The economy of ancient Greece was dominated by agricultural production and exchange. Most agricultural production was carried out in the countryside, while the cities or poleis were net consumers. There was enough fertile soil and winter rainfall on the ancient Greek mainland for agricultural production, despite the fact that the region is relatively mountainous and has generally small rivers.

Agricultural trade was of particular importance.^{[citation needed]} The impact of limited crop production was somewhat offset by Greece's paramount location, as its position in the Mediterranean gave its provinces control over some of Egypt's most crucial seaports and trade routes.^{[citation needed]} Beginning in the 6th century BCE, trade craftsmanship and commerce, principally maritime, became pivotal aspects of Greek economic output.^{[failed verification]}

Until the 8th century BCE, the Greek mainland provided enough cultivatable soil to produce food for its inhabitants. However, during the transition from the Greek Dark Ages ((c. 1180–800 BCE) to the Archaic Greek period (c. 800 BCE–480 BCE) in the 8th century BCE, overpopulation occurred in many regions, which has been regarded as the driving factor of the Greek colonisation that then ensued until the 6th century BCE. Overseas settlements could not only house and feed the growing population, but also provide supplies of food and other materials back to the metropoleis the colonists originated from.

Some of the colonies established by Ancient Athens included the cleruchies of Asia Minor, which were important for controlling the supply of wheat.^{[citation needed]} The Athenian polis could not have survived without grain from Ukraine. The olive tree and grapevine, as well as orchards, were complemented by the cultivation of herbs, vegetables, and oil-producing plants. Husbandry was badly developed due to a lack of available land. Sheep and goats were the most common types of livestock, while bees were kept to produce honey, the only source of sugar known to the ancient Greeks.^{[citation needed]}

Up to 80% of the Greek population was employed in the agricultural industry. Agricultural work followed the rhythm of the seasons: harvesting olives and trimming grapevines at the beginning of autumn and the end of winter; setting aside fallow land in the spring; harvesting cereals in the summer; cutting wood, sowing seeds, and harvesting grapes in autumn.^{[citation needed]}

In the ancient era, most lands were held by the aristocracy. During the 7th century BC, demographic expansion and the distribution of successions created tensions between these landowners and the peasants. In Athens, this was changed by Solon's reforms, which eliminated debt bondage and protected the peasantry. Nonetheless, a Greek aristocrat's domains remained small compared with the Roman latifundia.^{[citation needed]}

Much of the craftsmanship of ancient Greece was part of the domestic sphere. However, the situation gradually changed between the 8th and 4th centuries BC, with the increased commercialization of the Greek economy. Thus, weaving and baking, activities so important to the Western late medieval economy, were done only by women before the 6th century BC. After the growth of commerce, slaves started to be used widely in workshops. Only fine dyed tissues, like those made with Tyrian purple, were created in workshops. On the other hand, working with metal, leather, wood, or clay was a specialized activity that was looked down upon by most Greeks.

The basic workshop was often family-operated. Lysias's shield manufacture employed 350 slaves; Demosthenes' father, a maker of swords, used 32. After the death of Pericles in 429 BC, a new class emerged: that of the wealthy owners and managers of workshops. Examples include Cleon and Anytus, noted tannery owners, and Kleophon, whose factory produced lyres.