Ancient Greece and Standards : The History and Control of the Materials Which Left Their Mark on Greek Civilisation 9605210711

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GEORGE VAROUFAKIS

/ancient Greek Standards THE HISTORY AND CONTROL OF THE MATERIALS WHICH LEFT THEIR MARK ON GREEK CIVILISATION

A, x

/

GEORGE VAROUFAKIS: ANCIENT GREECE & STANDARDS

GEORGE VAROUFAKIS

ANCIENT GREECE AND STANDARDS The history and control of the materials which left their mark on Greek civilisation Translated by Aikaterini Apostolaki Edited by Cox and Solman

AEOLOS ATHENS 1999

About the Author

George Varoufakis is a professor at the University of Athens. Since 1959 he has studied ancient technology and particularly metals and the role they played in the rate at which the civilisation of the Greek world developed. He is also involved in the study of ancient inscriptions referring to standardisation, product quality control and consumer protection. His latest research indicates that the ancient Greeks applied standards with strict speci­ fications and very harsh penalties for anyone daring to infringe them. His papers include ‘Quality control of unmixed wine in Classical Macedonia and Thrace’, ‘The Eleusinian inscription: Technical specifications in the fourth century B.C.’ and ‘Quality control and certification of Attic silver coins during the fourth century B.C.’. He has written many original papers, which have been published in Greek and foreign scholarly journals and books. He has presented several research papers at the British Museum, in Prague, Zurich, America, Cyprus and elsewhere, usually at the invitation of local academic societies. George Varoufakis has taught postgraduate archaeology students courses in Ancient Technology and supervises students at the Athens Technical University, as well as in the Department of Archaeology and Art History, who wish to obtain doctorates in issues re­ lating to ancient metal crafts, metallurgy, and general issues of ancient technology. He is a member of the following scholarly societies: The Metals Society of Britain The Historical Metallurgy Society of Britain The International Union of Prehistoric Sciences The Hellenic Archaeological Society The Society of Ancient Greek Technology Studies The Union of Greek Chemists Between 1988 - 89 and since 1993 he has been Chairman of the Greek Standardisa­ tion Organisation (ELOT).

Cover: Dimitris Kalokyris Cover picture: Representation from an Attic black-figure amphora of 540 B.C. depicting the weighing of merchandise (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art).

© Aeolos Books, and George Varoufakis. 35, Arachovis St, Athens, 106 81, Tel. No. 3301553, Fax 3802859 http:www.aiolos.com.gr - email:[email protected]

ISBN 960-521-071-1

To Anna who created me To Eleni who supported me To my children who have loved me

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book would never have been possible without the moral and material support of HALYVOURGIKI S.A., which supported my efforts throughout the entire period I was conducting my research on ancient technology. I should also note that at the factory of HALYVOURGIKI S.A. I gained valuable experience and accumulated knowledge on the subject of contemporary and ancient metallurgy and especially in the field of standardisation and quality control. I wish, therefore, to thank its management for its generous support. Additionally, I am indebted to ELOT, The Hellenic Organisation for Standardisation, and in particular to Pan. Theophanopoulos, ELOT's former MD and currently the Gen. Secretary of the Ministry of Development. It was initially his idea that an English translation of this book ought to be published which spurred me on. Nelly Vagia on the hand played a crucial role in helping me doing this project to a conclusion, Nicos Korres also offered much needed support and encouragement. Finally, Cox and Solman. Couch struggled valiantly with my Greek text in order to produce a fine translation. G. V.

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE................................................................................................................ INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................

17 19

PART ONE

METALS MAN’S FIRST ACQUAINTANCE WITH METALS................................................ WHEN DOES THE TRUE METAL AGE BEGIN?................................................ WHEN AND HOW DID THE GREAT MIRACLE OF THE DISCOVERY OF METALS TAKE PLACE?................................................................................ METALS IN THE GREEK WORLD......................................................................... COPPER AND ITS ALLOYS BRONZE - BRASS....................................................................................................... When does brass make its appearance in the history of metals?............... What is bronze and what is brass?....................................................................... Arsenic bronze............................................................................................................ THE APPEARANCE OF IRON........................................................................... WHAT IS IRON AND WHAT IS STEEL?............................................................... Heat Treatment (Quenching) and Tempering................................................... Why did man discover and use iron 2,500 - 3,000 years after the use of copper and its alloys?................................................................................... The metal with the magical properties............................................................... GOLD: A PRECIOUS METAL FROM PREHISTORIC TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY................................................................................................. The «Golden fleece»: the first gold-prospecting venture.............................. Gold, the secret power of Philip II, king of Macedon and father of Alexander the great....................................................................................... ELECTRUM............................................................................................................ SILVER..................................................................................................................... The appearance of silver......................................................................................... The physical properties of silver........................................................................ The silver of Laurium, thestate of Athens' main source of power............ LEAD........................................................................................................................

23 24

24 25 26 26 27 29 29 32 32 33 38 40 41

42 45 46 47 48 48 50

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PART TWO

THE USE OF STANDARDS, QUALITY CONTROL AND CERTIFICATION OF PRODUCTS IN ANCIENT GREECE.......

53

THE ELEUSIS INSCRIPTION.................................................................................... THE DERVENI CRATER............................................................................................ QUALITY CONTROL AND AUTHENTICITY CERTIFICATION OF ATTIC SILVER COINS OF THE FOURTH CENTURY B.C.................................. The Athenian law of the fourtgh century B.C.................................................. The most important points of the law................................................................ Quality control of silver coinage in classical times........................................ Two interesting points.............................................................................................. Two other interesting points from the inscription........................................... A case of state fraud in the sixth century B.C................................................. POSSIBLE METHODS FOR TESTING METALS IN ANTIQUITY.................... A. Testing gold..................................................................................................... B. Testing silver coins........................................................................................ C. Counterfeit coins............................................................................................ D. Using the senses toascertain theauthenticity of silver coins............ E. Certifying the quality of Atticsilver coinage........................................ CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................. RESOLUTION OF THE OROPEANS ON OLD WORN VESSELS USED AT THE ORACLE OF AMPHIARAUS........................................................ A case of quality control for gold and silver objects..................................... THE DEIGMATA: BUILDINGS FOR THE CONTROL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FISHING PRODUCTS........................................................................... Quality control of products during sales and purchases in the classical period (fifth and fourth century B.C.).................................................... QUALITY CONTROL OF WINE IN CLASSICAL MACEDONIA AND THRACE An economic community in teh region of Macedonia................................... The Thasos laws on standards................................................................................ The law on wine and vinegar................................................................................ The law of 420-400 B.C. on trade inand labelling of wines....................... The second law on the inscribedsteledating from 420-400 B.C............... POSSIBLE WAYS OF TESTING WINE QUALITY................................................

75 78 78 80 80 81 82 85

EPILOGUE..................................................................................................................

87

54 59 62 62 63 64 65 66 67 67 67 68 69 70 70 71

72 72

74

The uninstructed view which represents the Romans as having been excellent engineers and the ancient Greeks as incompetent has now had to be completely revised. Anyway, Vitruvius, the first-century B.C. Roman engineer, provided readers of his classic book with the rich and com­ prehensive Greek technical bibliography. Most significantly, he specifical­ ly recognised the ‘added value’ which the Greeks contributed to the ear­ liest technology: the concept of Science-‘Episteme’ (“They bequeathed to subsequent generations many devices, conceived and constructed on the principles of numbers and natural laws.” Book I, Chapter 1, §17). The ancient Greeks were, therefore, a most technological people: even their mythology (the Old Testament of their nation) considered technology (‘artful wisdom’) and energy (‘pyr’, or fire) as the gifts of divine forces to human kind (Plato, Protagoras, 321c), directly after Creation. For every tradeable commodity, such as the technological products of the Greeks, production was followed by quality control. Historical research in this more esoteric direction is not abundant, and the works of George Varoufakis are extremely important. The reader will enjoy this book, as I, the first person to read it, did. The touchstone of a book’s quality is the density of information provided in an attractive context. In fact the touch­ stone or ‘Lydian stone’ (black basalt) was one of the first instruments which the ancient Greeks used to check the purity of gold objects. It is interesting for us to study today (Leiden Papyrus, §37) the Hellenistic formula for “copper which appears to be gold”, which, moreover, guarantees that the fraud will not be discovered (“neither by firing, nor by rubbing against the stone will it be uncovered” “ovce tf| Jiupcooei, ovte tf| itpootpupei itpog tov XiQov ¿XcyxeaQai”)! Knowledge, as you see, was never the monopoly of the morally scrupulous.

T. P. Tasios Professor at the National Technical University

“And it is precisely because the Greeks had such a powerful de­ sire for wealth and glory, that they grew to know its dangers and fear its consequences”, wrote T.A. Sinclair in 1961, in his book The History of Greek Political Thought. The Ancient Greeks’ need to avoid the consequences of their desire for wealth and glory, to protect themselves from their own weak­ nesses, is what led them to take measures and establish rules whose function it was to discourage abuse, and ensure equality before the law and of citizens. One such measure was the establishment and use of standards for the quality control of goods produced. Cheating, fraud, and speculation are not phenomena limited to recent times. The ancients also had to deal with the problem. Liter­ ary and epigraphic sources inform us of this, and it is further con­ firmed by the establishment and use of quality standards. This vol­ ume by George Varoufakis, containing data gathered laboriously over many decades, constitutes a valuable contribution to our knowledge of this facet of daily life in ancient Greek society -a facet with which official history does not seem to have greatly concerned itself. C. G. Doumas Professor of Archaeology

PROLOGUE

For a long time I have felt the need to write a book about stand­ ardisation, certification and quality control in ancient Greece, based on research carried out to date, archaeological finds, and the study of ancient Greek literature. Nevertheless, I always feared that I might not meet the requirements of a demanding reader, whether an ordi­ nary member of the public, an archaeologist, classicist, historian, or indeed a technical expert, especially one currently involved in stand­ ardisation, certification, quality maintenance and control. However, daily accumulation of knowledge and experience, with time, matured within me, and there came a moment, a blessed moment, when the time was ripe. One day, without fully realising it, I began to record everything which had been the object of my academic study for 34 years. My hope and wish is that this book will constitute a useful tool for the researcher, no matter what his academic specialisation - a book which will contribute to resolving his questions in this area of study and especially with respect to standardisation and quality control in antiquity. G.V.

INTRODUCTION

Many people might find it curious, if not improbable, that stand­ ards were used in antiquity to determine the quality of goods pro­ duced at that time. Nonetheless, in 1959, when I began to concern myself with ancient Greek technology and particularly ancient metal crafts and metallurgy, I was struck by the fact that the composition of copper alloys was not random, but in accordance with the end use of each bronze product. Thus, even in Mycenaean times a spear was never made out of pure copper or bronze with a low tin content, because in both cases it would be soft and in no way suitable for the requirements of battle. The same holds good for chased or cast ob­ jects. The copper finds from Derveni, near Thessaloniki, constitute an exception to the above rule, particularly the famous crater of the fourth century, with its golden surface. The latter, it has been estab­ lished, is not due to the presence of gold, as chemical analysis de­ tected no trace of it, but to its high tin content (15%), producing a copper alloy whose hardness approached that of steel. The question is why the ancient craftsman-artist did not use a softer alloy, particu­ larly as he intended decorating the chased section of the crater with those amazing reliefs. I provide the answer later on in the chapter referring to these famous finds from Derveni. However, I can men­ tion here that the choice was not random, but has been shown to have been deliberate. The discovery of the inscription of Eleusis of the fourth century B.C., i.e., from the same period as the crater, but also the other copper

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GEORGE VAROUFAKIS

finds from Derveni, constitute serious evidence that the composition of the alloy used in each instance was deliberately chosen rather than random. I do not know if I have dealt adequately with the issue of stand­ ardisation in antiquity. I hope, however, that I have touched upon its main points. I further believe that as research continues and archaeo­ logical digs bring more new finds to light, the issues we are exam­ ining here will be enriched with more information and their analysis will be more exhaustive.

Research on issues concerning standardisation and quality control in ancient Greece has led, as will be shown below, to the interesting conclusion that, at least during the Classical period, if not earlier, the ancient Greeks applied standards with strict specifications, and the penalties for those who did not respect them were very severe. Such an example is the steep fine which had to be paid by any wine producer or merchant who dared to adulterate his wine (the law ‘tov iidaroc; Kapa/ijoiog’ - see below). Thus, both the state and the consumer were protected from possible fraud. The quality control of Attic silver coinage by the assayer-'dokrma.sfe.s’-constitutes another characteristic example; in the event of fraud, he proceeded to im­ pound the coins, scoring them and finally dedicating them to Cybe­ le, the mother of the gods (stele in the Stoa of Attalus, fifth century B.C.). Another characteristic instance is described in the fourth cen­ tury B.C. Eleusinian inscription mentioned previously. Its text con­ tains an order for the manufacturing of bronze dowels, to be placed between the drums of the columns of the Portico of Philo, a hand­ some construction to be erected in front of that town’s Telesterion. The reference to the composition of the bronze to be used as a raw material for constructing the joints is impressive, as are the strict technical specifications to which the manufacturer had to conform. In fact, at the end of the text the name of the guarantor is stated and

ANCIENT GREECE & STANDARDS

21

so is the guarantee the latter would have to pay. These few examples, as well as those cited later in the text, clearly indicate that standards were applied in antiquity encompassing a whole range of goods, from metals to foodstuffs. This systematic use of standards in the production process and every commercial transac­ tion constitutes, as we shall see, serious evidence that during antiq­ uity a high level of technology existed in the Greek world. As this book is also addressed to archaeologists, I have considered it useful to provide them with information about the metals used, before proceeding to quality control. This is why the first part is devoted to these, while at the same time I refer to ancient Greek literature, from which I draw all the information available on the role that metals played in the evolution of Hellenic civilisation and everything relating to the financial, political and social life of ancient societies.

