Athenian economy and society : a banking perspective / Edward E. Cohen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cohen, Edward E.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Banks and banking--Greece--Athens--History.

Banks and banking.

Greece--History--Spartan and Theban Supremacies, 404-362 B.C.

Greece.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (307 pages)

Edition:

Core Textbook

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1992.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this ground-breaking analysis of the world's first private banks, Edward Cohen convincingly demonstrates the existence and functioning of a market economy in ancient Athens while revising our understanding of the society itself. Challenging the "primitivistic" view, in which bankers are merely pawnbrokers and money-changers, Cohen reveals that fourth-century Athenian bankers pursued sophisticated transactions. These dealings--although technologically far removed from modern procedures--were in financial essence identical with the lending and deposit-taking that separate true "banks" from other businesses. He further explores how the Athenian banks facilitated tax and creditor avoidance among the wealthy, and how women and slaves played important roles in these family businesses--thereby gaining legal rights entirely unexpected in a society supposedly dominated by an elite of male citizens. Special emphasis is placed on the reflection of Athenian cognitive patterns in financial practices. Cohen shows how transactions were affected by the complementary opposites embedded in the very structure of Athenian language and thought. In turn, his analysis offers great insight into daily Athenian reality and cultural organization.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Chapter 1. Market Economy-Banking Reality

Chapter 2. A Methodological Alternative to the Misuse of Statistics

Chapter 3. Financial Context and Concepts

Chapter 4. Wives, Slaves, and the Athenian Banker

Chapter 5. Banking Operations: "Risk-Laden Revenues from 'Other People's Money' "

Chapter 6. The Banks' Role in the Economy

Works Cited

Index of Passages Cited

General Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Description based upon print version of record.

ISBN:

9786613303257

9781400818914

1400818915

9781283303255

1283303256

9781400820771

1400820774

OCLC:

758334102