by Thibault Serlet

The living standards in ancient Greece were so high that they remained unmatched until the 19th century.

Stanford University’s Dr. Josiah Ober recently published “The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece.” In his latest work, he explains that the commoners of ancient Greece had a living standard so high that it was unsurpassed until the 19th century.

The cause of ancient Greece’s high living standards is still a mystery to many modern historians.

Nowadays, common knowledge would have one believe that the Greek’s decentralization should have made trade impossible. The opposite seems to have been the case: living standards rose for the ancient Greeks until the Romans centralized and unified the region. Life for the commoners was much better under the city states than it was under the Byzantine empire.

It is commonly believed that there were over 1500 city states and colonies. The most populous, such as Athens, had up to a half million inhabitants.

The civilization of the classical Greeks stretched incredibly far. The Greeks had colonies across modern day Turkey, extending as far as Anatolia and the Pontus. They also had settlements across the Black Sea and Balkans, the Italian Peninsula, and North Africa. Modern cities in Spain and France are believed to have originally been founded by Greeks.

In addition to numerous distant colonies, the Greeks also achieved many feats of exploration. Pytheas the explorer sailed his galleys all the way to “Thule,” which is believed by many historians to be modern day Ireland. Ancient Greek philosopher Herodotus wrote about finding the source of the Nile and Lake Victoria. Eventually, Alexander the Great’s armies would conquer territories as far as India.

It is possible that the Greeks owe part of their prosperity to their understanding of economics.

Their earliest monetary currency can be found in Lydia dating back to 600 BC. The coins were made from gold and silver alloys, and helped the Greeks outgrow their traditional barter economies. The introduction of coins helped accelerate the growth of Greek economies, and accentuated the division of labor.

Trade played a key role in every aspect of Greek societies. This is reflected by the design of the Polis. Greek city states were organized around the Agora, a marketplace which served as a place of commerce and debate. This contrasts with the more theocratic societies of the Persians, which were built around temples and shrines.

The Greeks appear to have a high concentration of geniuses. The sheer amount of significant Hellenistic philosophers is staggering: Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, and all of the other founders of modern philosophy. The word “philosophy” itself comes from ancient Greek word for “love of wisdom.”

Technological progress was also staggering. Modern school children still learn theories of Pythagoras today. Many of the inventions weren’t rediscovered until the 19th century. For example Heron of Alexandria built a working steam engine around 10 AD. The antikythera mechanism was a primitive computer which could predict various celestial movements.

Despite the decentralization of the city states, the Greeks were always able to muster large military forces in times of need. They also fought very innovatively. Their unorthodox tactics helped them defeat greater military forces. This can be seen during the battle of Syracuse, where Archimedes used a mirror to sink Roman boats.

The Greek feats of innovation seem to have slowly wound down under Roman domination. Prior to the Romans, Greek civilization was incredibly decentralized. After, the civilization became feudal and bureaucratic. The Byzantine theme system levied devastating taxes on the local population. During the medieval era, the expression “a Byzantine Bureaucracy” was commonly used to describe overburdened systems.

Relatively unintelligent and primitive Greeks achieved a great deal under decentralization. This leads one to wonder what modern and intelligent people could achieve under a similarly lenient political system. Thanks to Startup Societies, we might soon find out.