PART ONE

METALS MAN’S FIRST ACQUAINTANCE WITH METALS Man became acquainted with metals while still in the Stone Age. Precisely when this happened has never been fully ascertained. However, even when he first encountered metals in their native state, those known to us as ‘naturally-occurring metals’, he considered them to be stones with curious properties. The first metal to have caught his attention must have been gold. While fishing or lazing about on a river bank, man probably saw some gold nuggets lying in the sand which must have caught his attention. And as we all do when we are at the seaside, he must have tried to break these pretty nuggets of gold, hammering them with larger pebbles. With great surprise he must have realised that, unlike the stones with which he was at that time familiar, these did not break, but instead changed shape ac­ cording to his hammering. In this manner, one such individual, whose example was followed by others, must have started making decora­ tions and jewellery which sparkled more than the shiniest stones used to date for the same purpose. In Neolithic times, man would have come across another red stone, naturally-occurring copper, less shiny and harder than gold. Ham­ mering hardened it so much that one could not continue beyond a certain point. This hard metal was ideal for making blades, hooks, arrowheads and spearheads, as well as other useful objects, which until then had been made with great difficulty, using small hard stones. Playing with fire, he pushed the hard shaped objects into the flame -we all have this great temptation for no good reason to poke hair­ pins or anything else we are holding into the flames on the hearth­ and must have realised that they softened once more, and thus he

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GEORGE VAROUFAKIS

could continue hammering, making ever more complex and finer shapes. This game with fire must have been good practice and a first experience for the later period, the real age of metals, because al­ though man may have discovered naturally-occurring metals, that is, gold and copper, he did not, nevertheless, cease to regard them as stones, despite their having special and curious properties, ductility and malleability. This is why historians consider this period as an extension of the Stone Age. However, in order to differentiate it from the previous age, some of them have termed it the Chalcolithic period.

WHEN DOES THE TRUE METAL AGE BEGIN? The metal age began at that moment in history when man succeed­ ed in smelting metals from their ores, melting them and casting them in moulds. This procedure, known today as extraction metal­ lurgy, constitutes the defining characteristic of the new age, the age of metals. From that moment on, man gained tremendous new power, a power which rapidly liberated him from his natural environment, which he promptly subjugated to his needs. This important discovery had momentous consequences for his character, his social relations and rate of development, and was decisive for both himself and primeval Stone Age society. Within a millennium of this discovery, in about the fourth millennium B.C., man created the remarkable achieve­ ments of the Assyrian and Babylonian, the Egyptian, and later on the Classical and other civilisations, while for thousands of previous centuries he had lived in squalor, no better than a humanoid monkey.

WHEN AND HOW DID THE GREAT MIRACLE OF THE DISCOVERY OF METALS TAKE PLACE? Nobody can place it. Nevertheless, experiments have given several interesting answers in this debate. Before proceeding, we would like to underscore the following: the discovery of metal production, like

ANCIENT GREECE & STANDARDS

25

any other discovery, may have taken place by chance. However, we must not forget that for such an event to occur, man must have reached a certain stage of maturity in order to take cognisance of this new message, and, most important in this instance, to repeat the chance occurrence of producing the first metal. If, therefore, prim­ itive Stone Age man had not attained a high degree of development in ceramic techniques, he could not have accomplished the feat of reducing metal compounds and refining the metal. Even if he had stumbled upon it inadvertently, even if he was previously acquaint­ ed with gold and naturally-occurring copper (of course as special stones), he would not have been capable of reproducing this occur­ rence unless he had previously gained experience of using an oven for ceramics and knew how to handle fire and use closed pottery kilns. Only such an experienced craftsman could reproduce the major miracle of producing a metal if he had managed purely by chance to smelt it from its ores. And this would have come about because he was prepared to accept the stimulus of something new, and to work on it in an appropriate manner, and, most important, to repeat this random phenomenon - which thereafter ceased to be random.

METALS IN THE GREEK WORLD It is not known with any certainty when metals made their appear­ ance in the Greek world. Nor did the use of metals begin simultane­ ously throughout that world. Thus, while in the Aegean islands and particularly in Crete and Cyprus, copper and its alloys were known from approximately the third millennium B.C., in Thessaly people were still living in the Stone Age or, at most, in the Chalcolithic Period. This, of course, is true of all the regions of our planet. Development proceeds swiftly in some areas, while in others it is slow and elsewhere long delayed. The valleys of the Nile and Euphrates, the Middle East, and Anatolia as far as India and China are regions displaying impressive development, rapidly disseminated to all the countries of the Mediterranean. On the other hand, Africa, Australia and America lagged far behind. Thus, when the American continent was discovered by Europeans, in the northern regions man was still

GEORGE VAROUFAKIS

26

living in the Chalcolithic period, while in the south they were in the age of copper metallurgy. In Australia, metals were unknown before its discovery and a true stone age prevailed. The terrain contributed greatly to this. Lakes, rivers and enclosed seas aided communication between ancient societies while, on the other hand, mountains and oceans which were hard to traverse kept them in isolation. In the first instance, dissemination of a new technique mastered by one tribe to another, with all the consequences for their way of life, social relations and cultural level, was easy, while in the second case stagnation or, at most, very slow development was the characteristic feature of their geographical isolation. In the Greek world, it was the islands, naturally, which benefited from being close to the great civilisations of the Middle East. Thus, a magnificent civilisation flourished in the third millennium B.C. with the simultaneous development of metallurgy and metal crafts. In that distant past Cyprus possessed very rich copper ores. For many centuries it supplied the then known world, and especially the Hellenic region, with copper. In Crete, metalworking attained great heights and its craftsmen gained a reputation for their remarkable works of art. In the sixteenth and fifteenth century B.C., Cretan metal processing techniques were transplanted to mainland Greece, where a newly-arrived Hellenic tribe, the Achaeans, began to play an im­ portant role in the region’s history. They were taught by the Cretans. According to the archaeologists, any beautiful and fine artefact which comes to light in this region was created by Cretan artists or, at least, their pupils.

COPPER AND ITS ALLOYS

BRONZE - BRASS WHEN DOES BRASS MAKES ITS APPEARANCE IN THE HISTORY OF METALS?

In Greece, at least, the terms bronze and brass are frequently con­ fused, sometimes even considered to be identical, as if they referred

ANCIENT GREECE & STANDARDS

27

to the same copper alloy. Frequently, historians and archaeologists, when referring to the second millennium B.C., identify it as the ‘brass age’, and the copper findings of that time as being of brass. Some­ times, they add ‘brass’ parenthetically, as if it constituted the scien­ tific term and ‘bronze’ the common everyday usage. Such examples can be found in textbooks, articles, archaeological papers, encyclope­ dias and historical texts, such as the History of the Greek Nation1. It is worth noting that at a certain point it uses the words: “Later on, however, their needs in copper and tin, the metals from which brass is composed”, and elsewhere: “During the eighth century B.C., Greek smiths” put aside brass for the production of weapons and tools. Brass and copper continued to be used to make vessels “tripods and other utensils”; and again: “and from copper and tin [he] created brass”, “together with these, brass (bronze), the alloy of copper and tin, predominated”. Here we notice a thoroughgoing but mistaken belief that the terms bronze and brass are synonymous, even though, as we have explained, they are two different alloys.

WHAT IS BRONZE AND WHAT IS BRASS?

In fact, bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, while brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Bronze was the main alloy used by the Minoans and Mycenaeans for making weapons, tools and household utensils during the second millennium B.C. This is why this period is re­ ferred to as the Bronze Age, deriving its name from the alloy of copper and tin. I would recommend to archaeologists that they use the terms ‘copper’, the ‘Copper Age’, and weapons of copper, as the ancient Greeks did, thus avoiding muddying the waters. In fact when the latter referred to copper, they meant copper and bronze as well. They did the same in the case of the term ‘iron’, which meant the common soft iron, but also steel. Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, was unknown in the prehis­ toric and Classical periods and first appeared during Hellenistic and then more so in Roman times. The Romans and subsequent­ 1. IoTopid Tov EXXrjvtxov 'EOvovç, Vol. 2, 43 and 248, 384.

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ly the Byzantines produced brass, but indirectly and without ever encountering zinc. In the case of bronze, they added a calculated quantity of tin to the molten copper, as tin was known even in early prehistoric times, and produced the desired composition for each alloy. By way of contrast, in order to produce brass, the Romans made use of copper sheets cut into small pieces, placed in a melting-pot together with a zinc compound, calamine, which is zinc oxide (ZnO), without, of course, knowing what it con­ tained, and finally, added crushed carbon. The melting-pot together with its contents was placed in a furnace and heated. At a tem­ perature of approximately 800° C, the unknown metal, zinc, was smelted and impregnated the thin sheets of copper. This resulted in a silver-coloured product, which was in fact nothing more than zinc-plated copper. They then increased the temperature of the melting-pot, until the metal melted and attained a homogeneous consistency. It was then poured it into a mould or sand and the product was an alloy of copper and zinc with a beautiful golden colour, what is known today as brass. In this indirect manner the Roman and naturally the Byzantine craftsman produced this new alloy to replace bronze, which had required the use of tin, a metal which was extremely expensive and not always available on the market. This new alloy was naturally cheaper than bronze, and replaced it in everyday life. Unfortunately, the Roman, and later the Byzantine craftsman, could not produce any given composi­ tion that would possess the mechanical properties desired, as they did not know what they were adding to copper and what quantity was contained in the final alloy. Thus, the alloys of those times had a zinc content ranging from 3% to 27%. This continued to be the case until the seventeenth century, when this elusive metal was isolated in Europe, and, to be precise, in Belgium. Since then brass has replaced the more expensive bronze, the latter being used less and less and only in exceptional cases, such as for tin­ plating metals and producing special and particularly hard alloys. Church bells are an example of one such product; these contain 18% to 20% tin.

ANCIENT GREECE & STANDARDS

29

ARSENIC BRONZE

Using a mixture of ores in the production of a metal, as in the case of copper, was a common practice, which frequently led to interest­ ing results. Thus, during the third millennium B.C. in the Aegean islands we have the appearance of bronzes which are not alloys of copper and tin, but of copper and arsenic, now referred to as arsenic bronzes. Arsenic, like zinc, was unknown to them, but while firing in the primitive furnaces they used a mixture of copper and arsenic ores. This resulted in the production of an arsenic-copper alloy, of the same colour, and with the same mechanical properties as the alloy known to us as bronze. These alloys disappeared from the in­ stant that the prehistoric artisan discovered and used tin, a metal he added to the molten copper in the proportions he desired. Anyway, the vapours of the arsenic compounds used in the pro­ duction of copper and arsenic alloys were noxious, and this factor contributed to the abandoning of this production technique, which was a health hazard for the smiths of the time, from the moment that tin, which was harmless, was discovered and used.

THE APPEARANCE OF IRON During the third and more so in the second millennium B.C., when the Minoan and the Mycenaean civilisations were developing, the main metal used in crafting weapons and tools was copper and its alloys with tin, i.e., bronze2. It should be pointed out here that the material used in making weapons and tools identifies each era of the past. Iron initially became known to man in the form of meteorites. In fact, the Greek word for iron - sideros - comes from the word sidus, 2. We must once more point out that bronze is an alloy of copper and tin while brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Brass was unknown in prehistoric and Classical times and begins to make its appearance in the Hellenistic and partic­ ularly the Roman era. It is therefore incorrect in referring to the Minoan or Mycenaean ages to speak of them as the Brass Age and to copper-tin alloys as brass.

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which in the language of an Anatolian tribe means ‘star’, because it fell to earth as a shooting star. Indeed, many such iron meteorites

1. Seal ring from the of the fifteenth century B.C. Engraved on it are figureof-eight shields. (Irakleio Museum)

2. Drawing of shield in Fig. 1.

have been found on our planet. Their composition is characteristically not pure iron, as they also contain a significant proportion of nickel, which can fluctuate from a few per cent up to 20%. In other words, they are composed of an iron-nickel alloy, and are therefore stain­ less. This is the reason why, on entering the atmosphere, white-hot

3. Ring from Dendra, Medea (fourteenth century B.C.). It consists of an iron ring, while the bezel is in three layers. The one at the base is of silver, the middle one of lead, and the top one of iron. (National Museum, Athens)

4. Iron ring from Mycenae dating from the fourteenth - thirteenth century B.C. The bezel is missing.

ANCIENT GREECE & STANDARDS

31

because of friction, they withstand the extreme temperatures which develop, and are not oxidised or destroyed. When I was studying the iron seal rings of the fifteenth century B.C. which were found at Dendra in the region of Medea, near Mycenae, and at Pylos, exhibited in the National Museum, I dis­ covered that they also contained nickel ranging from between 2 and 3% to 11%. The question which came to mind was whether they were derived from meteorites or from nickel-bearing ores, as the latter abound in the regions of Larymna, Euboea, and as far away as Skyros. Experiments in melting such ores in primitive furnaces pro­ duced iron-nickel alloys. However, both the author’s research and that of other scholars on iron or steel tools and weapons from the Geometric, Archaic and Classical periods has indicated that the latter contained only traces of nickel. If the Mycenaean iron-nickel rings came from smelting ores and not from meteorites, would not subse­ quent iron finds display the same composition? Thus, the question surrounding the origin of the Mycenaean iron rings has yet to be resolved, and we must wait for future research to produce an an­ swer. However, it remains a fact that the Mycenaeans were acquainted with iron, even if this was in the form of expensive jewellery in the shape of rings. It is worth mentioning that the tablets of Akkad, in what is now Iraq, quote iron as being six times more expensive than silver. During the twelfth century B.C. iron began to be used for making tools and weapons but, to date, the finds have not been numerous enough for us to state definitively that the Iron Age had started. Their discovery, however, is extremely important and indicates that the Mycenaeans, at least in the twelfth century B.C., if not earlier, used iron, even for the production of weapons and tools. Consequently, the view that the Mycenaeans were not acquainted with iron and therefore were easily defeated by the Dorians, who on the contrary used iron weapons, can no longer be maintained. The constant war­ ring and commercial activity of the Achaeans, which extended as far as Anatolia, the continually increasing pressure from the Dorian tribes, and great internal social strife were the main causes of the weakening and decline, and finally the dissolution, of Mycenaean civilisation. The belief that the Mycenaeans did not know of and did

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not use iron weapons and tools is mistaken. Of course, not enough of these have been found to vindicate this view absolutely. Nevertheless, there is still the hope that archaeo­ logical digs will come across some horde of those times, rich in iron objects. Then we will be able to answer our questions on the history of iron, a metal whose use had such revolutionary consequences for the rate at which civilisation evolved within the Greek world and beyond its boundaries. The facts currently known to us permit us to maintain with cer­ tainty that the history of iron in Greece started at the beginning of the first millennium B.C. and developed significantly in the ninth to the eighth century B.C.

