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daily reminders about currency |
Instructions for Greek trade:
- There is a ten percent transit charge on Black Sea travel.
- Interest rates on trade could be anywhere from twelve percent to thirty percent, but if your ship fails to meet its destination safely you do not have to repay your loans to the traders for the cargo.
- There has been a measure taken to protect our trading routes. Your products of trade will be protected by the taxation of the movement of the goods.
- The government only can control the trade of grain in Greece, which means that the rest of our trade is free. Our grain has its own supervisors the sitophylakes which will make sure that the prices and quantities are correct before we export them to different countries.
- The currency in Greece is different for each city-state. Merchants can only accept coins from their own city state. If you are visiting from another city-state you can find someone to convert your currency to the city state you are in. Also you can also get the currency you have collected from a foreign city to be changed back into your city-state’s currency. Note that there will be six percent charge for the conversion of the coins.
This week in the market... |
Local Announcements |
This week in the market, there will be a shipment of goods from Asia Minor and Etrusci. The people of Etrusci have been mining metals and would like to trade with us for our pepper, salt fish, and wood materials. The demand for olive oil has skyrocketed in value within the last few months. This is the last week we will have many goods imported and exported from Piraeus due to our threat of warfare, and because of this the price of cargo has increased. We will be trading staples of our Greek culture, such as wine, metal, olives and olive oil, and pottery that will help us spread our influence into other areas that we trade in. Many of our goods will be exported to many countries near us like Egypt, Asia Minor, and the islands Crete, Cyprus, and the Cyclades. Goods that will be traded within our different city-states will be as follows: cereals, wine, olives, figs, cheese, honey, meat from our sheep and goats, perfumes, and fine pottery.
For our rocky and hilly terrain, the soil is not fertile. We have a limited amount of farmers to produce raw materials for everyday life, and with the limited amount of farmers they raise animals to be sold and traded. But with maritime trade and the new income of raw materials transported from all around the Mediterranean basin, trade has become a huge and integral part of our economy. Trade will help the Greek culture influence and become well known to all of the cities and places we trade with.
If you want to know more about trade, Herodotus has written a book about all of the Greek trade for people who want to know more. “The Phoenicians, who had formerly dwelt on the shores of the Persian Gulf, having migrated to the Mediterranean and settled in the parts which they now inhabit, began at once, they say, to adventure on long voyages, freighting their vessels with the wares of Egypt and Assyria. They landed at many places on the coast, and among the rest at Argos, which was then pre-eminent above all the states included now under the common name of Hellas. Here they exposed their merchandise, and traded with the natives for five or six days; at the end of this time, when almost everything was sold, there came down to the beach a number of women, and among them the daughter of the king, who was, they say, agreeing in this with the Hellenes, Io, the child of Inachus. The women were standing by the stern of the ship intent upon their purchases, when the Phoenicians, with a general shout, rushed upon them.” From this quote written by Herodotus about the Phoenician attacks, you can see that trading with other countries is not easy. The threat of being raided by trading is there at every moment a new shipment is delivered and even when foreign people try to attack Greece because of our richness in trade. ARTICLE BY: CLAIRE ANDERON, CAROLINE TEMPLES, ELLIE GILLIS, AND AISLING FIELDS
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The town square will be open tomorrow for trade. If you have anything that can be traded and are planning to come to the town square, please make sure to get there early enough to set up your items in your personal booth. If you have any unsold items you have to choice of exporting them to Sparta or you can try to sell or trade them again. If you export your goods to Sparta and the products don't sell will not be returned to you, but given away to the locals with no charge.
There will be a specific section tomorrow that will be selling their homes. Also there will be a section to sell pottery and metal works. A unique item that will be sold tomorrow a column-krater, that helps to mix wine and water, for twenty five Drachmas. It is made with the material of terra cotta and it is 38 centimeters tall and includes handles that are 35 centimeters long. There will also be a terracotta oil container that is twenty Drachmas. This oil container is something that any athlete, especially Olympians, can use to apply oil to their body right before a race. The measurements of this container are eight centimeters tall. The third unique item will a funerary plaque that you can use to place in the person's tomb. This plaque is also made out of terracotta and is 26 six centimeters. The merchant will sell this item will be sold for one Mina.
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