The “Art of Commerce”: An Outline of Commercial Education in Twentieth-century Greece

Abstract

The first half of the twentieth century in Greece was marked by consecutive
military and civil conflicts that caused profound territorial, demographic and social
changes. The movement of vast numbers of young peasants from rural areas to the capital
coincided with the broadening of internal trade, a proliferation of industrial investments
and the intense urbanization of Athens and other Greek cities, especially during the
interwar period. This article examines education concerning the “art of commerce”, a
more flexible type of training in comparison with its strictly technical equivalent; a form
of education that was associated with a completely different outlook compared to the
traditional apprenticeship guilds of the nineteenth century. In this context, the essay seeks
to emphasize the ways in which a professional group, recognized by the state through its own
associations, was specifically created and developed and how this group envisaged creating
the sole educational opportunity for its own members, those working in the field of retail.