This collection of papers emerged from a conference of the same name held at the French School at Athens in 2009. In their introduction the editors make the case for a unifying theme based mostly upon the physical locations for trade and exchange in urban markets in the ancient world. This, in turn, should lead to ‘une meilleure compréhension de leurs enjeux spatiaux, institutionnels et idéologiques’ (p. 11). The editors make it clear that such a broad (if not slightly vague) theme makes it virtually impossible for the collection to provide comprehensive coverage and they should be commended for being able to anchor together a set of papers which do pull in rather different directions at times. In broad terms, scholars who specialise in the Greek world will probably find the collection more beneficial than Romanists, and, for a volume which dedicates a fair portion of space to commerce in targeted urban spaces, there is plenty here for ancient historians, including those who are interested in the intersection between the archaeology and architecture of specific locations and the wider methodological issues related to trade, exchange and consumerism in Classical Antiquity. In fact, a dominant sub-theme throughout the collection is the way in which agorae and macella provided a physical centre for additional functions beyond economic transactions. This is hardly a novel suggestion, although new and thoughtful insights have recently been achieved by C. Holleran (Shopping in Ancient Rome: the Retail Trade in the Late Republic and the Principate [2012]), but many of the papers do provide further confirmation that while trade was, of course, vital if not foundational to the creation of local marketplaces, the physical remains show that they served wider functions which included worship, administration and even, as J. Richard and M. Waelkins argue, aesthetic benefits.
It is impossible to discuss each paper here, but it may be useful to mention a few critical pieces, beginning with those contributions which consider the intersection between the agora and macellum in times of transition or crisis. These studies contribute to an important question: were changing political realities reflected in the physical structures, goods for sale, administration and non-economic functions of local markets? Adam-Véléni's study of Petres, for example, reveals that the Davreios family was able to hold influence in the city for at least three generations – an important item of note for thinking about the ability for local elites to retain control despite the changes in the central authority over the region in the second century b.c. This is particularly interesting when one considers the dependent relationship between Petres and the Macedonian capital of Pella. Adam-Véléni points out that numerous products sold in Petres were either modelled after those sold in Pella or were directly imported. Perhaps we see something in these details about the interaction (or lack thereof) between the political and the economic in the region. Helpfully, the collection includes an update by I. Akamatis on the agora of Pella, which allows readers to make the comparison themselves. Akamatis has been writing about Pella for well over two decades and his contribution contains his familiar descriptive prose and attention to detail. Scholars who are unfamiliar with the past few decades of archaeological reports from Pella will benefit greatly from Akamatis’ contribution, which almost serves as a précis for material which is presently spread over a large number of articles and chapters, many of which are now difficult to obtain but are helpfully included in an early footnote.
Naxos, another major site, is discussed by M.C. Lentini and J. Pakkanen, in a paper which should provoke debate about how civilian and military zones interacted in this city and others. The authors directly address one of the more controversial debates about ancient Naxos; namely, the question of the exact location of the agora, which they suggest was situated along the northern edge of the city. If this is correct, this would put it directly adjacent to the military dockyard. This may provide a window onto how Naxos and other cities balanced their efforts to be accessible to trade and commerce while simultaneously ensuring security and defence.
While much of the volume is dedicated to detailed case studies, the editors include several pieces which discuss the broader implications beyond the archaeological remains which relate to physical spaces for doing business. J. Andreau, whose contribution, in-line with many of his earlier works on topics which are sometimes intimidating for generalists and non-specialists (banking, finance, numismatics, economic theory), provides a clear and comprehensive overview of the development of Roman marketplaces, includes thoughts on the function, characteristics and wares which were sold in macella. Readers are challenged to consider how far architectural similarity impacted upon cultural and commercial diversity; as, despite widespread uniformity in the physical structure of macella, it is not clear that the products sold therein were standardised nor even used for similar purposes. It should be noted that readers of Andreau's early work will appreciate his updated thoughts on how bankers and other providers of financial services interacted within the physical market environment. Also stimulating larger questions is A. Bresson, who examines the relationship between money and the physical marketplace through the lens of Greek philosophers. Bresson argues that Aristotle and Plato approached money as they did so many other things: through the lens of a wider debate about phusis and nomos. His final remark, which also acts as the closing statement for the volume as a whole, echoes neither Aristotle nor Plato, but Hobbes: ‘En conséquence la collectivité doit le maîtriser soigneusement, sous peine de se voir détruite par lui’ (p. 384).
It is worth commenting upon the images used in the book. In a volume in which physical space takes such a central role in the discussion, the authors and editors make excellent use of photographs, charts, maps and illustrations. Visual materials in several of the papers invite the kind of open-ended and continuous exploration which so many works of lasting importance feature. Scholars will, of course, quibble over the speculative nature of some of the renditions. However, the editors and authors have ensured that the images and texts interact to provide a comprehensive picture. For example, in Adam-Véléni's paper, there is a high-quality image of the coins which remained in the sanctuary of Zeus after the abandonment of Petres. This allows us to notice the famous ‘EID MAR’ denarius of Brutus scattered among the cache of silver coins – a detail which reinforces the narrative of a hastily abandoned city which was itself a casualty of the Roman civil wars of the mid-first century b.c.
This collection represents an important contribution to the study of physical marketplaces in the ancient world. It will not only be of interest to archaeologists, but is reasonably accessible to economic historians and even generalists. The promises made in the editors’ introduction are mostly fulfilled. For myself, the collection provoked the wider question of how far the infrastructure of markets in antiquity reveals the intentionality with which ancient peoples encouraged trade, commerce and exchange. Was the organisation of markets a practical response to a practical need or was there also a conscious understanding that marketplaces brought trade, which is a ‘good’ in and of itself? We know, for example, that Thucydides put in the mouth of Pericles the idea that commerce showed the greatness of Athens (2.38). Do the remains studied in this collection suggest that other cities, both Greek and Roman, had similar motivations behind the construction and improvement of physical locations for exchange and commerce?
