It appears likely that at its peak the classical economy was almost as large as that of Western Europe during the Industrial Revolution. The following review of the archeological and document evidence indicates that three events occurring in the first half of the first millennium BC trigger the emergence of a specialized and integrated classical economy after 500 BC: (i) growth in demand for silver as a medium of exchange in economies in the Near East; (ii) technical breakthroughs in hull construction and sailing rig in merchant shipping of the late Bronze Age; (iii) perfection of ferrous metallurgy into the European hinterland. This last event raised agricultural productivity to a level capable of supporting the occupational specialization needed to sustain a vigorous trading economy. To these initial causes may be added the diffusion of alphabetic writing. While it did not create opportunities for long-distance trade, the diffusion of writing supplied the means of responding on a scale large enough economically to matter.

古典经济在其鼎盛时期似乎几乎与工业革命期间的西欧经济一样大。以下对考古和文献证据的审查表明，公元前一千年上半叶发生的三件事引发了公元前 500 年之后专业化和一体化的古典经济的出现：（i）对白银作为交换媒介的需求增长在近东经济体中；(ii) 青铜时代晚期商船船体构造和帆船设备的技术突破；(iii) 完善黑色冶金进入欧洲腹地。最后一个事件将农业生产力提高到能够支持维持蓬勃发展的贸易经济所需的职业专业化的水平。除了这些最初的原因之外，还有字母书写的传播。虽然它没有为长途贸易创造机会，但文字的传播提供了在经济上足够大的规模上做出反应的手段。