UC Santa Barbara

This dissertation is an investigation into the mechanisms of the Cretan economy during the Hellenistic period (323-31 BCE). In general, the Hellenistic Greek world is an understudied period, and this is especially true for the island of Crete. Historical Crete has been typified as economically backwards and isolated, with social rules and values akin to Sparta. Such theories predominated for decades because few archaeological excavations focusing on historical periods were conducted. This began to change in the 1990s, and since then a wealth of new information has been uncovered about the island’s history. Therefore, a reconsideration of Crete and its Hellenistic economy is required. The main theoretical model which I use is New Institutional Economics (NIE). Instead of engaging in a debate of whether the economy was primitive or moder, NIE allows for the analysis of economic, political, and sociocultural institutions to gain a better understanding of how the economy operated. By looking at institutions, we can see what accelerated or hindered economic growth and performance, thereby gaining a new perspective on how the economy and the extent to which actors purposefully created or altered institutions for economic development. Much of the data used for this analysis comes from archaeological materials, but I also incorporate epigraphy and ancient literature to create a more robust understanding of the mechanisms which drove the Cretan economy. I also rely heavily on Network theory, which offers a qualitative and quantitative means to analyze connections. I conclude that our previous understanding of Crete, its economy, and its society, has been misunderstood. Through my examination of institutions such as settlement patterns, socio-economic networks, and off-island interactions, I have found that the institutions on Hellenistic Crete created the opportunity for economic growth. While Cretan poleis never reached the economic might of other small powers like Rhodes, the Hellenistic period saw a rapidly developing economy that utilized its institutions to increase its wealth. By the time of Roman occupation in 67 BCE, Crete was economically engaged with the Mediterranean world at a level unseen since perhaps their Minoan predecessors. This was made possible by the changing institutions that provided opportunities for individual economic growth.