Oil, Wine, and the Cultural Economy of Ancient Greece
Oil, Wine, and the Cultural Economy of Ancient Greece
Looking for an inspection copy?
This title is not currently available for inspection.
£83.00
GBPIn this book, Catherine E. Pratt explores how oil and wine became increasingly entangled in Greek culture, from the Late Bronze Age to the Archaic period. Using ceramic, architectural, and archaeobotanical data, she argues that Bronze Age exchange practices initiated a strong network of dependency between oil and wine production, and the people who produced, exchanged, and used them. After the palatial collapse, these prehistoric connections intensified during the Iron Age and evolved into the large-scale industries of the Classical period. Pratt argues that oil and wine in pre-Classical Greece should be considered 'cultural commodities', products that become indispensable for proper social and economic exchanges well beyond economic advantage. Offering a detailed diachronic account of the changing roles of surplus oil and wine in the economies of pre-classical Greek societies, her book contributes to a broader understanding of the complex interconnections between agriculture, commerce, and culture in the ancient Mediterranean.
- It answers the questions how and why olive oil and wine became important aspects of ancient Greek culture
- It includes long term environmental change as a central aspect of the narrative of oil and wine in ancient Greece
- Contributes to the idea of entanglement through a consideration of value within the context of exchange
Reviews & endorsements
'The individual chapters provide useful studies of the social and economic history of each period, as mediated by the evidence for oil and wine production, consumption, and exchange … The book as a whole is valuable reading for all interested in the transition from the Bronze Age to the early polis.' Evan Vance, Rhea Classical Reviews
'Recommended.' S. Brown, Choice Magazine
'Pratt ably demonstrates her expertise at assembling a truly interdisciplinary and contextualized approach to how, when and why, exactly, ancient Greek identity became so intertwined with oil and wine.' Ulrike Krotscheck, Food & History
'The book as a whole is valuable reading for all interested in the transition from the Bronze Age to the early polis - it is particularly refreshing to see a book that joins the Archaic period to the Bronze Age, rather than including it as a poorly-attested prequel to the Classical period. Those interested in food production and its cultural value will also find much to contemplate in Pratt's writing.' Evan Vance, Rhea Classical Review
Product details
March 2021Hardback
9781108835640
350 pages
260 × 180 × 26 mm
1.05kg
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Developing a Relationship of Dependency: Oil and Wine in the Minoan Palatial Era
- 3. Controlling the Relationship: Oil and Wine in the Mycenaean Palatial Era
- 4. Maintaining the Relationship: Oil and Wine in Postpalatial Greece
- 5. Rebuilding the Relationship: Oil and Wine in Early Iron Age Greece
- 6. Expanding the Relationship: Oil and Wine in the Early Archaic Period
- 7. Conclusion: Cultural Commodities and the Future of Oil and Wine.
