Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

222 Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks
free to extract as much silver from his concession as he could for
the duration of his lease. The monies accruing to the Athenian state
from its silver mines were considerable. A strike made in 483 b.c.e.
yielded a revenue of 100 talents. On the recommendation of the
politician Themistokles, this sum was devoted to the building of a
fleet of 100 triremes or warships. When mining activity reached its
peak in the middle of the fourth century b.c.e. , production stood at
around 1,000 talents per year. The industry was very much subject
to external pressures, however, and, in time of war, it was sometimes
suspended altogether.
The State Exchequer
Although the Athenians were incapable of planning an economic
strategy, they did possess a public exchequer. In Thukydides’
History, Perikles informs the Athenians on the eve of the
outbreak of the Peloponnesian War that the state possessed 6,000
talents of coined silver, stored for safekeeping on the Acropolis
(2.13.3–6). In addition, the gold that covered the statue of Athene
Parthenos inside the Parthenon was worth 40 talents. This, he
suggested, could be melted down and used in the war effort, as
long as it was replaced afterward. It became commonplace in the
following century to plunder temple treasures for this purpose.
Those that suffered the most included the sanctuaries at Delphi
and Olympia.
The acquisition of its maritime empire greatly increased Athens’s
wealth. Although ostensibly the tribute exacted from the
allies financed their fleet, the Athenians were in no doubt that
they were the beneficiaries of an imperialist enterprise. This is evident
from their custom of parading their tribute in the Theater of
Dionysos at the City Dionysia, likely to loud applause. In Aristophanes’
Knights, a character named Demos, who is an unflattering
personification of the Athenian people, dotes idiotically on a diet
of tribute, flattery, gifts, feasts, and festivals.
Taxation
Lower- and middle-income Athenians did not pay taxes. Only
the wealthy were required to make a contribution to the state.
The first instance of direct taxation occurred during the Peloponnesian
War, when the state exacted a special levy called an eisphora,
or “contribution,” to meet the cost of soldiers’ pay. In the fourth