Economy > Mycenaean Economy

Mycenaean Economy

Background

Already from the last phases of the late Middle Helladic period, from the so-called shaft grave period of Mycenae, an unexpected concentration of wealth which was due to the successful trade activities of a rising social class is observed. The new ruling class, being led apparently by powerful leaders, was in the position to develop contacts and commercial relations with palatial Crete and the advanced countries of the East from which the needed raw materials and the advanced expertise for the function of the regional workshops was ensured. The contacts of the first Mycenaean leaders with Crete led to the adoption of new models of economic administration which were transferred to mainland Greece accompanied by the last technological and intellectual achievements of that period.With the foundation of the Mycenaean palaces in the course of the 14th century BC the character of economy changed and became strictly centralized. The skilled craftsmen worked in the palaces or on the demand of the palaces according to the Minoan model. As it results from the concentration of agricultural produce and precious goods and from the written evidence of the palatial archives, the palaces functionned as centres of concentration and redistribution of the agricultural surplus and very quickly as centres of international trade. The Mycenaean palaces rapidly acquired economic power and international renown, gradually limiting the Minoan thalassocracy. A series of organized commercial activities brought the Mycenaeans to Palestine and Egypt but also in the centres of the western Mediterranean, in south Italy, Sicily and Sardegna. These regular exchanges were facilitated by the foundation of commercial stations in many important ports of the Mediterranean, some of which had a colony-like character. Certain rare raw materials which were found in some important Mycenaean centres, such as amber and certain artistic interactions show that the Mycenaeans had sporadic contacts with North Europe, Britain and the Baltic countries. The presence of the Mycenaeans in these faraway countries provoked mainly the quest of ores, particularly gold and tin which do not occur on mainland Greece.The destruction of the palaces around 1200 BC brought about the collapse of the economic system of Mycenaean Greece. The commercial activities were reduced and the economy entered a long period of decline. During the Submycenaean period, the regional workshops continued their production but the import of valuable products from foreign markets ceased whereas the artistic creation lost the brilliance of the previous centuries. The economic decline and the dissapearance of writing which was used by the palatial centres marked the entrance of the mainland to the so-called "Dark Ages". A new material, iron, the use of which is observed from the Ptoto-Geometric period, attributed a different character to the economic procedures, offering its name to the new age.

Sources

Greek Economy