The exploitation of local resources of Western Greece by Roman entrepreneurs (3rd -1st c. BC)

Résumé En

Romans and Italiote Greeks are attested to have been active in various areas of the Western part of the Greek peninsula and on the islands of the Ionian Sea as early as the 3rd c. BC, long before the formation of the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia. If we ignore Roman magistrates and a few proxenoi of Greek poleis, whose exact relationship with the poleis – beyond conventional diplomatic contacts – is in most cases unclear, it is obvious that the motivation that drove these Westerners eastwards was economic. The nature of their activity is to be either seen in the context of commercial interchange between both sides of Adriatic, which is regularly attested as early as the Geometric period onwards, or it is to be connected with the exploitation of local resources, which were different in each of these regions. Yet tangible professions or occupations of these individuals are not often mentioned in the sources. Terms defining such occupations are sometimes more or less concrete, such as unguentarius, engaiountes, but in other cases they are general and include various capacities related to certain activities, as, for example, the term negotiatus or negotiator. There are also cases in which the activities of the foreign settlers are totally unknown or have to be guessed at through indirect references in the sources. Furthermore, we attempt to trace possible occupations in the light of the economic opportunities available in each locality. All these cases are to be considered when studying the evidence from the area in question, that is, Western Greece from the Ambraciot Gulf to Cape Tainaron, including the adjacent islands. Research into such matters might function as a basis for a further study of the role of Roman and Italiot entrepreneurs in the economic and social life of the Greek poleis in the area in question and of their role in the economic network of western entrepreneurs located in the Eastern Mediterranean.