Hi i've been reading about economics in ancient Greece, as part of some research for a short story. But i havent been able to find consistency, so i thought i would ask here.
First wages: A worker/labor for the government in a city like Athens would earn a drachma a day. That is simple enough but what would a farmer, specifically an olive farmer, earn from his own land if it was of a standard size.
Second Prices: What would the price be for a olive farm in drachma´s, a source i found said 1000 but i doubt that. Also as a citizen of a city state you were required to own weapons and armor thou as i've learned the quality could vary a great deal form man to man.
Lastly: Perhaps it would be more fitting to ask a farmer, but olive trees don´t grow that much fruit and most of it would be pressed into oil so how did people live of them. As far as i know the main reason they grew olives was because it could grow in stony fields where wheat wouldent.
How much was a penny worth 100 year ago. How much is it worth now? These things change over time, and sometimes quite quickly. It depends on when and where your story is set, but the precise information you want is almost impossible to come by.
Victor Davis Hanson is not always popular here, especially when he strays from his areas of expertise, but his Warfare and Agriculture in Classical Greece or The Other Greeks may help you. Take it with a grain of salt, I find his personal philosophy leaks into his work too much. Rural Athens under the Democracy By Jones may be a more unbiased view of a small family farms.
As for the economic questions maybe: Money and Its Uses in the Ancient Greek World or Wages, Welfare Costs and Inflation in Classical Athens?