The book presents the results of research into Cretan laws and inscriptions from the policies of North Macedonia and Chalkidiki. The authors come to the conclusion that the first form of proprietary security for obligations in Ancient Greece was a possessory pledge. The creditor sought to obtain possession of the collateral. This is due to the fact that due to the underdevelopment of archives in Greece (unlike the countries of the Ancient East), the lack of a land cadastre and a register of encumbered things, the creditor was not sure that the debtor would not transfer the pledged item to a third party through fraud. The emergence of a secured purchase and sale is due to the appearance of signs of encumbrance of property. A mortgage appears later than other proprietary methods of securing obligations.