Economy

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**__Economy__** by JT []

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__** Agora **__ The Ancient Greek's economy revolved around The Agora. An Agora, was the Greek equivilent to a modern day mall. It had shops concerning everything you could want or need in Ancient Greece. There was an Agora in the middle of every ancient Greek city. Men would meet here to discuss politics, and talk with friends. They would also share and obtain news from traders around the area. The only women that were seen in the Agora were slaves. Rich women, sent slaves to do their shopping, and poor women stayed at home while their husbands collected the goods. Many teachers taught their students in the Agora as well. Some Agora's had shady arcades around them. These would be set away from the glare of the sun. Many public buildings were also set around the Agora.

__** Taxes **__ Taxation in ancient Greecewas not well developed. They had a tax for the wealthy. This was only in times of need, such as in a war. They also had a tax for the rich, for social purposes. This includes a new gymnasium, fountain, and maintaining a public building. They also had indirect taxation. This is, whenever someone bought a herd, or a slave they had to pay the government a percentage, or small amount. Taxes varried from city to city however, and that influenced how many people were living there. If you fell into debt with a bad harvest or not paying what you owed to the government, you would become a slave.

Ancient Greeks usually traded with themselves. They considered people who weren't Greek, or spoke their language; barbarians.The Greeks also relied on trade colonies, and importing goods. Greece is surrounded by the sea, so from the start the Greeks were excellent sailors. Traders soon developed well established trade routes. To do this, the traders would usually have to take a loan out from the government. After some time, they built colonies along the shores of their routes. These colonies were ports for the sailors importing and exporting goods. The Greeks main exported goods were Athenian pottery and olive oil. They usually imported farmed goods and metals, because they lacked both.
 * __ Trade __**

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 * Currency** Greek currency, unlike today's had no paper money. They relied on coins. Each city state mined and minted their own coins. This also made it so coins' appearances varied fr​om each city state. Like today, some coins were worth more than others. Some coins were made by unskilled craftsmen and others took artists.

To see a great short clip on ancient Greek coins, click: []