WHAT IS IRON AND WHAT IS STEEL?

HEAT TREATMENT (QUENCHING) AND TEMPERING

At this point it must be stressed that iron as a raw material for tools or weapons did not appear in the history of metals and, of course, in the annals of civilisation, from the moment that man learnt to ex­ tract it from its ores, but rather when he learnt how to transform it into steel3. The question therefore arises as to what the difference is between iron and steel. In other words, what is iron and what is steel? Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. Carburisation is effected in a variety of ways. In antiquity it was achieved by heating the iron in red hot charcoal, so that the carbon would superficially impregnate the iron and form very hard compounds with the latter, iron car­ bides, which are responsible for the hardness of steel. The greater the carbon content, in the form of carbides, the harder the steel. And even more important: steel fired between 750° C and 900° C and then dipped suddenly in water or oil attains extreme hardness. 3. Steel is known in Modern Greek by two words: •/«Aufictg -chalyvas- and atod/.t -atsali (from the Italian acciao).

ANCIENT GREECE & STANDARDS

33

In fact, it becomes so hard that it appears to be a completely differ­ ent metal or alloy from soft iron. This heat treatment is called quench­ ing and was known, as we shall see immediately, even during the Geometric period. Frequently, however, steel which has undergone heat treatment becomes so brittle that it loses its elasticity and frac­ tures when used. For this reason quenching is usually followed by another thermal process. The hard and brittle steel derived from quenching is heated at a low temperature, between 250°-450° C. This new process is called tempering and renders the steel malleable once again. The latter was necessary in antiquity in the case of steel weapons, because it would be fatal for the soldier if the hard steel sword broke at a crucial point of the battle.

WHY DID MAN DISCOVER AND USE IRON 2,500 - 3,000 YEARS AF­ TER THE USE OF COPPER AND ITS ALLOYS?

Smelting iron from its ores, and then converting it by carburisation and by quenching and tempering into hard and malleable steel was not an easy process for the ancient coppersmith. Iron melts at tem­ peratures above 1500° C, a temperature that no ancient craftsman could ever have attained with the means at his disposal. The highest temperatures in primitive furnaces would not have exceeded 1250° C to 1300° C4 in conditions of reduction. That is why ancient crafts­ men could never have melted iron and poured it into matrices (moulds) as they did with copper, bronze, silver, gold and lead, all of which melt below 1100° C. In the case of such metals the craftsman could smelt them from their ores or melt them in the primitive furnaces and see them shining when he opened the furnace. He could pour these metals into moulds and create the cast masterpieces that we 4. The craftsman could achieve higher temperatures, up to 1450° C, by blow­ ing in more air. However, in most cases, the metal ore contains the metal bonded with oxygen and the process of reductive smelting consists primarily of removing the oxygen in some manner, which will free the metal. Therefore, if the crafts­ man blew in greater quantities of air, in other words, more oxygen, then the conditions would become what we term oxidizing and the metal would not be liberated, but would remain bonded with the oxygen.

34

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5. Small iron knife dating from the twelfth century B.C., from the Mycenaean burial-ground at Perati (near Porto Rafti). (National Museum, Athens) 6. Small iron knife dating from the twelfth century B.C., from the Mycenaean burial-ground at Perati. (National Museum, Athens)

7. Scythe-shaped small iron knife, probably of the thirteenth-twelfth century B.C., from Tiryns. (National Museum, Athens) 8. Iron tripod legs of the Geometric period (eighth century B.C.). (Olympia Museum)

I

8

ANCIENT GREECE & STANDARDS

35

9. Iron sword-blades of the Geometric period, from Iampolis (present-day Kalapodi) in the Atalante region. (Lamia Museum)

10. Iron spearheads of the Geometric period, from Iampolis. (Lamia Museum)

10

11. Iron spearheads dating from the Archaic period, from Iampolis. (Lamia Museum) 12. Archaic iron axe, from Iampolis (Lamia Museum)

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GEORGE VAROUFAKIS

13. Primitive pit-furnace for the production of metals. The heavy metal would gather at the base of the pit.

admire so greatly today. Or else he could pour them into rods or plates and then forge them into various useful objects, weapons or tools. In the case of iron, however, all this was inconceivable, because, as has already been explained, they could not melt it. Today we are certain that the ancient metalworkers must have experimented in their furnaces in an effort to melt iron ores - just for the sake of experimentation. However, they must have thought for centuries that their experiments on certain ores, such as those of iron, were fail­ ures, as they never produced a lustrous metal, as they did with cop­ per or silver. In fact they were not failures. It was simply that the iron produced, as the smith was later to discover, lay at the bottom of the small furnace in the shape of a black sponge which externally took on the form of scoria. That is why he threw away what he considered to be useless geoidal. Many centuries went by before the extremely experienced ancient smith came to realise that this sponge­ like mass was not entirely composed of scoria; it also contained another

37

ANCIENT GREECE & STANDARDS

metal, which would in fact change the history of mankind and ac­ celerate the rate at which civilisation would develop. Yet even when he discovered this by rubbing away the rust with a file, this metal, i.e., iron, was so soft that it was not suitable for making weapons and tools. Therefore he had to go through the following important stages: a. Fire the spongy iron thus produced at a high temperature, not

14. Shaft-furnace used in Classical times. From the Berlin kylix.

15. Spongy iron of the Classical period, from Laurium.

16. Section of spongy iron from Laurium. It has taken on the shape of the bottom of the pit-furnace.

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below 1150° C. At such temperatures the rust on the sponge became molten and could be removed with very careful hammering, while the pieces of iron, which could be found scattered within it, would melt together to give the final iron rod. b. During the second stage, the craftsman would hammer this rod into weapons or tools, as he could not melt and pour it into a mould for the reasons given above. c. The tools or weapons produced in such a manner would then be carburised in red hot charcoal. The carbon of the charcoal would superficially impregnate the iron and thus produce an alloy of iron and carbon, known to us as steel. d. Finally, he would harden the steel objects by applying the heat treatments of quenching and tempering. In other words, the ancient craftsman would first of all have had to acquire this experience and knowledge before iron could enter the history of metals. This was the reason why, in order for this to happen, it was necessary for 2,500 to 3,000 years to pass after man discov­ ered copper and its alloys. As far as we know, the history of iron, in the form of steel, begins between the fourteenth and thirteenth cen­ tury B.C. in Anatolia and between the eleventh and ninth century B.C. in the Greek world. According to information currently availa­ ble, the metallurgy of iron developed fully in this region mainly from the ninth century B.C., when, as Thucydides was to claim, “all Greece was clad in iron” (Illus. 8-12).

THE METAL WITH THE MAGICAL PROPERTIES

Homer was influenced to such an extent by the magical properties of this new metal, its capacity for conversion into steel when carbu­ rised, as mentioned above, and strengthened by quenching, that he refers to it several times in his works, even though the Trojan War took place in an age when the main metals were copper and bronze rather than iron. A case in point is the comparison in the Odyssey of the blinding of Polyphemus by wily Odysseus with the quenching of steel:

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39

«...As a blacksmith plunges a hatchet into cold water to temper it -for it is this that gives the strength to iron- and it makes a great hiss as he does so, even thus did the Cyclops’ eye hiss round the beam of olive wood...»5 The poet is obviously deeply impressed by the discovery of this new metal. He could have easily described the terrible blinding scene in an equally evocative manner using a parallelism with any other metal, and even a non-metal. They all sizzle similarly when they are plunged into cold water straight from the fire. Even if the verse “for it is this that gives the strength to iron” were missing, the description of the blinding would in no sense lose any of its strength. However, the power generated in iron, or, even better, in steel through quenching, stirred the poet deeply, and, enthralled, he refers to this magical transformation, and simultaneously transmits the message of his times: the great evolution of iron metallurgy during the ninth and eighth century B.C. Hesiod, who lived around the eighth century B.C., was just as deeply affected and attributes the misery of his times to iron and curses the time and the moment.

«...1 wish that I did not live amongst people of the fifth generation, but that I had died ear­ lier or been born later, because this genera­ tion is a generation of iron and the exhaus­ tion and the misery of the people never ceases...»6

In reality, Hesiod feared the consequences that the use of iron would have on the social relations of his times. And he had reason to be afraid. After the eighth century the pace of history accelerated with unimaginable rapidity and we all know that this heralded social unrest and shifting balances at the time of Hesiod, and, consequently, ex­ tensive bloodshed. Unfortunately, this is always the heavy price lev­ ied by all great historical transformations. 5. Homer, Odyssey, translated by Samuel Butler. 6. Hesiod, Works and Days.

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GEORGE VAROUFAKIS

There is nevertheless a positive side. From the eighth century B.C. onwards remarkable activity is observable in all fields: art, poetry, ceramics, metallurgy and metal crafts. All these develop swiftly. And whilst during the Copper Age history is written in millennia, now we notice constant change every two centuries. Thus, following the Geometric period, in the seventh century B.C., we progress to the Archaic, and in the fifth to the Classical, and they are succeeded by the Hellenistic and Roman ages. So many changes within eight centuries. This revolutionary effect of iron on the development of mankind was so important that it justifies the view that the history of civilisation is the history of iron.

GOLD: A PRECIOUS METAL FROM PREHISTORIC TIMES TO THIS DAY

Gold is one of the few metals which can be found in its native state in river sand, or in quartz rocks, and can also co-exist in ores, such as those of copper. As previously explained, this precious metal was already known during the Stone Age. At that time it was considered to be an exceedingly rare stone with remarkable mechanical proper­ ties. It did not break, as all other stones did, on being hammered but, on the contrary, it took on the form given to it, thus creating intricate and beautiful shapes. And most important, in contrast with other metals of the subsequent metal ages, and especially copper, it did not oxidise. Since then gold has never ceased to play a principal role in the economy of states throughout the ages, despite the fact that as a metal it essentially has no significance for technology or use in everyday life, and has always been used for making jewellery and minting coins rather than for making tools or weapons. Ancient swords with gold grips or weapons made entirely of gold in ancient and even medieval graves were either offerings or instruments of purely ritual significance. It is certainly absurd that this beautiful but almost useless metal is the regulator of the world economy and that the gold reserves of a country serve as the barometer of its economy,

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even if it possesses millions of tons of oil, steel, copper, carbon, chromium, vanadium, and other metals or ores. Nevertheless, the ancient rules of economy have imposed this on human societies and a constant struggle to obtain gold has been the rule from prehistory to this day.

THE “GOLDEN FLEECE”: THE FIRST GOLD-PROSPECTING VENTURE

It is worth citing the myth of the Argonauts and their expedition to obtain the ‘Golden Fleece’ in order to underline the importance which gold has had ever since prehistoric times. In reality this was not a simple expedition to steal a golden fleece, but a well-organised gold prospecting venture, in order to obtain many such fleeces and pro­ duce gold. Strabo7 informs us that the torrents which coursed down the Caucausus and poured into the river Phasis carried with them gold-bearing sand. The latter flowed into the Black Sea. What did the craftsmen of that prehistoric age do in order to collect gold? Strabo, who came from the area, informs us that they placed ‘mangers’, in other words, troughs, near the sources of the torrents. Along the base of each trough they placed the hairy fleece of a ram. The water containing the gold-bearing sand entered one end and flowed out of the other, and the base also contained holes for draining and removing the water. Gold, being nineteen times heavier than water, would sink to the bottom and be deposited on the woollen fleece, while the sand, being an extremely light materi­ al, would be washed away together with the water at the other end. As soon as the concentration of gold dust on the fleece gave it a golden glow, the craftsman would remove the fleece of the ram and replace it with another one with no gold. The fleece which was heavy with gold dust was put out to dry and then was combed so as to obtain the precious metal. This was a neat and ingenious method of obtaining gold. So it seems that some Mycenaean traders or businessmen, travel­ ling in those parts, observed the hundreds of golden fleeces stretched 7. Strabo, Geography, Loeb Editions, Vol. V, Book XI, 253.

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out, and upon their return imparted the message that so much gold existed. Thus, one day the Argonaut expedition was organised, led, according to mythology, by Jason, with a view to exploiting and ob­ taining this metal systematically. And, as Strabo tells us, the Mycenaeans did not go merely to steal the ‘Golden Fleece’ and leave, but, according to the myth, to establish themselves permanently and ex­ ploit the gold. Otherwise, how can one explain a fact mentioned by the great Greek geographer: that in this area of the Black Sea there existed a sanctuary of Jason and Mount Jason in his honour, and that the princess Medea, when attending ceremonies representing her father, the king, was always accompanied by Jason? In other words, Jason and the Mycenaeans held the region and at some point the locals must have rebelled and expelled them, and so Jason left taking his beloved Medea with him. But this belongs to the realm of mythology, while Strabo’s narration gives us information on which we can rely, and points to more recent world history, where the search for gold has led to the discovery of new continents, caused wars, eradicated tribes, and inspired directors to portray all these events through their films.

