Classic Age

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At the end of the Hellenic-Persian wars (479 b.c.), the shaping of two political-military centers in Greece started: the Athenian Principality and the Peloponnesian Alliance. The Achaioi were again absent from the coming-together of the Greeks and the separation tendencies of Greece, being busy with domestic affairs and, in particular, with financial issues.

However, the organization of the Achaic economy was evident at the beginning of the Classic Age (479 – 323 b.c.) when the circulation of the first silver coins took place, cut in the town of Aiges in about 480 b.c..
Later, more towns cut and circulated coins, like Pellini, Aigeira, Eliki and Dymi and two Arcadian ones, Kleitoras and Psofida. The cities of Dymi, Eliki and Pellini cut coins a new at the beginning of the 4th century b.c.. That period, Achaia’s rapid development was evident in sculpture, architecture, etc. It was also evident, however, in its reserved exit from its isolation and the participation in the Greek affairs.
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Then the Achaioi reemerged in the Historical foreground, after the Trojan War, by participating in the "Korinthian War" (395– 387 b.c.), later in the "Thivaean War" (371 – 362 b.c.) as well as in the so called "Holy War" (355 – 345 b.c.), which offered the Macedonians the opportunities they were looking for to interfere in the Greek affairs.

After the battle in Haironeia (338 b.c.), where the supremacy of Filippos B’s army was proved, the Hellenic land was unified for the first time, under the threat of the Macedonian arms. The Macedonian conquerors, placed quards in the Achaic cities, exiled citizens and changed Democracy. The Achaic cities participated in the Macedonian conflicts and, for the first time in their history, they turned against each other’s interests. Besides that, in 303 b.c. "The Common of Achaioi" or the so-called "First Achaic Confederacy" was dissolved. The turbulence of the times influenced the productive procedures, and that was evident in the economy of the Achaic cities. A characteristic example of the situation was the financial disorganization of Patras, the poverty-stricken inhabitants of which resorted to the neighboring settlements of Volini, Argiroi and Arva.