Science & technology | Silver and democracy

Newfangled coins and mercenaries may have brought about democracy

In ancient Greece, the old order could not stand against them

Greek school, (6th-5th century BC) Greek (Macedonian). Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA silver -6
No vote for you, I’m afraidImage: Bridgeman Images
|Washington, DC

In the view of many, money corrupts democracy. In the view of Francis Albarède, however, it was money, in the form of coined silver, which created democracy in the first place.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Piecing it together”

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