GOLD, THE SECRET POWER OF PHILIP II, KING OF MACEDON AND FATHER OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT

This most precious of metals has at times played an important role in the history of many states from ancient times to this day. The example of Macedonia is worth noting. Before Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, became King of Macedon, this land was poor, and in order to survive was obliged to ally itself with the powers of each age, indeed on terms which were not particularly honourable. Thus, when Darius decided to extend his dominion to the Greek world, he sent ambassadors to the Hellenic city-states, demanding ‘earth and water’. In other words, he was requesting that they ac­ knowledge the rule of the Persian state, pay taxes in gold, silver and other products, and take part in his expeditions. One of the Hellenic states which acceded to this demand was Macedonia. King Amyntas was forced to go over to the Medians and sign Macedonia’s alle­

ANCIENT GREECE & STANDARDS

43

giance, or rather its submission, to the Great King. Thus, the army of Macedonia, led by King Alexander I, son of Amyntas -who had died in the meantime- and ancestor of Alexander the Great (III), was forced to fight for the Persians at the crucial battle of Plataea, despite his great love for and concern over the fate of Greece. Accor­ ding to Herodotus, a year after the Greeks tasted victory at the naval battle at Salamis, the enemy troops, accompanied by the Thessa­ lians, Thebans and Macedonians, who supported them, were camped on one of the banks of the river Asopus, while the Athenians, Spar­ tans, Corinthians and their allies on the other. Days went by but the battle did not commence, because there was a prophecy, known to both adversaries, that whoever dared to attack first would be the one to lose. The eleventh day came and went and nobody would begin. Food supplies, however, were dwindling and Mardonius, Xerxes’ brother-in-law and leader of the Persian army, could no longer wait and decided to attack. He therefore gathered all his generals and announced that the following day they would spring an attack on the Greek army camp and that victory was certain for the Persian forces, as their army was the most powerful and best organised army in the world. When Alexander heard of Mardonius’ decision, he was shak­ en, and decided to warn the Greek leaders so that they could organ­ ise themselves and avoid being taken by surprise. As soon as it was dark, he made the audacious decision to warn them himself, even if in so doing he endangered his life. He mounted his horse, and gal­ loped across to the Athenian camp. On approaching the first out­ posts he began shouting “call forth the Athenian generals”. So one of the soldiers from the outpost went to their tent and told them “A rider from the enemy camp would like to speak to you”. The gener­ als came out and this was what the patriotic Macedonian king told them: “Athenians, I entrust you with the following words and I beg you to keep them secret from all except Pausanias8, otherwise you will destroy me. I would not say a thing had I not the interests of all Greece at heart. For I am of Greek origin and I do not want to see Greece enslaved rather than free9.” In conclusion he added the fol­ 8. Spartan general, leader of the Greek forces. 9. Herodotus, IX, 45.

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lowing important points: “And if the war should end well, let each of you take thought for my own liberation, as I for the sake of the Greeks undertook this dangerous task, wishing to disclose the inten­ tions of Mardonius, so that the barbarians would not suddenly fall upon you unexpectedly. I am Alexander of Macedon.” These were the moving words of the young Greek king of Macedonia, demon­ strating his Greek descent and at the same time his love of Greece and its liberty. When the Persian Wars ended victoriously for Greece, Athens developed into a great Greek superpower with which Macedonia formed an alliance. After the Peloponnesian War, Macedonia allied itself with Sparta, the victor, and later on with the all-powerful Thebes under Pelopidas and Epaminondas. This state of affairs continued until Philip came to the throne. The rich goldmines of Pangaeus were discovered at that point, followed by those of Strymon a little later. With gold ensuring its economic power, Philip used his polit­ ical and military abilities and organised the Macedonian state, in­ cluding its army, along new lines. The result was that Macedonia developed into a new Hellenic superpower, which was very shortly to dominate the whole of Greece. The political and above all the economic decline of Athens contributed to this, and this in turn was caused by the catastrophic Peloponnesian War, but also by the waning of the great metallurgic centre at Laurium, which, as mentioned above, was for a number of centuries the secret force behind this Hellenic superpower. The significance of gold and then of silver is mentioned only to underline the important role metals played, and of course have never ceased to play, in the development of human societies. To the ques­ tion whether Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, could have dominated the entire Greek world in so short a period of time with­ out the gold from Pangaeus and Strymon the answer is negative, because Alexander I was also a very capable king and ruler, as was his father Amyntas, and all the other rulers before Philip. Never­ theless, they did not possess the power of gold and that is why, as has already been explained, up until the discovery of this metal Mac­ edonia was a powerless state.

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ELECTRUM

For many in Greece the word elektro brings to mind amber, a vari­ ety of fossilised vegetal resin, originally secreted by conifers. Insects can frequently be seen trapped in the clear resin. From ancient times to this day it has been used to make worry beads, necklaces and other jewellery for men and women. Schoolchildren learn that it was Thales who discovered that by rubbing amber on wool, the former would display magnetic proper­ ties and attract various small materials, such as pieces of paper today, and that on being brought into close proximity they would stick on to the amber. The electrical charge which amber acquires from the woollen material when it is rubbed on it produces this phenomenon. This charge is opposite to that of paper. This creates an attraction between opposite electrical charges, which is one of the classic ex­ periments in static electricity demonstrated in Physics lessons. Nat­ urally, Thales, one of the first to observe this interesting phenome­ non, had no conception of the existence of one of the most signif­ icant forms of energy, which was to play such an important role in our life. And, of course, the word electricity is derived from elektron, the word used in Ancient Greece for amber, this most fasci­ nating material. However, another material was also known in ancient times as elektron: a metal alloy of gold and silver. Possibly the ancients named this alloy thus because in certain cases and in specific compositions it was the same colour as amber. Of course, amber was not a metal, and therefore was a bad conductor, while the gold-silver alloy was a good conductor of electricity. Today, we believe, albeit with certain reservations, that this man­ made alloy of gold and silver is what archaeologists term ‘electrum’. Nevertheless, some people consider that the gold finds from Myce­ nae were made of electrum, which would probably mean that the alloy was in fact found in nature. Things are far from clear and are further confused when ancient writers use such terms. Thus, Homer frequently mentions electrum without specifying whether it was amber or the gold-silver alloy. In Book 15 of the Odyssey (459-461), the swineherd Eumaeus, in recounting his woes to Odysseus, his noble

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lineage and how the Phoenicians abducted him and the beautiful female Phoenician slave from his parents’ palace tells him: “a very cunning fellow came to my father’s house bringing a necklace of gold with amber [e/ektron] strung among it”...10 In Book 18 (296) we read: “Eurymachus immediately brought her a magnificent chain of gold and amber [elektron] that gleamed like sunlight”. In the first instance one could accept that the mate­ rial referred to as electrum was probably amber. What about the second case? Could it possibly be the alloy, which was quite well known in Homeric times and especially in the region of Lydia, which was situated quite close to his homeland? Nothing can be ruled out. There are other similar references to electrum in Homer, and their significance always remains ambiguous. Students of ancient Greek literature will also have noticed that the word ‘white gold’ is mentioned frequently11. What could this denote? The white man-made electrum or that found in nature whose silver content is so high (over 20%) that it acquires a silvery colour? Neither view can be advanced with certainty. Future research might well resolve the question. I am simply drawing attention to the tricky issue of terminology.

SILVER

This precious metal gained particular significance in the Greek world since for many centuries it was the secret behind the economic and political might of the Athenian state. In metallurgical terms it is also especially interesting, as it is one of the few metals which was produced from its ores in the Greek world in a truly remarkable manner - by a technique that still calls forth the admiration of modernday metal workers and archaeologists or historians in their studies of the role silver played in the development of Athens and, generally, of those city-states that happened to possess silver-ore mines and centres for producing this precious metal. 10. Translation by Samuel Butler. 11. Herodotus, I, 50.

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THE APPEARANCE OF SILVER

Unlike gold, silver is eroded by certain elements in the environment and therefore it is rarely found unoxidised in its native state. Fur­ thermore, silver usually is present with lead in its ores. So when the ancient craftsman placed such an ore, known to geologists as galena, in the furnace, the product was not silver, but silver and lead. At the time of the Athenian state of Classical times, the silver content of the lead produced was about 1,000 gr per ton of lead. Therefore a second stage of extracting and producing silver from the lead must have followed immediately afterwards. The ancient metallurgist who had initially discovered lead must have noticed on some occasion that this soft and cold ash-coloured metal hid within it a beautiful and valuable precious metal. And it is indeed extraordinary and as­ tonishing that a metallurgist of the third millennium B.C. contrived to discover silver within lead12. This may have occurred when a piece of lead, rich in silver, fell by mistake into an open hearth, and melted13, whereupon the lead was oxidised by the air produced by the crafts­ man’s bellows14 and freed the shiny silver -which is not affected by oxygen, even at high temperatures. Imagine the craftsman’s suprise when he observed this new metal shining amongst the ashes. Let us not forget, however that, as previously mentioned, this random event could not be understood and reproduced by just anyone. Only a crafts­ man who knew how to play with fire, the furnace and the process for smelting lead or possibly other metals from their ores, could appreciate the new message in the random extraction of silver from lead and reproduce this chance occurrence, which from this instant on would no longer be random.

12. The archaeologist Olga Kakavoyianni discovered near Koropi scoria -slagknown as litharge or lead monoxide, from silver production by the method of ‘cupellation’. 13. Lead melts at a temperature of 327° C. 14. ‘Oxidised’ means that the lead combined with the oxygen in the air blown through by primitive man and formed a solid oxide, known in metallurgy as litharge.

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THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SILVER

Silver is heavier than copper or iron, although lighter than lead and lighter still than gold15. One of its physical properties is its high ductility. Hammering can easily shape it into useful and decorative objects. Excavations at various times have brought to light silver vessels with amazing decorations, and artfully crafted jewellery and coins which today are the pride of museum displays. To this day, silver continues to be used on a considerable scale for the same purpose as it was in ancient times. THE SILVER OF LAURIUM, THE STATE OF ATHENS’ MAIN SOURCE OF POWER

There are certain historical events which are generally known to all. Who is there who has never heard of the battle of Marathon and the naval battle of Salamis? Who doesn’t know something about the achievements of the ancient Greeks in the fields of economy, ad­ ministration, navigation, mathematics and astronomy? Who has not heard of, or even experienced for himself, the beauty of their poetry, literature and philosophy? How many, however, know the mystery behind the prosperity of Athens, the secret of its political and economic might? How many people could tell you why, of the 380 triremes which the Greeks deployed in the straits of Salamis, approximately 200, the most modern and agile, were Athenian? Where did the Athenians find the funds to build them? After the Persian Wars, how did Athens manage to spring forth from the smouldering ruins the Persians left in their wake more beautiful still and more richly adorned? How was that enormous wall which joined Athens to Piraeus erected? How did Athens evolve into the superpower of those times in so short a space of time? And, finally, what was the basis for the intransigent policy of Pericles on the eve of the Peloponnesian War, when he urged the Athenians not to yield to the demands of the 15. The density of these metals is as follows: gold -19g/cm3, lead - 11.34 g/ cm’, silver - 10.50 g/cm3, copper - 8.92 g/cm1, iron - 7.86 g/cmJ. The melting point of each of the above metals is : gold - 1064° C, lead - 327.5° C, silver - 962" C, copper -1083” C.

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Spartans, even if this could, as it did, result in war? Queen Atossa, mother of Xerxes, in Aeschylus’ play The Per­ sians, voiced the same question on the eve of the great confronta­ tion in the straits of Salamis, asking the Chorus, her courtiers, “have they sufficient treasures in their homes?”. And the Chorus respond­ ed: “their rich earth yields a copious fount of silver”16. Xenophon offers a similar answer to the same question in his work On Revenues. At a certain point near the beginning he writes: “there is land, which although it yields no fruit to the sower, needs only be quarried in order to feed many time more mouths than it could as wheat land. Doubtless we owe it to a divine dispensation that our land is veined with silver”17. At another point Xenophon mentions that in most cities merchants were paid by barter and not in the local coin, because this had no value outside their territory. By way of contrast, within the bounda­ ries of the Athenian state, merchants sought payment in the Athenian silver currency, because its value outside Athens was greater than within. In other words, it was a hard currency and everybody strove to obtain it. And this all was in the time of Xenophon, after Athens had been soundly and disastrously defeated by the Spartans. One can imagine what things must have been like during the golden age of Pericles. With this silver, far-sighted Themistocles built 200 triremes in the period between the battle of Marathon and the naval battle of Salamis (490-480 B.C.). With this silver, Pericles rebuilt the Parthe­ non and the other temples after their destruction during the Persian Wars and decorated the whole city with splendid works of art still greatly admired today. Calculations indicate that on the eve of the Peloponnesian War, more than 10,000 talents were kept in the Acropolis, in other words almost 250 tons of silver18. Economists claim that an equal amount of silver must have circulated in the form of silver coinage on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. Therefore, Pericles had a firm basis for his intransigent policy and spoke from a position of strength. Naturally, Alcibiades was also aware of this resource in the posses16. Aeschylus, Persians, translated by Richard Potter. 17. Xenophon, On Revenues, translated by H. G. Dakyns. 18. A talent or talanton was approximately 25 to 26 kilograms.

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sion of the Athenian state. So, when he went over to the Spartan side, he persuaded them to build a fort at Decelia, and from there to attack Laurium, the heart of Athens’ secret power. Indeed, they finally incited the slaves who worked in the mines to revolt, and these proceeded to cause serious damage and then to escape. This was the first economic defeat for Athens. The count-down to its downfall had already begun. A short while after the Peloponnesian War, work started once more in the mines. In his work On Revenues, Xenophon attempts to hearten the Athenians and convince them that by better or­ ganising the silver mines, the so-called argyreia, Athens could once more regain its old glory and pre-eminence. Unfortunately, Xenophon’s efforts were in vain, as he believed that the silver reserves were inexhaustible. However, this was not 17. Fifth-century B.C. true. The reserves had already begun to be de­ Attic silver coin. pleted and production dropped significantly, while (Numismatic Mu­ at the same time, as the Athenians’ bad luck seum, Athens). would have it, the Macedonians during the reign of Philip, in other words just after Xenophon, discovered the rich mines of Pangaeus and Strymon. Athens, exhausted by the disastrous war and all the consequences of a serious defeat, began to decline and lose its prestige; its pre-eminence was never to be regained.

