersonal Relationships in Athenian Trade Morgan C. Kostiew The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Bernd Steinbock The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Classics A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Morgan C. Kostiew 2017 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Classical Literature and Philology Commons, and the Other Classics Commons Recommended Citation Kostiew, Morgan C., "Xenia in Classical Economies: The Function of Ritualized Interpersonal Relationships in Athenian Trade" (2017). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4514. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/4514 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract Drawing on North’s New Institutional Economics (enhanced by Finley’s substantivist model), this thesis contributes to ancient economic theories by analyzing the role of the social institution of xenia in Classical Athenian economies. The significance of this ritualized interpersonal relationship has not yet been sufficiently appreciated, especially regarding its effects as a structural determinant on economic performance within specific trade mechanisms. The case study of two particular economic services, provided by the Athenian aristocrat Andocides through his xenia with Archelaus of Macedon and Evagoras of Cyprus (And. 2.11 and 20-21) not only illustrates the significant effect of such ritualized personal relationships on the Athenian timber and grain trade but also allows us to gauge the quantitative impact of xenia on these two Athenian economies. The honorific decrees for Archelaus (proxenia: IG I3 117) and Evagoras (citizenship: IG I3 113) corroborate the importance of xenia-based trade services on Classical Athenian economies. Keywords Classical Athens, xenia, ritualized interpersonal relationships, ancient economies, economic theory, economic history, Andocides, social institutions, New Institutional Economics, Substantivism Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Mark Lawall from the University of Manitoba, where I completed my Advanced B.A. in Classical Studies, for his help and support in the development of the initial idea for this project, and for his assistance in preparing a SSHRC-CGSM Master’s Scholarship Grant application. Furthermore, I would like to thank SSHRC-CGSM for their generous support which allowed to me take on and complete this project. I would also like to thank the staff and faculty members at the Department of Classical Studies at The University of Western Ontario for all of the encouragement in my pursuit of my thesis. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to acknowledge my supervisor Dr. Bernd Steinbock, and thank him for all his help and patience with this enterprise. Dr. Steinbock’s support, encouragement, and aid were indispensable to me over the duration of this endeavour. It is on account of Dr. Steinbock’s support, reassurance, help, praise, commentary, and constructive criticism that I was able to bring this project to completion. I cannot truly express my gratitude to Dr. Steinbock, and everyone else who helped and supported me in the completion of this project over the last two years. I would also like to thank my examiners, Dr. Charles Stocking, Dr. Alexander Meyer, and Dr. Lisa Hodgetts for their time and effort in examining my thesis. ii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ i Keywords ......................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................. v Ancient Authors .......................................................................................................................... v Modern Works ............................................................................................................................ v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Ancient Economic Theory ............................................................................................ 9 Ancient Economies: Introduction to the Debate ......................................................................... 9 Ancient Economies: Scholarly Debate and Theoretical Models .............................................. 17 Chapter 2: Xenia and Proxenia ..................................................................................................... 35 Xenia: A Brief History .............................................................................................................. 35 Proxenia: A Brief History ......................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 3: Andocides and his Xenoi ............................................................................................. 51 Andocides: A Brief Historical Background .............................................................................. 51 Andocides: Services and Xenoi ................................................................................................. 55 Andocides: Dating On the Return and Andocides’ Services to Athens.................................... 58 Chapter 4: The Athenian Grain Trade .......................................................................................... 69 Athenian Grain Trade: The Significance of Grain at Athens ................................................... 69 Athenian Grain Trade: Grain Production vs. Consumption ...................................................... 78 Athenian Grain Trade: Trade, Politics, and Diplomacy ........................................................... 88 Athenian Grain Trade: Grain and Andocides ........................................................................... 96 Chapter 5: The Athenian Timber Trade ...................................................................................... 103 Athenian Timber Trade: An Introduction to the Timber Trade at Athens .............................. 103 Athenian Timber Trade: The Politics of Athenian Timber Procurement ............................... 106 Athenian Timber Trade: Mechanisms of Timber Transport and Ship Building ..................... 112 Athenian Timber Trade: Economic Ramifications ................................................................. 117 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 123 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 129 iii Curriculum Vitae ........................................................................................................................ 134 iv Abbreviations Ancient Authors And. Andocides Arist. Aristotle Athen. Athenaeus Dem. Demosthenes Hdt. Herodotus Hes. Hesiod Hom. Homer Isoc. Isocrates Lys. Lysias Pl. Plato Plut. Plutarch Theophr. Theophrastus Thuc. Thucydides Xen. Xenophon Modern Works Abbreviations for hand-books and journals follow those used in the American Journal of Archaeology. The following abbreviations are used for standard reference works. Meiggs, R. and D. M. Lewis. 1988. A Selection of Greek Historical ML Inscriptions to the End of the Fifth Century B.C. Oxford. IG Inscriptiones Graecae. 1873-. Berlin. Rhodes, J., and R. Osborne. 2003. Greek Historical Inscriptions, 404-323 RO B.C. Oxford. SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum. 1923-. Leiden. Dittenberger, W. 1915-1924. Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum. 3d ed., 4 SIG vols., Leipzig. Tod, M. N. 1985. Greek Historical Inscriptions from the Sixth Century B.C. Tod to the Death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. 2 vols., Chicago. v List of Tables Table 1: Internal and External Grain Production Totals ............................................................... 82 Table 2: Source and Percentage of Grain at Athens ..................................................................... 90 vi vii Introduction The scholarly debate on ancient Greek and Roman economies is long and extensive, beginning in the 1890s in Germany with the emergence of the concepts of primitivism and modernism, continuing in the 20th century with Finley’s substantivism following well through into the current era with Douglass North’s New Institutional Economic Theory.1 Today ancient Greek and Roman economic history and theory is a thriving field within the discipline of Classical Studies,