The History of Delian Economy

Despite many gaps and uncertainties, three separate periods of Delian economic history can be identified. Different kinds of economic activity, levels

of price, and apparent strategies of investment characterize each. To some degree they correspond with the periods distinguished by Fritz Heichelheim, J. A. O. Larsen, and Michael Rostovtzeff,^[2] but their characters and the explanations for them are quite different; and, of course, I make no claim for the validity of this "economic history" for any of the Greek world outside of Delos and its immediate neighbors.

The three periods are (1) the early years of independence (314–290 B.C. ), characterized by high estate rents and declining oil prices; (2) a period of stability down to the late third century, when commodity prices were generally level, estate prices gradually declining, and house prices roughly steady (272–212 B.C. ); and (3) a period from the late third century to 167 B.C. , when firewood and pig prices rose to a new plateau, oil remained steady, estates except for Group I continued to fall, and house rents rose appreciably (207–167 B.C. ). This last period seems to have been one of readjustment in the economy during a time of growth and change; perhaps misleadingly, I call it the "new prosperity."