Ancient Economics

Catalog description

This course explores the economic history of the Greco-Roman Mediterranean from the eighth century BCE to the seventh century CE. It focuses primarily on a close reading of the relevant primary sources – particularly literary, epigraphic and numismatic – providing insight into both the functioning of the ancient economy and Greco-Roman beliefs about and values concerning that economy. It also invites students to engage in the modern debate about the nature of the ancient economy, and asks them to consider whether that economy was a so-called “primitive” economy, or fundamentally like the modern economy, adjusting simply for scale. This course analyzes ancient evidence for Greco-Roman accounting techniques; debt mechanisms; price formation; coinage; travel and trade; markets and demand; and other aspects of ancient economic behavior.