1. 2nd Lykeion of Arta
“Τῴ καιρῴ ἐκείνῳ ἒν…”
The history of entrepreneurship in Greece
2. Entrepreneurship is not a modern activity
Greek mythology
Prometheus
Hermes, the God of Gain
3. Very old times –
The Bronze Age (3000-1100 BC)
Economy in the counties that were entepreneurially active parallelly to
the Greek civilisations of the time
4. The Bronze Age
in Mesopotamia trading was really developed, basically of private initiative
in Egypt trading was basically ruled by the Pharaohs
the Phoenicians were distinct for their entrepreneurial and navigation skills
6. the Cycladic civilization, that was developed in the islands of the Aegean Sea,
was based on sea trading
In the island of Crete we have the powerful Minoan civilization
the Mycenaean, a mainland civilization
Greek civilizations (3000-1100 BC)
7. Ancient Greece (1100-323 BC)
Homeric period (1100-750 BC): a strict agricultural system whose unit was the
“oikos”- the home.
Archaic period (750-480 BC): better structured communities, called city-
states. Economy now is based on agriculture, small industry and commerce.
Money appears as a means for transactions.
Classic Era (480-323 BC) Greek city-states and especially Athens got to their
highest peak of prime. The culmination of this progress is the Golden Age of
Pericles
8. Classic Era State revenue
Delian League
Money penalties from trials
“metoikoi”
Sponsours
Imported product duties
9. Classic Era - Highlights of the time
Piraeus became an important harbor
Pericles paid salaries to the state archons (leaders)
The state issued pensions
Land owners who cultivated their land were still venerable members of
society
Craftsmen usually taught their sons the secrets of their trade
10. The Macedonian Kingdom
Played a tremendously serious role for the future of both Greece and the
whole world. Philip II and his son Alexander the Great definitely changed the
course of history.
Had a different economical system resembling more to the old, mighty oikoi
of the Archaic period (like Sparta, Athens’ enemy, or the Molossian kingdom
where the people of Arta are supposed to descend from)
11. The Macedonian Kingdom
Farming and agriculture were the solid ground of their economy
Philip invested in improving agriculture by following a policy of reformations
and restructuring (he drained marshy areas, stopped river flooding and used
the river waters to improve the micro climate of areas)
He was interested in the development of animal farming (he encouraged
nomads to have permanent settlements by making use of royal land)
He cut golden coins or double-mineral coins (golden and silver) that would be
found in the most important trade centres of the known world
12. Alexander the Great
Alexander continued his father’s agricultural policy
He founded new greek cities from Egypt to India and contributed to the
blooming of commerce. He brought tremendous changes to global economy
He improved land roads (constructed bridges, ferries, canals, they installed
signposts, stations and outposts)
Alexandria of Egypt
13. Roman Time (1-3c AD)
Travelling and trading got even greater dimensions:
People would go beyond the boundaries of the empire to what they called terra incognita.
To the north they got as far as Scotland, to the west to the Canary Islands. As for the east
merchants reached China and India.
Gradually, they sailed out in the sea
and got as far as Malaysia, Sumatra
and Java. Africa was also
approached and they got to
Zanzibar, Ethiopia and Sudan.
14. Byzantine period (330-1453 AD)
The Roman Empire little by little started to weaken and finally was divided in
the eastern and western part. The roman emperor Constantine decided to
transfer the capital from Rome to the east, on the site of the ancient greek
city of Byzantium which was renamed Constantinople.
The greek element, philosophy and culture were prominent
15. The Byzantine Empire
City life and country life were intertwined, social status was measured by the
size of land property (feudalism)
Byzantium was actually a natural bridge between Asia and Europe, so it
controlled all forms of trading
The state had a very strict intervention in all forms of economy (imposed
monopolies, determined prices, salaries etc)
They achieved very high value of their currency
It was not degrading for noblemen, even emperors to have mercantile
activities
Appearance of trade fairs for people to sell their products
Enterprising activities were organized in guilds (from the saxon verb gildan
that means pay)
16. In 1453 Constantinople falls in the hands of the Turks and gradually all the
territories of the empire get enslaved. Obviously, the previous splendor
vanishes.
The Ottoman Occupation (1453-1821 AD)
17. The Ottoman Empire
The financial situation was downgraded and life became mostly agricultural
Taxation was heavy
With the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks granted a substantial part
of commerce to the Greeks and the Jews by allowing them some privileges
All trades people, merchants and craftspeople were united in sectional
corporations (guilds) that were now called fraternities. They had very strict
rules.
Trade fairs, an institution of the previous era, revived and even evolved.
18. Revolution against the Turks (1821)
During the war there was a very busy commercial activity of some prosperous
Greeks abroad aiming at sponsouring the fight against the Turks. So did some
ship owners who used their ships for the same purpose. Sometimes even
piracy (against the Turkish ships) was used to offer income for the cause.
19. Conclusion
We can see that in the depth of centuries the entrepreneurial past of
Greece was strongly related to the cultivation of land and sea trading. We
can’t say that this has changed much in modern times. Each time the
historical, political and social conditions, the neighbouring peoples and the
prevailing tendencies of the time would configure the exact manifestations of
economical activities.
Globalisation of economy, automatization and technological advancement
make it more difficult for a people to stand out on the arena of
entrepreneurial innovation. Yet, men will always attempt to advance further,
to excel and to make the difference even outside the boundaries of their
homeland.
