Athenian Economy and Society: A Banking Perspective - Hardcover

Cohen, Edward

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691036098 ISBN 13: 9780691036090

Publisher: Princeton Univ Press, 1992

Synopsis

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.

About this title

From the Publisher

In this groundbreaking 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 moneychangers, Cohen reveals that fourthcentury Athenian bankers pursued sophisticated transactions. 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.

About the Author

Edward E. Cohen is Chairman of the Executive Committee at JeffBanks, Inc., a bank-holding company based in Philadelphia. He holds a Ph.D. in classics from Princeton University and is author of Ancient Athenian Maritime Courts (Princeton).

About this edition

• Publisher: Princeton Univ Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0691036098
• ISBN 13: 9780691036090
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 312