BANKIERZY U PLAUTA
BANKERS IN PLAUT

Summary/Abstract: In the comedies of Plauta, one can find references to bankers, which capture largly a Roman reality at the mid of the third and second century BC. A playwriter, in his works, refer to people involved in the business of a banking named trapezitai or argentarii. The first term, was undoubted-ly of Greek origin – latinized version of the word τραπεζίτα. Such operation could be adopted, because of the place where comedy took place, namely Greece, and also the characters who were mostly Greeks. In the writings of Plauta Epidicus and Curculio, we can also notice the activities of the bankers. A comedy writer, in his works, consisently uses the latinized but greek-sounding name – trapezitai, which can also indicate a delberate implementation to his comedies original term, without searching for latin equivalent. Also, the bankers named argentarii can be found in Plauta's writings, especially in the Curculio. Thus, Plaut, deliberately and consciously used the two terms interchangeably to denote a banker, who professionally and economically performed bankers' operation. Therefore the word trapezitas was synonymous with argentarii, which may suggest that the same bankers were named once in greek, another time by latin term. The bankers ran their currency exchange – mensae in public places, or even near the temples to which potential custom-ers pilgrimaged. Also, the action of Plautus' comedies e.g. in Curculio, takes place next to the Temple of Aesculapius, which may indicate of their attachement to the places of worship. In addi-tion, comedy writer, pointed the obligation of keepping a trading book by a banker. However, the location where the operation performed by argentarii took place was called mensa, which suggest that it was a common term in the time of Plautus and associated to this group of bankers. In his works we can also identify an activity similar to receptum argentarii, as well as deposit and loan operations. Bankers in Plautus, used the chirographum – the letter of credit. Thus, the playwright, describing the Roman reality could not ignore people engaged in the business of banker called interchangeably trapezitas and argentarii.

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