Financing the Athenian Fleet: Public Taxation and Social Relations

Preface

Preface The costs of keeping substantial fleets afloat and the fiscal systems developed by maritime states in order to finance naval activity are important issues for historians interested in the social and economic changes undergone by major naval powers. This study attempts to describe the system of fleet finance employed in classical Athens; it originates from my belief that a fresh and thorough treatment of the subject has long been needed. Neither the overall picture I draw nor the individual conclusions on which that picture is based can lay a claim to finality or absolute completeness . If this work stimulates debate and further research, it will have accomplished its primary goal. Passages quoted from Greek texts are given in English translation. For most ancient authors, I have used (often in slightly adapted form) the translations of the Loeb Classical Library. Major Greek terms appear in italicized transliteration at their first use, and are briefly explained in the text and notes. With the names of places and people, I have been slightly, and deliberately, inconsistent. Corinth, Cyprus, and Crete, I feel, are most familiar in that form, but I see little point in Anglicizing Korkyra, Knidos, or Koresos. Herodotos, Aischylos, and Dionysos should be recognizable to the reader as Herodotus, Aeschylus, and Dionysus, but it might not be obvious to some that Thoukydides is the well-known historian Thucydides. This study would not have been possible without the unsparing sup- port of several institutions, friends, and colleagues. Foremost among my obligations are those to the University of Copenhagen, the Danish Council for the Humanities, and the Carlsberg Foundation, from which I have received generous scholarship grants. In 1989, I was a Visiting Fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge, and had the opportunity to enjoy the hospitable environment and useful facilities of that institution. No less welcoming and helpful have been Dr. D. Peppa-Delmousou, former Director of the Epigraphical Museum in Athens, and her staff. The patience and kind assistance of the staff of the Odense University Library are gratefully acknowledged. My colleagues in the departments of classics and history at the University of Copenhagen have been a constant source of inspiration, encouragement, and good counsel. I am deeply indebted to them all, but special thanks are due to Mogens Herman Hansen andJens Erik Skydsgaard, who tirelessly and uncompromisingly offered me guidance. My gratitude to Signe Isager of the University of Odense is immense. She has followed the progress of my work with admirable patience, and her characteristically gentle but clear criticisms made me rethink and refine my arguments. Many others have been liberal with their time and help. John S. Morrison has, with unfailing enthusiasm , shared with me his expert knowledge of the history of the trieres. Drafts were read by Robert W. Wallace and David L. Silverman, with whom I had profitable discussions about naval matters. The reader for the Johns Hopkins University Press saved me from many errors and offered insightful suggestions. My debt to this anonymous colleague is considerable. Eric Halpern and his associatesat the Press embraced this project with enthusiasm, concern, and cooperation; I truly appreciatetheir professionalism . Jane Lincoln Taylor's editing efficiently clarified my prose and helped eliminate inconsistencies. I, however, carry sole responsibility for the contents of this book. xii Preface ...