In any case, in early Greek history we do find the important institution of the xenos, the guest-friend, who assured individual admission and protection within an alien territory. Indeed, trade must have developed very much as a matter of personal relations, even if the warrior aristocracy disguised it as being no more than mutual exchange of gifts. And it was not only those who were already wealthy who could afford hospitality to members of particular families in other regions: such relations also would have made people rich by providing channels through which important needs of their
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