Divine witnesses to oaths were the core of Greco-Roman marketplace commerce

Evidence

Not only was the presence of gods mandatory for an agora [marketplace], but they somehow facilitated the agoras’ commercial activities. What was the necessary link between the gods and commercial activity? The answer to this question lies in the use of the gods as witnesses to the promissory oaths businessmen swore to bind their commercial agreements. This divine function, more than anything else, provides the common denominator for the features encountered in both Greek and Roman marketplaces. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 198

Categorization

• XREF: The divine-witness mechanism parallels how Rodrigues perceives God as an omniscient observer in Silence; gods function as supernatural contract enforcers.
• DEFINE: Clarifies the mechanism by which gods entered commerce: not as market patrons but as witnesses to binding oaths.