Some overlooked Athenian economic vocabulary (ἀγοραί and λιμένες)

Abstract

Comparison of passages in Aristophanes, Xenophon and Demosthenes suggests that ἀγοραί (literally “marketplaces”) and λιμένες (literally “harbors”) should be recognized as 5th- and 4th-century Athenian idioms referring to state revenues generated by the sale of the right to collect taxes from such sources.