Emporion

For all those states bordering the Mediterranean it was vital to command the seas around their land. Any people wishing to expand looked to control trade routes and invade other countries by sea. It was far easier to sail 1,000 km than march a tenth of that distance. Good ports were the key and became the hub where shipbuilding yards were found cheek-by-jowl with markets, naval garrisons and countless sea-based traders. The port that served Athens, Piraeus, was described by Aristophanes as a hectic, bustling concoction of sailors clamouring for pay, rations being served out, men trafficking for corn, onions, leeks, and figs, all to the sound of the hammering of the dockyards and boatswains’ pipes and flutes. Carthage made its wealth and name through its two artificial harbours, and Alexandria in Egypt was also one of the largest ports of the ancient world.