LEAD

In speaking of silver, the point was made that this precious metal can be found in small quantities in lead, when the latter is produced by smelting its ores in a furnace. Lead is a very heavy, soft metal, and melts at low temperatures19. It can be easily extracted in the furnace, releasing it from its ores, and was perhaps therefore one of the first metals that man contrived to smelt without great difficulty in primitive furnaces. Nevertheless, it gained great importance from the moment when ancient craftsmen discovered a way to extract the 19. Its density is 11 g/cm3 and it melts at 327.5" C.

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silver from its grasp. It has, moreover, certain interesting properties. It can withstand atmospheric corrosion, because it forms a patina, a homogeneous layer, on its surface which protects the rest of the metal’s mass. That it is why it was used to protect iron. An example of this is to be found in the iron joints which linked the great blocks of stone of the base to the cornice of the Parthenon, the Erechtheum20, and other buildings, temples and fortifications. Lead was used also to support bronze statues, by placing it in their base. It was further utilised to construct weights. Amongst the cases in the National Museum devoted to finds from Santorini, one can see a whole series of weights from the sixteenth century B.C. Research has indicated that they were covered by a thin layer of lead oxide, while the bulk of the metallic mass remained untouched. Chemical analysis showed that the latter was very pure. Lead was also employed in the copper-alloy foundries for pro­ ducing cast objects, when chasing would not be necessary afterwards. The 45 Minoan figurines from Crete which I studied in collabora­ tion with the archaeologist E. Sapouna-Sakellaraki constitute such an example21. I observed the same thing when I studied the Geomet­ ric tripods from Olympia. This was a period at which it appears that there was a serious shortage of tin, a component of bronze. I discov­ ered that in many cases they had even used lead, which greatly 20. 1. Leivadeus, K., ‘The structural iron of the Parthenon’, Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, January 1956, Vol. 182, 49-66. 2. Konophagos, K.-Papademetriou, G., Ot ZvvÖEOgot rov EoE/deiov xaraoHEvdoOr/xav fie texvixtj jiov ^avaSpioxEiat ora “Aagaoxrivd Xitadid”, Athens Academy, 1981, Vol. 56, 173-190. 3. Varoufakis, G., ‘nd)? ävie^av ott] öiaßpcoor] roacov atcovcov oi otbepevtoi ouvöeop.oi xat yogcpoi tcov vadiv ttjc; Azpojto/.r|g’, AQxaioko-yia, Issue 45, December 1992. 4. Varoufakis G. J., ‘The iron clamps and dowels from the Parthenon and the Erechthion’, JHMS, 26, 1992. 21. 1. Varoufakis, G. J., Metallurgical Investigation of 45 Minoan Statuettes. 2. Varufakis, G. J., ‘Chemische und metallurgische Untersuchung von 45 Minoischen Statuetten’, metallurgical research, appendix to Ms Effie Sa­ pouna-Sakellaraki’s paper Die bronzenen Menschenfiguren auf Kreta und in der Aegais, Prähistorische Bronzefunde, Abteilung I, Band 5. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1995.

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improves the potential for casting of the molten alloy while being cast in moulds22. It should be noted that these alloys were destined solely for the production of cast, and not chased, objects, because the presence of lead lessens the ductility of the copper alloy and therefore its capac­ ity to be shaped by the hammer or other mechanical means into useful tools, weapons or household utensils.

22. Varufakis, G., ‘Vorbericht über metallurgische Untersuchungen’, appendix to Michael Maas’ book Die geometrischen dreifüsse von Olympia.

PART TWO

THE USE OF STANDARDS, QUALITY CONTROL AND CERTIFICATION OF PRODUCTS IN ANCIENT GREECE The author’s research into ancient, and also contemporary, technol­ ogy and his studies of ancient Greek literature have led to the inter­ esting conclusion that organised societies throughout the ages, from antiquity to this day, which display a high level of culture always have an evolved technology. And, most importantly, this operates on the basis of a mechanism ensuring quality control and consumer protection. It is worth mentioning that this was also true even in prehistoric times and not only in the Greek world. For example, in ancient Babylon, the laws of Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.) include a very important one which can be regarded as the oldest existing building regulation. It states at some point that: “If a builder builds a house for somebody, but does not carry out the work in accord­ ance with the regulations [or the standards in force] resulting in a wall being inclined, then this builder is required to reinforce it at his own expense23. During Classical times in Greece there was a mechanism in place for the quality control, standardisation and certification of items pro­ duced and sold at the production point, but also in the market. The ancient Greeks applied standards with very strict specifications and harsh penalties for anyone who did not comply. These standards covered the entire range of products made at that time, from metals and their alloys to agricultural products, foods and beverages. Amongst the latter were unmixed wine, olive oil, wheat and barley. This might seem strange, but it is nevertheless true. It is worth mentioning that 23. «Les lois de Hammourabi inscrits sur une stèle en basalte noir, 17921750», Av. J.C., Lois de 1’ Ancien Orient, documents autour de la Bible, traduc­ tions et commentaires de M. Josef Seux. Basalt stele, Louvre Museum.

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according to the Constitution of Athens14, ten market inspectors were appointed by lot to ensure that commodities for sale were “pure and unadulterated...”, in other words that they conformed to health standards and were not contaminated. Furthermore, ‘metronomoi' were responsible for all the weights and measures on the market, and were obliged to ensure that ven­ dors used them correctly (“oi TUjAo'uvtEg xpf|oovTai bixaiotg”), which in contemporary terms would mean that they were monitored and certified, so as to correspond to the standard weights and measures24 25. Aristotle mentions in the same text that the ‘wheat-guards’, fif­ teen at Piraeus and twenty in Athens, always appointed by lot, had to see that the wheat not yet ground was sold honestly (in other words, that it was unadulterated - (“6 ev ayopq oirog apyog divtog eoiai bixaicog”) and furthermore that bakers should take care to sell loaves whose weight was in accordance with law (“tov oraQpdv ayovrag ooov av ainol tcl^cdoiv, 6 yap vopog toutovg xeXevei toitteiv”). In other words, selling bread underweight was considered to be an act of fraud26. The author, in the many years of his research into technology in antiquity, over and above the texts of ancient Greek literature, has established that the Athenian state attached the utmost importance (as we shall see later) to controlling the quality of everything pro­ duced and manufactured (and not solely foodstuffs), and protecting the consumer, and that this took place within a well organised and strict state mechanism.

THE ELEUSIS INSCRIPTION The text of an inscription of the fourth century B.C., discovered at Eleusis a century ago in 1893 by D. Philios, deals with the field of metals and their alloys. The content of the text is an order for the 24. Aristotle, Constitution of Athens, para. 50.1.1-51.4.1. 25. It is known that all the standards for weights and measures were kept safe in the Prytaneum, located in the ancient Agora. 26. The author is indebted for the translation to the translation team of KAKTOS publications, under the supervision of E.P. Nikoloudis, whose text he has freely adapted.

ANCIENT GREECE & STANDARDS

55

manufacture of bronze fittings known as empolia and poloi, that is, the bronze dowels which would be placed between the drums of the column shafts of the Portico of Philo, a beautiful building which was to be erected in front of an older one known as the Eleusinian Telesterion. At one point the inscription surprisingly prescribes: “xakxob de epydoexai Mapiecog, xExpapEvou xqv dco6exdTT|v, xa evdexa p.epY| xa/.xoi, xd be bwbexaxov xaxxixEpou”, which in a free render­ ing means: he will use copper (which in reality was bronze and not pure copper) produced at Marius of Cyprus (a large commercial and metallurgical centre of that time), and of its twelve parts, eleven were to be of copper and one of tin (in other words, approximately 8.33 to 8.5% in our system). Here it must be pointed out that 12 was a factor of 60, which in Classical times was the basis of the Baby­ lonian counting system then employed, a system which in many instances we still use today. For example, in geometry this system forms the basis for measuring angles in degrees. The same applies in astronomy, even in time measurement (12 months, 24 hours, 60 minutes and 60 seconds) and elsewhere. Even in everyday life we talk about a dozen, rather than the ten bottles -or other objectswhich the decimal system requires. When I first read this part of the inscription, I was tremendous­ ly struck by this message from the distant past - a message inform­ ing us that the ancient Greeks applied strict specifications in their orders, and in this particular instance they enforced an empirical quality control for the copper alloys, because without it the spec­ ifications in the inscription would have been worthless and the danger of adulteration great. At this point it must be added that another inscribed stele referring to the production of the anthemium of Athena for the Acropolis informs us that the price of cop­ per was 35 drachmas per talent, while that of tin was 230 drach­ mas, in other words, approximately seven times higher. On the basis of the number of columns, the number of dowels, the dimensions of the empolia and poloi, which the inscription states precisely, as well as the density of the bronze (8.9 kg/dm3), their combined weight is calculated to have exceeded three tons (3.300 t). The tin content may have only been 8.33% of the metal’s mass, but it represented 37% of the alloy’s total value, because, as we have already men­

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tioned, its price was seven times greater than that of copper. All this reinforces the view that there was an empirical method for quality control. The author’s paper27 on the Eleusinian inscrip­ tion argued that one of the possible methods was to compare the colour of the alloy with a series of standard samples. The red colour of copper becomes lighter with the addition of tin. The author there­ fore cast a series of small samples whose tin content differed by 2%. The series was 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, etc. up to 16%. In practice this element is rarely found in alloys at contents greater than 16% (only bells contain 18-20%). It was possible to compare this standard range of samples with an unknown assay successfully. If in fact fraud had occurred, then this would not have been of the order of 1 to 2%, but greater than 3 to 4%. The small difference of 1-2% would have been due to errors in the casting process, such as oxidations, and other known problems that occur even today. Furthermore, calculations indicated that if the contractor reduced the addition of tin by 2 to 3% (so that instead of 8.5%, he added 6 or 5%), then the margin of illegal profit would have been 500 to 740 drachmas of that time in each instance, an immense amount for those times. However this may be, the fact remains -and this is what is im­ portant here- that in those far-off times, they applied standards with strict specifications and in the case in question they applied empi­ rical methods of quality control to copper alloys. It is also interest­ ing that the last lines of the inscription contain the name of the lowest bidder (the contractor) and -most significantly- that of the guarantor - as well as an account of the payment of the guarantee for the proper execution of the order. Ancient metalworkers used alloys of specific and not random composition in each case. The author’s research into Mycenaean weaponry and tools of the sixteenth century B.C. has shown that metallurgists far in the past had great experience and knowledge of the relationship between the mechanical properties of copper alloys and their tin content. It must also be pointed out that tin increases the hardness and the mechanical resistance of these alloys, while at the same time improving their suitability for casting; in other words, 27. Varoufakis, George, Ekeyxog vkixdrv ottjv xAaowr/ aQxaiOTrjTa - Texvihe^ jipodiaypagiEg tov 4ov it. X. aid)va, ELOT publications, Athens 1987.

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57

? KEV I a HT A X r o Nl £

18. The Eleusinian inscription, dating from the fourth century B.C. It records one of the oldest European standards and includes specifications for the compo­ sition of the bronze dowels to be placed between the column drums in the Por­ tico of Philo (Eleusis Museum).

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GEORGE VAROUFAKIS

it increases the motility of the molten alloy in the mould. Spears, knives and other weapons were always made of copper-tin alloys so that they would possess the required mechanical properties. On the other hand, the special nails used to secure the grip of a sword to the blade were made of almost pure copper. This soft copper could be hammered without difficulty at ambient temperature and the head

19. The Portico of Philo, a fine fourth-century B.C. structure, built in front of the, older, Telesterion of Eleusis (model by Ioannis Travlos. Eleusis Museum).

of the nail could be flattened, ensuring a solid and secure joint be­ tween the handle and the blade. The author has further established that metalworkers in the second millennium B.C. knew the correct ratios of the components for making bronze depending upon the weapon and the tool that they wanted to produce. In the paper ‘Metallurgical research on copper objects from the Grave Circle B of Mycenae’, in spite of the fact that at that time I did not know of the existence of the Eleusis inscription, I wrote: “Clearly, certain empirical tests must have been applied to metals and their alloys in order to select the quality required in each in­

ANCIENT GREECE & STANDARDS

59

stance and to assess metals in trading transactions. In other words, there must have existed a certain type of technical inscription on which the sales and purchase of metals must have been based”. The same conclusion was drawn from studying the metal finds at Perati28. THE DERVENI CRATER The Derveni crater (mixing-bowl) constitutes a similar case. This is an elegant work of art of the fourth century B.C., found at Derveni, Thessaloniki, which is impressive because of its gold colour and magnificent reliefs. The author presented the results of his research into it in 1977 at the British Museum in London29. The intense gold colour misled archaeologist Christos Makaronas30, who brought it to light in an emergency preservation dig of six cist tombs, together with other vessels, all of which were of a fine colour. Thus his first publication of them refers to them as “gilt copper finds from Der­ veni”. However, chemical analysis demonstrated that they did not contain even a trace of gold and their golden colour was due exclu­ sively to the large quantity of tin (approximately 14.5%) which they contained. This high tin content produced hardness reminiscent of hard steel. It makes one wonder how the ancient craftsman managed to produce a vessel as large as the crater of Derveni, which is almost a metre high and weighs 40 kilos, by chasing, and afterwards creat28. Varoufakis, G., «METakkoupyixr] 'Epewa Avtixeiiievwv ex yaXxoi) ex tod Tacptxoi) nepiSoXou B tidv Muxiqvcov», appendix in Mylonas, G.E., O Tatpixog Kvxkog Mvxt/vcjv, Athens 1973; Varoufakis, G., «EijEraou; MetoXXixwv Avtlxei|ievcdv tod MexT]vaixot> NexpoTaqieioD flEQatfig», AQxatokoyLxri Etpiytepig, 1967, 70-82. This study was based on the examination of a series of samples provided by archaeologist, university professor and academician S. Iacovidis, who studied the Mycenaean burial-ground in question, and published his research as «Muxqvaixot Tdcpot IlEpaTf]g», A- 19, 1964, Xpovixd, 87-95. 29. Varoufakis, George, «Metallurgical investigation of the bronze crater of Derveni», a study presented at the British Museum in 1977, at a symposium organised by that institution, and the Historical Metallurgy Society; Varoufakis, G., «METodJ.ocpYixf] E^etoot] tod xpavf]Qa ton AeqSeviod», Ap/atoAoyixrj EcprmEQi&a, 1978, pp. 160-180. 30. Makaronas, C., «Ta eni/pDoa yaXxa EDpT|paTa tod Aeq6eviot>», Ap/aioAoytxdv AeAtiov 18, 1973, B2 Xpovtxa, p. 193.

