Gold in the Ancient Times of Greece
Gold was mainly used in ancient Greece as a means of exchange or in other words, money. Although ancient Egypt initiated the use of gold as money, the Greek empire refined its economic traditions. The concept of gold becoming a currency and taking the form of coins exploded in Greece. At first, this currency could have been considered a form money. The ancient history of ancient Greek coinage is divided into four time periods called the Archaic, the Classical, the Hellenistic, and the Roman eras.
Roman Building
The Archaic time period refers to the use of the first known gold coins which were minted by Libya, and the concept caught on with the ancient Greeks. The Grecian Empire was divided into thousands of city-states that were self-governed. Approximately half of these sections had their own type of coin. The
technical quality. The more massive cities started to create an array of fine gold and silver coins. The result of this is that captivating coins were made all over Greece. The Hellenistic period could be characterized by the spread of Greek currency on a global scale as the Greeks traded with other places such as Egypt. Newer kingdoms in this time period caught on quickly to the use of gold coins and began to mint their own. The Roman time period refers the defeat of Greece by Rome and coins were minted under Roman rule.
Greek currency played a huge role in the funeral arts. It was a major custom in Greece to place gold coins in the mouth or on the eyes of the dead. This would allow them to bribe Charon, the ferryman of the underworld. Charon would then grant the dead passage to the afterlife via the River Styx. During the later periods of time, Greeks began to view gold as a symbol of social status. The people used gold as a symbol of prosperity as gold became the form of currency at the time.
The ancient landscapes of Greece offered several good mining areas. One of the best locations were the mountains of Thrace located in north Greece. This mountain held vast amounts of both gold and silver. Another excellent area was the Cyprus Island of which was known for its gold, copper, and iron.