Professional trade: Personal and operational infrastructure. Overview of vocabulary and selection of inscriptions

Abstract

During the Greek archaic period, professional trade developed with the support of an elaborate personal and operational infrastructure: traders who sent instructions to their far-off agents, ships suitable for the characteristics of the different routes, specialized functions among different members of the crew, etc.

The analysis of the peculiar vocabulary of this trade and the evidence provided by the surveyed documents show its growing complexity, and also the early and extensive use of writing in commercial praxis.

We review and comment extensively two Ampurias’ lead letters and the Pech Maho’s transaction document, and we also make some reference to other commercial letters from the Pontos.

All these documents are evidence of a commercial practice which, far from a mere bilateral relationship seller/buyer, displayed the joint participation of people from different origins and with several duties. This trade relied on a complex organization where Greek traders used agents entrusted to approach local dealers and to request their collaboration, or to keep written records of the transactions.