A Few Things to be Learned from the Historiography of Ancient Greek Taxation[Quelques leçons à tirer de l’historiographie de la fiscalité grecque archaïque]

The history of the formation of European states has accustomed us to consider taxation as the necessary instrument for the development of the state apparatus, in its military, administrative and ideological dimensions. Do the Greek city-states fit into this pattern? A usual reconstruction tells of the passage from communities of equals sharing profits, as in Siphnos around 500 and in Athens before Themistocles, to city-states that became military and especially maritime powers, which implies the mobilisation of considerable resources. The 2013 book by van Wees (Ships and Silver, Taxes and Tribute, London) underlines the driving role of war at sea. A new reading of the essential stages of the historiography also leads to the hypothesis that not everything in taxation is the direct responsibility of the city and that its subdivisions may have played a role. In the end, it is the question of the central role attributed to the city in the development of taxation that must be asked.