In the fourth century B.C., as we learn from the orator Lysias, traders were legally prohibited from making more than one obol on each 40-kilogram medimnos ('bushel') of grain they sold. Lysias also informs us that a trader buying grain [for resale] from the producer or importer was only allowed to make a profit on the first fifty bushels. This ensured a constant supply of grain to the city from the commercial quarter of the Piraeus - the so-called Emporium. It also avoided a concentration of grain in the hands of a few persons: this would have resulted in profiteering whenever supplies ran short. |
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During grain supply crises the Athenians took emergency measures. A particular place was chosen for citizens to come and get their allocated ration. An official called the sitones was appointed to handle the distribution of the grain bought by or donated to the city.
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It was also illegal for any Athenian, whether citizen or metic, to lend out money to persons using their vessels for transporting goods to towns outside Athens. The city could thus indirectly lean on the import trade, by passing laws to ensure that maritime loans contracted within its territory applied only to transport of cargo towards Athens. The official responsible for breaches of this law and imposition of penalties was known as the epimeletes. |
Export of goods produced in Attica was forbidden at Athens. There were two exceptions: olive oil and figs. Was this the norm, or did it only apply in time of war? We do not know. What we do know is that there were (as we might expect) flagrant cases of violation. Aristotle records one of these: a customs officer who smuggled ship's tackle into Epidaurus.
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