Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/512

 480 HISTORY OF GREECE. sonesus, between Pantikapaeum and Theodosia, was well-suited for the production of corn ; while plenty of fish, as well as salt, was to be had in or near the Palus Majotis. Corn, salted fish and meat, hides, and barbaric slaves in considerable numbers, were in demand among all the Greeks round the ^gean, and not least at Athens, where Scythian slaves were numerous ; ^ while oil and wine, with other products of more southern regions, wei-e acceptable in Bosporus and the other Pontic ports. This important traffic seems to have been mainly carried on in ships and by capital belonging to Athens and other JEgean maritime towns ; and must have been greatly under the protection and re- gulation of the Athenians, so long as their maritime empire sub- sisted. Enterprising citizens of Athens went to Bosporus (as to Thrace and the Thracian Chersonesus), to push their fortunes ; merchants from other cities found it advantageous to settle as resident strangers or metics at Athens, where they were more in contact Avith the protecting authority, and obtained readier access to the judicial tribunals. It was probably during the period pre- ceding the great disaster at Syracuse in 413 b. c, that Athens first acquired her position as a mercantile centre for the trade with the Euxine ; which we afterwards find her retaining, even with reduced power, in the time of Demosthenes. How strong was the position enjoyed by Athens in Bosporus, during her unimpaired empire, we may judge from the fact, that NymphfEum (south of Pantikapjeum, between that town and Theodosia) was among her tributary towns, and paid a talent an- ' Polybius (iv. 38) enumerates the principal articles of tliis Pontic trade; among the exports tu re dipjiara koI to tCov elg ruf dovleiac; uyo/xtvuv uojjxaTuv -tlfj^or, etc., where Schweighhauser has altered depfiara to ^e/x/iaTa seemingly on the authority of one MS. only, I doubt the propriety of this change, as well as the facts of any large exportation of live cattle from the Pontus; whereas the exportation of hides was consider- al'lc: see Straho, xi. p. 493. The Scythian public slaves or policemen of Athens are well knov.-n, "Lnvdaiva also is the name of a female slave (Aristoph. Lysistr. 18*1. iKv&ric, for the name of a slave, occurs as early as Theognis, v. 826. Some of the salted preparations from the Pontus were extravagantly dear; Cato complained of a .Fpn/iiov JlovrtKuv rapixov as sold for 300 drachmae (Polyb. xxxi. 24),