Nacimiento y expansión de la moneda griega. El vino en la antigüedad: La moneda como símbolo de propaganda

Résumé

The birth and diff usion of legal tender currency is one of the most transcendental inventions in history. Almost three thousand years old, it is one of the most important sources of information that archaeologists and historians have to interpret the past. In addition to its abundance and resistance to the passage of time, the coin off ers images, messages and dates that help us learn about other cultures and other times. It is also one of the main vehicles of expression of the power that issues it: cities, monarchies, republics, states, etc. The trade relations established between the diff erent Greek poleis -city states- were the essential framework in which Hellenic civilization developed and expanded. Greece at this time was represented not only by Mainland Greece and the Aegean Islands, but also by the Anatolian Peninsula or Eastern Greece... The peoples before the Greeks, used merchandise related to their normal economic activities as “money”; From the fourth millennium Sumerians and Egyptians used cereals: the grain was the fi rst “money” that formed the basis of weights and measures, establishing a system of regularized weights. Other cultures used natural products: cocoa beans, rice, salt, wine, oil, mollusk shells, etc., as a means of exchange or barter. Regarding the second part of the work, I found it interesting to highlight fi rst of all the importance of “wine” since the appearance of the fi rst civilizations, where it was considered a fundamental drink for survival and health prevention. Both wine and beer were contributions from the Sumerian culture, and evidence has been found that establishes the origin of the fi rst wine harvest with the Sumerians. From Sumer it passed to Egypt and became a symbol of social status, used in religious rites and pagan festivities. On the Mediterranean coast, the Greeks planted vineyards in all the regions they occupied. In Greece, Dionysus, god of wine, was venerated with festivals that were celebrated throughout the year. In addition to its presence as a consumer good, wine performed other social, religious, medicinal, etc. functions.