Ulysses without sails: Trade, distance, knowledge and power in the early Cyclades

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Abstract
Pre‐modern trade must be situated within the context of the wider social significance of the exotic. Unequal knowledge creates uneven values for non‐local goods, and superior knowledge forms an avenue to power. This study explores maritime trade in the Cycladic islands (c. 2700–2300 cal. BC) in this light. It expands on earlier identification of specialized trading communities, using graph analysis to show that their position (spatial and political) was based on control of local seaborne movement and greater experience of the wider maritime world. Possible ritual destruction of prestige marble artefacts at one such site on Keros is seen as a means of manipulating regimes of value. Finally, it is suggested that long‐distance voyages beyond the Cyclades were as much exercises in the gathering of esoteric knowledge to enhance social prestige within the islands as they were expeditions concerned with trade in material goods.

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