The name is absent

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urban open-air farmer’s markets (the λαiκf∣). Every week sellers come together at
predetermined segments of road in the various neighborhoods of Athens, and indeed at
other cities and towns across Greece, where they sell an astonishing variety of goods:
produce, cheese, olives, fish, and various other foods, household items, clothes, fabric,
and depending on the size of the market, prepared food and electronics. These goods are
sold by farmers or their helpers, but more commonly, by middle-men who purchase items
(both local and imported) from suppliers and brokers. To participate in the market as a
seller, individuals must acquire a license from the local municipality. This is a process
which has become increasingly expensive and closed to non-citizens, or more generally,
individuals not in possession of a national identity card. Thus the tightening of the
licensing rules has forced many long-time sellers out of the proper market space and has
given rise to illicit license acquisition, bribery, and outright illegal selling. Shoppers who
have attended the market for years have noticed this change: main selling streets have
contracted slightly, visible minorities have been nearly eliminated from the main seller
profile, and the periphery of the market has expanded and become inundated with
unlicensed vendors. These “outside sellers”, as it were, peddle mostly small goods like
toys, cheap electronics, and clothes; items that can be packed up quickly should a police
officer appear and which are readily available from поп-regulated importers.

The Roma have a long history of selling goods at farmer’s markets across Greece,
and continue their involvement in this urban folk institution even now with the tightening
of the licensing rules. Those possessing identity cards, with enough money for permits,
and with access to a reliable car and stock of sellable goods, often work at the market as
this provides a reasonable income and, as the following will show, prestige. Those

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