"Aristotle and the Athenian Banausoi and Businessmen"
Munstersche Beitrage zur Antiken Handelsgeschichte
Summary

The indications are that Athens already in the 6th century had moved away from the "aristocratic" model which Aristotle proposes as an "ideal polis" and which Finley and others believe actually operated. The "citizen-lite" in Athens were such because of wealth not because of birth; some of them, like Perikles or Alkibiades, owned land from which they earned their wealth, but others operated, such as Demosthenes, Praxiteles, or Anytos, gained their wealth from businesses which they owned and. These individuals were not barred from the political operations of the polis nor were they barred from access to the highest levels of society, either in Athens or elsewhere in Greece. Furthermore, as Meikle states, "...there is no reason to believe that there was any serious antagonism between the commercial class and the landed aristocracy." The views presented by Aristotle are not a reflection of actual conditions in Athens, nor does he ever claim that they are; it has been left to modern scholars to make that leap of faith. On the basis of this comparison with Aristotle's statements regarding craftsmen and businessmen, I contend that the use of his philosophical discussions as indications of historical fact is an abuse of these texts; Aristotle did not have as his aim a description of the social and economic conditions in Athens when he wrote the Politics, nor did he ever claim that the views expressed there were opinions commonly held in Athens in his own time. Moreover, he does not even claim that his views are those of an aristocratic, intellectual elite in Athens. While his philosophical writings are extremely important and valuable as philosophical investigations, it does not follow that they are also valuable sources of information about the ancient Athenian economy.