Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/109

The Coming oj the Greeks 65 pound). The drachma, as it was called, was worth from eighteen to twenty cents. It still survives in large sections of Europe as the French franc. The purchasing power of a drachma was very much greater in ancient times than in our day. For example, a SPECIMENS ILLUSTRATING THE BEGINNING OF COINAGE i, both sides of a Lydian coin (about 550 B.C.) ; 2, both sides of a coin of the Greek island of Chios (500 B.C.), showing how the Greeks followed the Lydian model; 3, both sides of a Carian coin (650-550 B.C.), an example of the square stamp ; 4, both sides of a four-drachma piece of Athens, (sixth century B.C.), bearing head of the goddess Athena and an owl with olive branch (square stamp). The inscription contains the first three letters of "Athens." These coins are all rough lumps of silver (such as were long before used in the Orient, 39), flattened by the pressure of the stamp sheep cost one drachma, an ox five drachma, and a landowner with an income of five hundred drachmas ($100) a year was con- sidered a wealthy man. 94. Rise of a Capitalistic Class. Greek wealth had formerly consisted of lands and flocks, but now men began to accumulate capital in money. Loans were made, and the custom of lending money at interest came in from the Orient. The usual rate was 1 8 per cent yearly. Men who could never have hoped to get ahead as farmers were now growing rich. There arose a prosperous industrial and commercial middle class, which demanded a voice in the government.