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GEORGE VAROUFAKIS

20. The Derveni crater, with its gold-coloured surface and scenes in relief from the marriage of Ariadne and Dionysus (fourth century B.C., Thessaloniki Museum).

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61

ed the relief - or, rather, almost three-dimensional - scenes when the chasing was only 0.4mm thick and the risk of it splitting while being hammered and ornamented was great. The question remains: why use such a hard alloy, why not construct it out of a softer bronze containing 6-7% tin? Was it perhaps to be used for the ashes of a ruler of the time, and the order required the vessel to have this beautiful golden colour? However this may be, the choice was delib­ erate. The fact that together with this masterpiece common vessels containing 6% tin which were not of such artistic importance were also found at Derveni, and, more significantly, the existence of the Eleusis inscription dating from exactly the same period indicate that the choice of alloy was always intentional and never random. This is true in each instance of the author’s research, which chronologically covers the period from prehistoric times, commencing from the twentieth century B.C., to the Hellenistic period.

QUALITY CONTROL AND AUTHENTICITY CERTIFICATION OF ATTIC SILVER COINS OF THE FOURTH CENTURY B.C. THE ATHENIAN LAW OF THE FOURTH CENTURY B.C.

In 1970 a marble stele was found in the ancient Agora of Athens dating from the beginning of the fourth century B.C. which refers to the quality control of Attic silver coinage for the verification of its authenticity. Ronald S. Stroud31 carried out the initial study, while in his own research32 the present author cites a possible empirical method which the ancient inspectors may have used to ascertain the authen­ ticity of the Attic silver coinage of those times, at the same time drawing attention to the employment of standardisation, quality control and certification in those far-off times. Stroud described the discov­ ery of the inscription as the most important in its field. And in this he was perfectly correct, since, over and above its archaeological value, it proves that the ancient Greeks, at least of the Classical period if not before, applied quality control and certification to all products. The law clearly states that a special civil servant (‘ dokimastes' assayer) was to test each Attic or foreign silver coin with the same device, that is, bearing the same device as that on an Attic coin. This indicates that counterfeit silver coins were in circulation at that time in considerable numbers. This was shortly after the Pelo­ ponnesian War, when the production of silver at the Laurium mines (the so-called argyreia) had decreased significantly and consequently there was a serious shortage of this precious metal. This is perhaps the reason why foreign silver currency bearing the same device as that of the Attic coinage was accepted. The coinage would have been imported from Egypt and the other countries of the Middle and Near East by shipowners, merchants and Greek mercenaries. This short31. R. S. Stroud is a professor of epigraphy at the University of California, and his study was published under the title «An Athenian law on silver coinage» in Hesperia 43 [XLIII] 1974, 157-188. 32. Varoufakis, George J., «The quality control of the Attic silver coins». This study was presented at the British Museum in London during a symposium or­ ganised by that institution and the Royal Numismatic Society, in September 1994.

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age and the consequent importation of sil­ ver, for the reasons mentioned above, en­ couraged forgers to circulate counterfeit currency in the period of the decline of the Athenian economy. THE MOST IMPORTANT POINTS OF THE LAW

The following are its most important pas­ sages, based on the English translation of the law by Ronald S. Stroud: a. Resolved by the Nomothetai, in the archonship of Hippodamas; Nicophon made the proposal: Attic silver currency is to be accepted when (it is shown to be) silver and bears the official die. Let the public Assayer, who sits among (the) tables, test in ac­ cordance with these provisions every (day except) whenever there is a cash payment; at that time let him test in (the Bouleuterion). If anyone brings forward (foreign sil­ ver currency) which has the same device as the Attic (if it is good) let the Assayer (Dokimastes) give it back to the one who brought it forward; but if it is (bronze at 21. Inscribed stele from the the core) or lead at the core, or counterfeit, Stoa of Attalus. It refers to let him cut it across (immediately) and let an Athenian law of 375 B.C. on the quality control of it be sacred to the Mother of the Gods and Attic silver coinage. let him (deposit) it with the Boule. b. If the Assayer (Dokimastes) does not sit at his post or he does not test according to the law, let the Syllogeis tou demou beat (him) fifty lashes with the whip. If anyone does not accept whatever silver currency the Assayer has approved, let everything that he offers for sale on (that) day be confiscated. Let the denunciations for offences in the grain market be laid (before) the Sitophylakes, for those in the agora and in (the rest) of the city before the Syllogeis tou de-

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mou; those (in the) market and in Piraeus before the (Epimeletai) of the market, except for the offences in the grain-mar­ ket; offences (in the) grain-market are to be laid before the Sitophylakes. For (all those) denunciations which are up to ten (drachmae) the magistrates (are to be) competent to give the verdict; for those over ten (drachmae) let them bring them into the law court. c. (...) If the seller is a slave or a slave woman let (him) be beaten fifty lashes with the whip by the (magistrates) to whom the various denunciations have been assigned. If anyone of the magistrates does not act in accordance with the written in­ structions, let anyone of the Athenians who wishes, and to whom (it is permitted), bring (him) before the Boule. And if he is convicted let him cease serving (as magistrate) and let the Boule fine him up to (five hundred drachmae). d. In order that there may also be an Assayer in Piraeus for (the) shipowners and the merchants and (all) the others, let the Boule appoint one from the public slaves (...) or let it purchase one. Let the Apodektai (allot) the price and let the Epimeletai of the market see to it that he sits at the stele of Poseidon and let them apply the law in the same way as has been stated in the case of the Assayer in the city. e. Inscribe this law on a stone stele and place one in the city among the tables, another in Piraeus in front of the stele of Poseidon. (...). Let the payment of the salary for the Assayer in the market begin from the time he is appointed in the ar­ chonship of Hippodamas. Let the Apodektai allot the same amount as for the Assayer in the city. For the future let his salary come from the same source as for the mint workers. f. If there is any decree recorded anywhere on a stele con­ trary to this present law, let the secreatery of the Boule tear it down. QUALITY CONTROL OF SILVER COINAGE IN CLASSICAL TIMES

One of the main points of the inscription is the reference to the qual­ ity control of Attic silver coins: “Attic silver currency is to be accept-

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65

ed when (it is shown to be) silver and bears the official die (i.e., the official device). Let the public Assayer (Dokimastes), who sits among (the) tables (trapezes), test (...) If anyone brings forward (foreign silver

22. Athenian coin of genuine silver, dating from the fifth centu­ ry B.C. (Numismatic Museum, Athens).

23. Counterfeit Athenian coin of the late sixth century B.C. It is of silver-plated copper - hypochalkon as it is described in the an­ cient inscription. It has been scored by the ancient dokimastes or assayer.

24. Scored hypochalkon Athenian coin of the sixth century B.C. (Numismatic Museum).

currency) which has the same device as the Attic (if it is good) let the Assayer (Dokimastes) give it back to the one who brought it forward; but if it is bronze at the core (hypochalkori) or lead at the core (hypomolybdon), or counterfeit (kibdelon), let him cut it across (immedi­ ately) and let it be sacred to the Mother of the Gods.”

Two interesting points a. It is worth noting the ancient word for table (trapeza). In fact the assayer sat among the tables where financial transactions took place. The modern Greek word for a bank (trapeza) originates from this ancient word. b. It is worth noting that the words dokimastes, hypochalkon, hypomolybdon and kibdelon are used in everyday Greek. This draws atten­ tion to the continuity of the Greek language through the centuries and the unbroken ties of the past with the present. Hypochalkon and hypomolybdon meant, in those times, that the coin was silver plated bronze or lead, respectively, made to appear silver (asemenio in modem

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Greek). At this point it should be explained that the modem Greek word for silver, asemi, is also an ancient word and comes from the ancient word asemos. Asemos silver and asemos gold were silver and gold without a sema, that is, the unminted coin. Two other interesting points from the inscriptions: a. The assayer was obliged to remain at his post among the tables at all times, and to test the Attic silver coins brought to him, except on payment days, when the testing would take place at the Bouleuterion. If, however, according to the law, he was unjustifiably absent or did not test the coins, then he was to be punished by whipping (50 lashes). This means that the assayer must have been a slave and not a free citizen. b. If a vendor did not accept the silver coin certified by the assayer to be authentic, then the penalty would be the confiscation of the merchandise he displayed for sale on that day. If again the seller was a free citizen, man or woman, he or she would pay an additional fine, not specified in the inscription. If, however, he was a slave, again the penalty would be 50 lashes, as in the case of the assayer. Here it should be noted that for some reason both the assayer and vendors were sometimes unwilling to accept Attic silver coins, per­ haps out of fear of the circulation of counterfeit coins, the incidence of which had increased after the catastrophic Peloponnesian War. It is also worth mentioning that the Athenian law states that an assayer already existed in the City and that now another one had been established in Piraeus to offer his services to merchants, busi­ nessmen and shipowners arriving from abroad and bringing with them foreign silver currency33 bearing the same device as Attic coinage. Finally, the Athenian law states that if another similar law or res­ olution existed previously the text of which was contrary to the present one, then in accordance with the law they had to take it down and destroy it. What does this mean? It means that there must have been earlier laws and regulations pertaining to the control of silver and maybe even gold coins, with different directives, terms and penalties. 33. It should be noted that the Benaki Museum has in its collection an an­ cient die, found in Egypt and used for minting Athenian coins.

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A CASE OF STATE FRAUD IN THE 6TH CENTURY B.C.

It is worth remembering that fraud in gold coins existed in much earlier times. Herodotus, for example, mentions that when the Spar­ tans laid siege to Samos for forty days, Polycrates34, the island’s tyrant, thought of the following way of getting rid of them: “he bribed them to depart by making and giving them gilt leaden coins as a native currency”. In other words, if counterfeit coins were already in circu­ lation then, it is certain that there was an empirical method for test­ ing the quality of the silver and gold coins which thus must have been implemented much earlier than the Athenian law discussed in this chapter. The latter, however, must be considered as one of the better organised state mechanisms against local and foreign forgers, in order to protect the Athenian currency and strengthen people’s trust in it.

POSSIBLE METHODS FOR TESTING METALS IN ANTIQUITY A. TESTING GOLD

The testing of metals must have been generally a well organised process, not only at Athens, but throughout the entire civilised world of those times, and much earlier. In the case of gold, its authenticity and composition were judged by the familiar method of the touch­ stone (Lydian stone). It was in fact the oldest hi non-destructive method of testing implemented in antiquity. The test was based on compar­ ■ in ing the yellow streak left by rubbing a gold object of unknown composition on the hard 25. A touchstone or ‘Ly­ black surface of the touchstone and the streak dian stone’, used to test left by a range of golden standards of known the composition and ge­ composition. This method is used even today nuineness of gold. 34. Herodotus, III, 56. Herodotus, who admired Polycrates, did not consider the information reliable. However, the mention of forgery in itself, particularly by an official authority, reinforces the view that forgery was already known in the sixth century B.C.

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by old-fashioned experienced jewellers or goldsmiths. The only dif­ ference is that nowadays they use a few drops of nitric acid, which makes for a more successful comparison35. B. TESTING SILVER COINS

What happened, though, with silver, in other words, how did the ancient assayer test silver coins? Beyond any shadow of a doubt, he must have applied a simple empiri­ cal, but non-destructive, procedure. One such test could have been the use of a set of small scales such as that in Illus. 26. This portable bal­ ance is from Turkey and, of course, is not ancient. It was used at the time of the Ottoman Empire. Counter­ weights were incorporated into one of the horizontal beams, while the 26. A small portable pair of scales other beam had, as shown in the dating from the days of the Otto­ picture, slots of specific diameter and man Empire, used to test the gen­ depth for the coins being examined. uineness of silver or gold coinage. In this manner the diameters and the mass of the coin could be tested. An Arabic inscription, referring to some religious prayer shows that the bal­ ance had been verified by an official body (like a sort of metrology insti­ 27. Detail of the scales in Fig. 26. The slots for the testing of the tute or state agency). The numbers coins can be seen. An Arabic in­ inscribed on the beam on which the scription indicates that the accu­ coins were to be tested show the racy of the scales had been checked nominal mass that the authentic gold by an official state authority. or silver coins should have. In the case of ancient silver 35. The greater the gold content in other metals, such as silver or copper, the weaker the yellow trace grows, as both these metals are corroded by nitric acid. In contrast, the purer the gold, the less the acid affects it, and therefore the yellow trace remains more marked.

