The Greeks and Ancient Trade with the Atlantic

Abstract

Ancient trade between Mediterranean lands and Atlantic Europe was first and foremost a quest by Mediterranean folk for tin, of which the indigenous supplies were insufficient. In this quest the Greeks had a vital interest, in view of the great development of their bronze industry. What actual part did they take in the Atlantic tin traffic?This question raises two others, which will require a brief notice. From what part of the Atlantic seaboard, and by what route, was the tin fetched?Fortunately we need not reopen the controversy over the Cassiterides or Tin Islands, which in the common Greek belief were the source of Western tin. This belief was in any case a mistaken one, for in Western Europe there are no tin deposits worth mentioning on any archipelago of islands. Moreover, the discrepancies between the notions of various ancient writers as to their situation suggest that the name ‘Cassiterides’ was applied in turn to more than one of the Western tin districts. We may therefore circumnavigate the problem of the Cassiterides by treating them as a floating expression like the ‘Spice Islands’ of early modern times, and refusing to attach the name specifically to any one metalliferous area.