Thasian Laws Concerning Wine and Vineyards

Abstract

Engraved on this epigraph from Thasos are two laws promulgated within a short period of time between the end of the fifth and the beginning of the fourth century BC. Both deal with viticulture and the production of and trade in wine, a subject that is not new in Thasian legislation and which must have represented an important economic sector for the island. It seems clear that the main purpose of these laws was to prevent fraud concerning quantity, quality or terms of sale of the wine, although the loss of large sections of the inscription makes a complete understanding difficult.