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coins a similar balance could have been used in the following manner: a. If the mass of the coin tested balanced the corresponding coun­ terweight, then the coin had to be considered authentic. b. If the coin being examined was lighter, because it was a silver plated copper coin (hypochalkori), or heavier, because it was a silver plated lead coin (hypomolybdori), then the coin was considered to be counterfeit. In this event, in accordance to Athenian law, the assayer would score it thoroughly so as to render it useless and would im­ mediately proceed to impound it. Pursuing these thoughts, the author conducted the following ex­ periment: He requested a very well organised silver and copper workshop36 to make: a. A series of small silver discs of high purity (950/1000); b. A series of silver-plated copper ones; c. A series of silver-plated lead discs. All had a diameter of 20 mm. and a thickness of 1 mm. Weighing indicated that the silver discs had a mass 0.40 gr. greater than that of the copper silver-plated discs, while the mass of the lead silver-plated discs was 0.45 gr. greater than that of the silver ones. C. COUNTERFEIT COINS

However, the Athenian law does refer to instances when counter­ feit coins were circulated, that is, coins made of an alloy of copper and silver or lead and silver and not of pure silver. The addition of copper to silver, beyond, say, 10%, would give this alloy a rose tint and would, of course, give away the fraud. For this reason the forger would prefer to use lead in the alloy, which in practice would not change its final colour. The author’s experiments have shown that these were perceptibly heavier than the authentic silver ones, a fact which the assayer of those days could have ascertained quite easily.

36. The workshop belongs to Mr. M. Armaos, who has frequently assisted me in my studies of ancient technology.

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D. USING THE SENSES TO ASCERTAIN THE AUTHENTICITY OF SILVER COINS

Another way to test silver coins is that which experienced testers use to this day. An assayer currently employed in the quality control department of the Bank of Greece told me that ancient testers could test the authenticity of coins by a simple procedure which continues to be used in banks such as the Bank of England even today. This procedure was based on sight, touch and sound. This is what an experienced assayer does: a. He attentively observes the coin (gold or silver); b. He feels it with extremely sensitive fingers; c. Holding it in the palm of his hand, he calculates its weight, and finally, he lets it fall on to a hard surface and listens to the sound it makes. As other specialists and jewellers experienced in this matter have assured me, they can easily ascertain the authenticity of a silver or gold coin by this simple method. It is worth noting that the Chorus in the Frogs of Aristophanes speaks of the sound that genuine silver coins “id XEXcobcoviopEva” (tried by ringing) make37. By combining the senses, the experienced ancient tester could thus ascertain whether Attic silver coins were authentic or not. In the case of uncertainty, the combined use of the senses and small portable scales would lead to a safer conclusion. Such experience must certainly have been gained before the fourth century B.C. The discovery of counterfeit coins dating from the sixth century B.C. strengthens this view. E. CERTIFYING THE QUALITY OF ATTIC SILVER COINAGE

The ancient assayer must have then proceeded to certify the silver Attic coins tested. Otherwise, how could the bearers of the coins use them in the markets of Athens and Piraeus in order to buy com­ modities or anything else if they did not possess a certificate of quality? On the other hand, how could the salesman be certain that the coins offered were authentic if they were not, for example, packaged in 37. Aristophanes, Frogs, 718-726.

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bags or bore some stamp as a mark of quality? After spending years studying quality issues, the author believes that a combined process of quality control and certification was used. In any case, the fact that wine containers were stamped with a quality mark, used in accordance with the laws pertaining to ‘unmixed wine’, that is, wine not mixed with water, reinforces the view that certification proce­ dures must have been a common practice in antiquity.

CONCLUSION The Athenian law of the early fourth century BC indicates that controlling and certifying Attic silver coins was an everyday prac­ tice in Classical times. The fact that: 1) this law ends with the order that any similar pre-existing law is to be destroyed, and 2) the sixth century BC counterfeit coins found, which were scored for precisely this reason, reinforce the view that quality control and the necessary procedure for certifying silver coins were applied at least since Ar­ chaic times. Nevertheless, the Athenian law should be seen as a well organised public control mechanism for silver coins at the begin­ ning of the fourth century BC. Control could be carried out a. by using small portable scales; b. by utilising the three senses of sight, touch and hearing; c. by com­ bining both of the above methods. Finally, the quality control of silver coins must have been followed by a certification procedure, for exactly the same practical purposes as today.

RESOLUTION OF THE OROPEANS ON OLD WORN VESSELS USED AT THE ORACLE OF AMPHIARAUS A CASE OF QUALITY CONTROL OF GOLD AND SILVER OBJECTS

During the last century, an inscribed stele dating from the third century B.C. was found at Kalamos, Oropos, which indirectly but clearly refers to the quality control of precious metals. The stele is currently ex­ hibited in the British Museum, and the author’s research into its extremely interesting text continues. However, it is worth mention­ ing its main points, and specifically those referring to the existence of strict regulations implemented for consumer protection, and in the case in question, for the protection of the oracle of Amphiaraus, where the vessels were the property of the god. The long-term use of various vessels in the sanctuary of Amphi­ araus meant that they had become worn. So at some point, the Oropeans decided to give them to specialists to be either repaired or melted down to create new sacred vessels for the functional purposes of the oracle38. To this end they issued a resolution, when Strato was the archon of Boeotia and Epicrates the priest of Amphiaraus. The text of the inscription says that the silver vessels from the trapeza of Amphi­ araus, the votive offerings which were hung on the wall appeared to have become worn. The same was true of the gold phial of the trape­ za, used by the priest to make libations but now so worn by use as to be useless (“vqv tptdXqv ri]v /Quoffv riyv ejil Tfjg ipcureijig f| ojiovbojioieiTat 6 ieqeig xal dvai d/peiav”). According to the text of the inscription, the Boule and the Demos resolved that all these sacred objects had to be given to three specialists either to be repaired, or in the case of useless vessels, mainly silver and gold, to be melted down in order to produce new ones. An extremely interesting point of the resolution refers to initially removing the tin (meaning the tin solder in the soldering) by firing the silver vessels at a high temperature and by scraping the latter before delivering them to the specialists (“doa eotlv 38. This process was in all probability repeated each time the sacred objects used by the oracle became worn, IG 112 839 (221-220 B.C.) and 840 (twentieth century B.C.); Kritzas, C.V., «Ta laljibia pia? ApyeiTixTig Ydpiag», /Tpaxrixa rov B' Tomxov Xvvebpiov Apyo/Mdiv Sjiovdutv, Athens 1989.

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28. The Oropeans' inscription regarding the quality control of the sacred phials and other objects of gold used by the priests of Amphiaraus in libations. Third century B.C. (British Museum, London)

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axQEia JtuQcooavTEg xal cuio^voavreg tov xarrirEpov”). Furthermore, they were to clean the gold vessels and produce gold that had a content equivalent to that of coins and, after weighing it, deliver it to the three specialists. In this way they could control the loss of mass, which should in no event exceed a pre-set limit. For the production of the gold phial, they were to give, according to the resolution, hallmarked gold and gold that had not been hallmarked: “¿yboTO) 6e f| apxf| xal ov av jtapakd&r] xpuoiov dorpon xal Eirtoripou xaraoxEuaoai rep 0e(p cpidkT]v XQuafjv”39. At the same time they had to keep a sample in order to ascertain whether the quality of the gold phial delivered was the same as that of the original sample. They also had to weigh the new golden phial, obviously in order to check if the loss was within the acceptable limits specified (“didortD rag dooEtg Tip Epyibvr| itaoag xaxa rag npopprioEig”) and that the mass was not less than expected. The above case was not unique. To the author’s knowledge there are two others (IG II 2 839 and 840), referring to the remelting of votive offerings to the Sanctuary of the Hero Physician. All these indicate that, as has already been pointed out, in antiquity the Greeks applied ex­ tremely strict regulations and standards with scrupulous specifications, and this demonstrates a very high level in the field of technology.

THE DEIGMATA: BUILDINGS FOR THE CONTROL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FISHING PRODUCTS

In the sector of agricultural produce, such as wheat, wine, and pulses, but also in the sector of fishing products such as fish preserved by smoking or pickling in brine, a very strict quality control procedure was used in every state, to protect trade, the purchasers and, in the last analysis, the consumers. From Classical times there was a special building in Piraeus, the so-called Deigma, where sales and purchases were made on the basis of sealed samples. Dimitris Gofas provides extremely interesting references and information on trade from antiq­ uity to the Middle Ages in his book, -AEirMA - IcTopiwq ¿oevva em 39. Asemos gold -ctoiipog xpvoog- was gold which had not been hallmarked - gold which had not been minted. By way of contrast, ‘eiuoTjpog’ - episemos was gold that had been minted into coinage.

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tov E/J.rivtxov Aixaiov ra>v ¿’vvaAAaytuv (DEIGMA - A Historical Study of the Greek Law of Transactions). This author has diligently and carefully studied the abundant bibliography and mentions the trading procedures followed in each era, and also the regulations applied by various states in order to protect themselves from any fraud or adul­ teration of imported products while these were in transit. The number of Deigma buildings where transactions took place on the basis on samples (deigmata) increased greatly during the Hellenistic era; thus one such important building was established in Rhodes and another at Olbia, a cereal-exporting port in southern Russia, at Ephesus, as well as in other parts of the known world in ancient times. The Hellenistic papyri found in Egypt supply interesting data on ensuring the quality of products transported by sea. The Deigma building also served as a meeting-place for Athenians, metics (resident aliens), foreign sea-cap­ tains and merchants. In the Knights, Aristophanes speaks of “the tri­ als at the Deigma” because the Deigma was a place known for its court cases which resulted during transactions when something did not go well, particularly when the terms of a contract were violated by the vendor and when the quality of the product delivered did not correspond to the specifications of the stamped sample. This clearly indicates that there was a special state service controlling the quality of each product when it was delivered to the purchaser, who wished to discover if the product truly corresponded to the sample. Again, the Knights of Aristophanes40 mentions that the Deigmata (buildings) contained a permanent exhibit of various samples of pro­ ducts.

QUALITY CONTROL OF PRODUCTS DURING SALES AND PURCHASES IN THE CLASSICAL PERIOD (FIFTH AND FOURTH CENTURY B.C.)

Sales and purchases based on samples, quality control and certifica­ tion of the product delivered to the buyer were procedures which the ancients appeared to have applied from prehistoric times, as indicat­ ed by research into ancient finds and ancient Greek literature. In the Cyclops of Euripides, Odysseus offers wine to Silenus and at some point asks him whether he would like to try it, to which Silenus 40. Aristophanes, Knights, 979.

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replies, “Naturally, because trying leads to purchasing” (“ôixaiov, f) yap yEÙpa rrjv dmyv xaÀEÏ”)41. Similar examples can be found in Homer’s epics. As we progress further into the Classical period, the evidence increases. In the Acharnians of Aristophanes, for example, Amphitheus presents Dicaeopoles with three kinds of libations in­ stead of wine, and calls on him to try each one of them separately42. In the case of wine43, the samples were called ‘geumata', and the buyers used ‘geusteria'44, small vessels, like little glasses, for tasting. In the case of wheat, samples which were sealed, obviously by a certifying body, accompanied the cargo and were opened at the des­ tination, in order to ascertain if the load delivered corresponded to the quality of the samples and was not different and had not been spoiled during transport. The captain himself or the ‘phylakitaï (guards) who accompanied the load carried the sample45. The same was true in the case of wine, pulses and flax. In the Ziliacus papyrus (dating from the late Hellenistic period) it is made clear that the wheat sample was to be sealed in uncooked clay vessels and would be given to the ‘phylakitai' who would ac­ company the cargo while on board. By way of contrast, in Roman times the ceramic vessels were baked. In the Cairo Museum, for example, there is a small vessel of baked clay (Cairo Museum, ex­ hibit No. 8756), studied by Gueraux46. This vessel bears a lengthy 41. Euripides, Cyclops, 150. 42. Aristophanes, Acharnians, 186-196. 43. Wherever the term ‘wine’ is mentioned, it is to be understood to mean wine unmixed with water, or as the ancients called it, akratos oinos - unmixed wine-, while wine which had been watered down, which they drank at their symposia, was called kekramenos oinos, from the verb kerannymi (to mix). From this verb is also derived the word crater, the vessel in which they mixed their wine with water. 44. Geuse - taste, geumata - meals, geuomai - to taste. This is the derivation of the Modern Greek term geusignosia, meaning wine-tasting, geusignostes - wine taster, used in contemporary oenology for the testing of the quality and deriva­ tion of wine. 45. Ziliacus, Aegyptus XVII (1939), 61-62, No. 16876 (49/48 B.C.) 62, No. 5, line 6, “eju6i6uo0evT(jjv (pvkaxiTœv xEz>.qQouxT]|j.ÉvaJv xœv pâXiora jiîotiv è/ovrcov olç xal to ÔEÎypa xaTEoeppaytopevov È^iTE0f]OErai èv yEÎvoiç ùpoîç àyyEÎoiç”. 46. Geraux, un vase JJP, IV (1950), 107, Table 1 (= SB.9223).

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inscription, referring to the boat, the cargo, and the existence of proof that the load was received. Furthermore, it states that the cargo of wheat with which the sample was transported was loaded on to two river boats in order to be transported from the province of Oxyrhynchitus to its destination, possibly Alexandria. The load was ac­ companied by Roman soldiers on board. However, according to the inscription, the sample was sealed by the shipmasters, who were also responsible for its transport. In other words, there is continuity in the field of sampling and quality control from Hellenistic to Roman times. Fortunately, in all these cases there exists corresponding archaeological material, attesting to the methods of packaging and shipping of the samples. In Egypt, a small leather bag was found which according to the inscription bears contained a sample of barley. The bag was sealed, while the remaining data, regarding quality, transporting and the rest, would be contained in accompanying documents. This held good during Ptolemaic times and later on in Roman times, and there are Hellenistic papyri which confirm the whole procedure. The small leather bag is currently kept in the Cairo Museum (ex­ hibit No. 39513). At this point I would like to point out that, as these things could not have happened all at once, and because there has always been continuity in every sector of human activity, it appears certain that in Classical times also, and even earlier, a systematic procedure for testing, sampling and certification must have been employed. It there­ fore remains for archaeological research to discover the lost links and fill in the gaps in our knowledge of these interesting subjects.

