Banks original existence (and still today) They are instituted to fund wars.
The Temple wasn’t a religious building but a Vault in Greco-Roman Era
During the height of Athenian power in the 5th century BCE, particularly during the time of the Delian League and Peloponnesian War, the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis functioned as much as a treasury vault as it did a religious building.
The Delian League, initially formed as an alliance against Persia, required member states to contribute either ships or money (phoros) to the common defense. Athens, as the leader, collected and managed these funds. Over time, the League's treasury was moved from Delos to Athens, and much of the silver coinage was stored in the Parthenon.
The temple became a secure storage facility for vast amounts of silver, both from League contributions and Athens' own reserves. Thucydides mentions that on the eve of the Peloponnesian War, there were 6,000 talents of coined silver stored in the Acropolis, likely mostly within the Parthenon. This is an enormous sum, equivalent to many tons of silver.
Now, let's do the calculations: What is 1 talent worth?
Answer is 1,077 troy ounces of SilverConverting 33.5 kg to troy ounces:
1 kg = 32.1507466 troy ounces
33.5 kg × 32.1507466 = 1,077.05 troy ounces
Value of one talent of silver at $31 per ounce:
1,077.05 troy ounces × $31 = $33,388.55
Value of 6000 talents of silver:
6000 × $33,388.55 = $200,331,300
Therefore, the corrected calculation for 6,000 talents of silver at the current price of $31 per ounce would be:
6000 talents × $33,388.55 = $200,331,300
This calculation uses the Attic talent, which was approximately 33 kg. Other ancient talents varied slightly in weight.
The value of a talent in ancient times was significantly higher in terms of purchasing power. For example:
One talent could pay a trireme crew for a month during the Peloponnesian War.
It represented several years' wages for an average worker in ancient Greece.
Lets say instead of several years lets call it two year just for arguments sake and to be conservative when extrapolating
2 years of work = $33,400.00 per year average annual wage
1 year of work = $16,700.00 year to get by in Athens
The modern monetary equivalent based on purchasing power would be much higher than the simple weight conversion we calculated.
Drawing inferences you can see how distortions occur over time (inflation)
While religious ceremonies and worship of Athena continued, the Parthenon's role as a treasury vault became increasingly prominent. The Athenian state could and did borrow from these reserves to finance military operations during the Peloponnesian War. Detailed financial records were kept, treating the stored wealth as both sacred offerings to Athena and state assets.
The function of The Temple (as a treasury) highlights how intertwined religion, politics, and finance were in ancient Athens. The Parthenon served as both the cultural center of the city and its financial backbone during this crucial period.
I’ve written in the past about the the pivotal role of silver coinage in ancient Athenian military logistics and economic development. The minting of owl coins, Athens' iconic silver currency, revolutionized the way soldiers were compensated and sustained during campaigns.
This system of payment was far more efficient than the alternative of mobilizing a large civilian workforce to follow armies with provisions. By providing soldiers with silver coins, Athens enabled them to purchase their own supplies, food, and equipment as needed.
Archaeological evidence supports this practice, as the largest hoards of silver coins have been discovered at locations where soldiers were stationed or encamped. This distribution pattern indicates that soldiers carried their wealth with them and spent it in the areas where they were deployed.
The presence of soldiers with disposable income naturally led to the emergence of markets around military encampments. These markets attracted merchants and traders, creating economic hubs that catered to the soldiers' needs.
As this economic activity grew, it necessitated the development of a bureaucratic system. Officials equipped with scales appeared to ensure fair transactions and maintain quality control of the silver currency. Subsequently, the Athenian government established a presence in these areas to collect taxes, further formalizing the economic structure that had sprung up around the military presence.
This system demonstrates how Athens' silver coinage not only facilitated military operations but also drove economic expansion and state-building in the areas where its armies were deployed.
So Athens defense budget was 6,000 talents of Silver or $200,331,300.
So now let’s compare there per capita defense spending.
Combined Population Estimate (circa 400 BC)
Mainland Greece:
Athens: 250,000-300,000
Other city-states (Sparta, Thebes, etc.): ~500,000
Subtotal: ~800,000
Asia Minor (Greek colonies and surrounding areas):
Estimated at about 2 million (lower than the 1st century AD estimate)
Sicily and Magna Graecia:
Estimated at about 500,000-750,000
Aegean Islands and other Delian League territories:
Estimated at about 500,000
Other relevant areas (Thrace, parts of North Africa):
Estimated at about 250,000
Total estimated population: Approximately 4-4.5 million
The 5 S’s
Silver Sunday School Sermon on Stewardship
The excessive use of derivatives and futures contracts in commodity markets can indeed lead to price distortions that have far-reaching consequences for resource stewardship. When paper contracts significantly outnumber the physical supply of a commodity like silver or oil, it can artificially suppress prices below their true market value. This price suppression can have several detrimental effects on resource management:
Overconsumption
When commodities are undervalued, it encourages wasteful consumption, particularly in developed nations. For instance, artificially low oil prices may lead to increased use of fossil fuels in the US, Canada, and Europe, exacerbating climate change and depleting finite resources more rapidly.
The 'top billion' people in the so called “developed world” consume 28 MWH pp pa of useful energy
4x more than 7bn people in the emerging world
and 10x more than the 'bottom 4bn' at 3MWH pp pa
85% of all people alive today have never been on a plane.
4bn people inhabit <10 m2 pp of living space
This is approximately the size of a Western prison cell.
Only 5% of India has air conditioning and their emerging class is exploding
A hot tub in Breckenridge can consume more electricity than an African village of 40 people.
The US is 4% of the world's people yet uses 20% of World’s resources
US is 83% import reliant on Silver
Westerners own 17x more cars
and consume 10x more plastics than the poorest 4bn.
Hoarding
Conversely, some market participants may recognize the undervaluation and hoard physical commodities, expecting future price increases. This can create artificial scarcity and market instability.
Underinvestment
Suppressed prices can discourage investment in new production or sustainable practices, as they reduce profit margins for producers. This can lead to supply shortages in the long term.
Global Inequality
Cheap commodities can perpetuate unsustainable consumption patterns in developed countries while hindering economic development in resource-rich but less developed nations.
Was Jesus against War Profiteering?
Whether we believe Jesus was a God or a teacher, the significance of his actions in the temple is a crucial part of our Silver Sunday School lessons.
It’s significant that when Jesus used whips to drive the money counters and traders out of the temple, he was challenging the idea that the temple was the headquarters for war funding, much like the Federal Reserve is the funding mechanism for US war efforts.
As we delve into this topic, it's important to understand the historical context. We all know by now that the US lost gold and oil backing, that the only backer is the US military, and that all wars are banker wars.
This channel believes that we can glean good information from all the great teachers from many faiths and proposes its a mark of intelligence to respect all colors, all creatures, all cultures, all religions. This is just another layer of stewardship, perhaps a better word would be citizenship.
Undervalued resources may be used inefficiently or wastefully, leading to increased pollution and environmental degradation.
To promote better stewardship of resources, it's crucial to ensure that commodity prices reflect their true value, accounting for scarcity, environmental costs, and long-term sustainability.
This could require stricter regulation of derivatives markets, limits on speculative trading, and policies that encourage responsible resource use.
Additionally, promoting awareness of the hidden costs of resource consumption and incentivizing responsible practices can help address the imbalance in global resource utilization and foster more responsible stewardship of our planet's finite resources.
end of sermon
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