QUALITY CONTROL OF WINE IN CLASSICAL MACEDONIA AND THRACE Here we shall turn to the laws prevailing in Classical times regard­ ing quality marks and the control of wine based on three inscrip­ tions found on Thasos which confirm and supplement what we have already said about ensuring quality for the consumer as well as the state. For the reader who is not well acquainted with quality control procedure in antiquity it may appear truly strange to speak today of testing wine47 in those far-off times. However, as we shall see, test­ ing, quality certification, and the sale of wine was based on a well organised procedure and fell within the framework of very strict legislation. The author is obliged for this research to Manolis Andronikos, the ever-memorable university professor and researcher, who once urged me to visit the Thasos Museum. “There”, he in­ formed me, “there are certain inscriptions dealing with wine and its quality which will most certainly interest you. Contact the French School and the French and Greek archaeologists there who have studied the subject”. This acted as the stimulus for the author to commence this work, for which he will always be grateful. AN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY IN THE REGION OF MACEDONIA

There are two interesting inscriptions in the Thasos Museum dating from the fifth century B.C., containing three laws or directives on unmixed wine. One of these states that the laws and the penalties for those transgressing them had force not only on Thasos, but also in the entire region bounded by the triangle Thasos, Cape Pacheie (above the mouth of the river Evros) and the Athos peninsula. Nor should it be forgotten that after the Persian Wars Thasos was not in 47. Properly speaking, in Greek one should use term ‘oinos’ rather than ‘krasf for wine, as the latter is derived from the ancient Greek verb kerannymi, which means to mix, and in this case refers to mixing with water. The Modern Greek word for alloy - krama - is also derived from the same verb, and is a term used particularly in metallurgy to denote a mixture of metals. For example, bronze (copper and tin), brass (copper and zinc), stainless steels (iron, chrome, nickel and other metals) are metal kramata.

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29. An economic community geographically defined between Thasos, Cape Pacheie, and the Athos peninsula.

fact independent, but a member of the Athenian League, which at the time meant that it was controlled by Athens, if not ruled by it. This is extremely significant, because it attests that in Macedonia and Thrace, this northern region of Greece, an economic communi­ ty had been established where the same laws, directives, standards and penalties for each transgression were in force. Nor is it beyond the bounds of possibility that this legal, cultural and economic framework remained in effect after Philip of Macedon’s triumph and the unification of the Hellenic city-states under the aegis of the all-powerful Macedonian state. The striking administra­ tive, diplomatic and political abilities of this great new Greek leader lend strength to this view. In fact it is very possible that they would have been extended to the whole of Macedonian territory, as was the case later, in Roman times.

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THE THASOS LAWS ON STANDARDS

One of the three inscriptions in the small Thasos Museum dates from the beginning of the fifth century B.C. (480 B.C.) and the other two from the end of the same century (420-400 B.C.). All three have been studied by archaeologists and jurists48. Nonetheless, in reading them we discover another very important dimension: these three inscrip­ tions, which according to the archaeologists were laws, constituted standards which regulated commerce, the sale of wine, and, most important, dealt with the existence of quality control and certification. THE LAW ON WINE AND VINEGAR

This law is given in the inscription of Ulus. 32. The script can be clear­ ly seen to be the so-called ‘ boustrophcdon , a term derived from ‘bous’ (ox) and ‘strophe' (turning). Exactly as an ox which when ploughing

30. Inscription on the control of wine and vinegar. Early fifth century B.C. (Thasos Museum)

reaches the edge of the field and turns on the spot and then proceeds to the other end, where it will turn once more, the same also occurs in this script. If it begins, for example, from left to right, the next line will be from right to left and this continues for the entire text. The question, however, is why this method of writing was employed in the fifth cen­ tury B.C., when, as is well known, it had been obsolete for years. Spe­ cialists in inscriptions have not yet answered this question. This inscribed marble stele deals with the law on wine and vin­ 48. This research was carried out in collaboration with my associate and friend Vassilis Skarakis.

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egar. Unfortunately the stone is broken and for this reason the text is incomplete and the meaning unclear. At a certain point it states: “the transgressor shall be punished by confiscation of the wine and vinegar and must pay one sixth, which will be dedicated to Athena the Patron Goddess and Pythian Apollo for each amphora”. We do not know exactly what this means. The reference, how­ ever, to wine and vinegar proves the existence of legislation on both these products, very possibly as to trade in and sale of these and why not? - their quality. The discovery of its remaining parts would shed considerable light on this interesting inscription. THE LAW OF 420-400 B.C. ON TRADE IN AND LABELLING OF WINES

Another law, dating from 420-400 B.C., is cited on one of the in­ scribed stelai in the Thasos Museum. The text of this law states,

^^¡1^XtWÇS T-H FI ru N O . XlSX AA j

Al- « AA t NA LA 1 t-G.dX'UL tS'S' Si P P LHsÊAET ^LWMHNHTAI-c’; -

31. Stele inscribed with two laws, one on the trade in and labelling of unmixed wine, and the other, cited in the inscription as the law of “vdarog rf]g rtagaxvoiog”, on testing for adulteration with water (Thasos Museum).

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inter alia: “...for anyone who buys wine [at which point we must keep in mind that this refers to unmixed and not mixed (zexpapevov) wine] in pithoi, the purchase shall be valid only if the pithoi have been marked (“dug 5’ áv ép níQoig oívov npíqTai ... áv rog níOog OT]pf|VT]Tai...)”. This is the most important part of the law: the label­ ling of the pithoi. Pithoi were large jars, much larger in size than the amphoras which we all know, and were used for storing wine and not for transporting it. However, no such pithos has been found bearing such labelling at any point. This, according to Garlan, a specialist in ceramic vessels, with whom the present author had the good fortune to discuss this important issue, meant that the marking of the pithoi referred to in the inscription must have happened after they were filled with wine (we are still speaking of unmixed wine), by sealing them with some sort of material such as beeswax. Natu­ rally, for the purchase to be valid, the seal would have to bear some kind of mark, relating to the quality of the wine contained and perhaps the time it was sealed and consequently the age of the wine subject to control. However this may be, the fact remains that the standard of this inscription clearly lays down that the purchase of wine in pithoi was valid only if the latter bore a label, thus reinforcing the view that the whole text of the standard was directly related to cer­ tifying wine quality. This, however, leads us to conclude that wine must have been also tested. And the whole of the above means that the procedure would have taken place under the supervision of a special public service responsible for safeguarding trade, sales, quality, and naturally, consumer protection. THE SECOND LAW ON THE INSCRIBED STELE DATING FROM 420 400 B.C.

An interesting point in this inscription is the fine to be paid by the shipmaster and also by shipowners who imported foreign wine. The fine was the same as that paid by a person who added water to wine - “ó napa tov olvov vbcop Jtapayécov”. This, however, leads us to the conclusion that there was other legislation imposing an apparently stiff fine on those who dared to water wine. The same law prohib­ ited the retail sale of wine in amphoras, pithaknai or pseudopithoi.

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32. Sekoma. The inscription OINHPA indicates that it was used to test the volume and/or the quality of unmixed wine. (Thasos Museum)

33. Sekoma. A riser. The inscription HMIAOPIN indicates that it was used to test the volume of wine. (Thasos Museum)

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Anyone who sold wine retail in such large vessels in violation of the law was also obliged to pay a fine equal to that paid by the person who watered - or, more precisely, adulterated - wine “xaxcuiEQ to iibaxog xfjg jiapaxiioiog”. This second reference to the same law gains particular significance as it clearly refers to adulterating wine and the fine paid by whoever dared to act in such a manner. But most important, this leads us to conclude that in the fifth century a qual­ ity control procedure for wine (albeit an empirical method) was probably employed. It would now be very useful if an inscription giving the law on “iiSaxog xq? Jtapaxroio^” were to come to light in an archaeological dig. Perhaps it would contain other useful infor-

34. Sekoma with small cavities for testing the volume and quality of expensive liquids, perhaps women’s perfumes or other cosmetics. (Kavala Museum)

mation over and above the level of the fine, such as specifications regarding quality, the method of testing and the certification of the quality of unmixed wine. In the Thasos Museum there is a large marble slab with two deep cavities known as a ‘sekoma' dating from the first century B.C. (Illus. 32). The inscription 'OINHPA' illustrated means that the sekoma clearly served for the volumetric measurement of wine, which was probably carried out by: a. the producers, when filling the corresponding vessels, so as not to fill them with less or more wine, b. the inspectors, in order to ascertain that the volume of wine contained corresponded to the nominal content of the vessels and if the capacity of the ce-

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ramie containers stated by the producers was what it should be (IIlus. 33). Similar sekomata, much smaller in size, have been found in many parts of Macedonia, Thrace and other areas of Greece (Ulus. 34). In each sekoma all the cavities, large and small, have at their bottom a bunghole for the emptying of liquids being tested. Naturally, small cavities such as those in Illus. 34 could not possibly have been used for wine or olive oil, but most probably served for expensive per­ fumes. In this case, the purpose of testing was to ascertain the capacity of the containers, and also the quality of the expensive perfumes or other cosmetics, which could have been adulterated or sold in con­ tainers smaller than those of the proper capacity, or in containers of a regular capacity, but containing less perfume.

35. Possible method of testing the purity of unmixed wine, by comparing the colour of pure wine with that of watered wine.

POSSIBLE WAYS OF TESTING WINE QUALITY

The existence of ancient standards and directives and the use of the sekomata described above lead to the conclusion that there was a well organised quality control procedure for wine. Of all the possible ways of testing wine, we will limit ourselves to those based on a. sight, b. taste, and c. a combination of both. a. In in the case of white (both dry and sweet) wines and rose wines, one can distinguish between adulterated and unadulterated wine on the basis of the difference in colour with 100% reliability.

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On the other hand, in the case of wines with a deep red colour, the difference can only be perceived if the water added exceeds 20%. b. Quality control of wine based on its organoleptic properties, that is, wine-tasting, is one of the safest methods. Our experiments based on this method were extremely successful. c. The combination of the two, that is, colour and tasting, is the safest method for detecting any possible adulteration. In this case, the tasters would have been able to judge with certainty, as they do to this day, if wine had been watered down or not, simply by tasting it and by comparing it with the initial unadulterated wine. What was important was not to determine the percentage of water which had been added, but the existence or otherwise of adulteration regardless of whether it was great or small. This reference to wine constitutes one more application of quality control of agricultural products in antiquity, aimed at protecting the consumer and the state from fraud.

EPILOGUE

In concluding, I would like to remind readers that the first part of this book deals mainly with metals and their role in the rate of evolution of our civilisation. In truth, this rate was painfully slow in the Stone Age. History was written in millennia, without impressive changes. The visitor to the Volos Museum can admire a very inter­ esting civilisation which developed in the Stone Age hamlet at Sesklo, a few kilometres west of Volos. What the visitor will become aware of is the tardy rate of development, covering the long period from 7000 to 4000 B.C. - three full millennia. From the moment, how­ ever, that copper alloys, and particularly bronze, were used in the Greek world, the rate of evolution became rapid. Within the second millennium B.C. the civilisation of Minoan Crete sprang up, to be followed immediately by that of Mycenae. In the beginning of the first millennium B.C. and especially during the ninth and eighth century, iron enters the life of man in the form of hard steel. It is then truly that evolution speeds up. The Geometric period is fol­ lowed by the Archaic, the Classical, the Hellenistic and the Roman periods, with changes observable roughly every two centuries - a rate of change impressive to the researcher and layman alike. What I would further like to stress is that everything discussed so far indicates that the ancient Greeks achieved great feats not only in the fields of literature, art, philosophy and culture generally, but also in technology, and especially standardisation and quality control and certification. This short book draws attention to the existence of remarkable and well organised procedures for protection of the consumer and also of the state. All the issues in the second part, as the reader will have noticed, are based on papers that I have pub-

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lished at various times. While writing them I studied matters from other inscriptions which I have come across. To my surprise I have realised that there are still a great many unexplored sources on the same issue, which I feel I must study and publicise. At one point I considered studying all the inscriptions before publishing a book, which would have been strictly correct. However, this would have entailed years of research, because in reality one is talking about research and not about simply conveying information and referenc­ es, since many of these inscriptions have not yet been translated or studied from an archaeological and technological point of view. But the years pass with diabolical rapidity, and the fear of not having sufficient time has compelled me to publish this brief book based on the papers I have published to date. This is because I feel an obliga­ tion to share my knowledge and thoughts with all those interested in learning that standardisation, certification and quality control are not a modern invention of our technical civilisation, however strange this might seem. The studies described in this small book show that their roots can be traced back to early antiquity and that they are a characteristic trait of every organised society with a high level of culture. Parthenons cannot be built without highly evolved techno­ logy and development cannot be conceived without the application of quality systems which will lay down the necessary rules to ensure constant good quality in the works carried out, products available and services provided. In the last analysis, the entire statutory frame­ work of regulations ensures beyond all the above the health of the consumer and the quality of life. We see this in Aristotle’s Con­ stitution of Athens, which at some point mentions the control that policemen selected by the Athenian state should exercise to see that sewage should not be dumped at a distance less than ten stades (ap­ proximately two kilometres) from the environs of the city, and other matters relating to hygiene and the protection of the health of the citizens. Such are the messages which I am anxious to convey to the reader, a task I hope to have achieved at least to a certain degree, in the hope that I will later have the time to study all the inscriptions and texts relating to these issues - and not only in antiquity, but also in medieval time*' the Renaissance, and even those referring to the

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Ottoman rule of the Greek world and the entire Balkans. I regard this as a duty. A lot of time and work will be necessary, but it is worth it. If again time does not suffice, then I trust this book will serve as a stimulus for other researchers to continue the work I have begun.

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