Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Freed slaves, their status and state control in Ancient Greece

2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 16; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13507480902916779

1469-8293

Rachel Zelnick‐Abramovitz,

Law, logistics, and international trade

Abstract Freed slaves in the ancient Greek world usually held the legal status of foreigners or non-citizen residents. The Greek states adopted various means to control social distinctions, and in many cases actively engaged in the process of manumission and its publication, thus applying public interests to private concerns. This is evident from many manumission documents, which allude to the involvement of political institutions in manumission, and to payments made by freed slaves to the treasurers or other officials. It can also be inferred from documents in which ex-owners seemingly grant to their freed slaves several civic rights and sometimes even citizenship. Keywords: slaverymanumission polis status of freed slavesgrants of privileges and citizenshiplawsinscriptionsstate's involvement in manumission Acknowledgements The author is grateful to the anonymous readers of European Review of History for their useful comments and suggestions. Notes 1. In most cases freed slaves remained in the underprivileged status of foreigners, unless granted the better status of non-citizen residents. Such non-citizen residents were called metoikoi in Athens and in other places, but elsewhere they had other labels such as paroikoi or katoikoi. The communis opinio is that manumitted slaves automatically gained the status of metics or its equivalent. See, for instance, on Athens, Todd Todd, Stephen C. 1993. The Shape of Athenian Law, Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Google Scholar], Athenian Law, 190. For a different view see Zelnick-Abramovitz Zelnick-Abramovitz, Rachel. 2005. Not Wholly Free: The Concept of Manumission and the Status of Manumitted Slaves in the Ancient Greek World, Leiden: Brill. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], Not Wholly Free, 4–5, 104–5, 308. 2. Important information is also extracted from literary sources: epics, drama, historiographies, orations, philosophical writings and biographies. These, however, seldom specify the procedure of manumission or the freed slave's status, and many of them are anecdotal. An extreme example perhaps is the Life of Aesop, a popular biography of the sixth-century BC fable-teller, originally composed around the first or second century AD. The text(s) we have – compilations of adaptations of the original(s), made over the centuries – abounds with details concerning Aesop's status, manumission and status after manumission, but most of them are probably fictitious. For a study that uses Aesop's Vita to extract evidence and offers important insights on master–slave relations, see Hopkins Hopkins, Keith. 1993. Novel Evidence for Roman Slavery. Past and Present, 138: 3–27. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], "Novel Evidence". 3. For this law see Ath. Pol. 26.4; Plutarch, Periclēs, 37.2–5; Davies Davies, John K. 1978. Athenian Citizenship: The Descent Group and Its Alternatives. Classical Journal, 73: 105–21. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], "Athenian Citizenship"; Rhodes Rhodes, Peter J. 1981. A Commentary on the Aristotelian Athenaion Politeia, Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Google Scholar], Commentary, 331–5; Patterson Patterson, Cynthia. 1981. Pericles' Citizenship Law of 451–0 BC, New York: Arno Press. [Google Scholar], Citizenship Law; Todd, Athenian Law, 177–8; Ogden Ogden, Daniel. 1996. Greek Bastardy in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods, Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Google Scholar], Bastardy (1996): 59–69; Harrison, Law of Athens, 25. 4. See Todd, Athenian Law, 178; Harrison, Law of Athens, 25–9. 5. See Todd, Athenian Law, 109; Harrison, Law of Athens, 165. 6. On dikē apostasiou see Todd, Athenian Law, 102, 190–2; Harrison, Law of Athens, 182–3, 190; Klees Klees, Hans. 1998. Sklavenleben im klassischen Griechenland, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. [Google Scholar], Sklavenleben, 299, 328–30; Zelnick-Abramovitz, Not Wholly Free, 274–90. Athenian judges were occasionally also called to decide the legal status of a person, whose liberty had been asserted by the defendant (aphaeresis eis eleutherian) while the prosecutor claimed he or she was his slave. A famous such case is that of Neaera, whom Phrynion claimed to be his slave and prosecuted Stephanus, who asserted her liberty; this case, however, was settled outside the law court ([Dēmosthenēs] 59.40–5). See Hamel Hamel, Debra. 2003. Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. [Google Scholar], Trying Neaira, 72–5. 7. Aeschinēs, 3 (Against Ctēsiphōn), 41, 44: The act of bestowing crowns was a token of the people's gratitude – whether expressed by tribes and demes or by the whole citizen body – to citizens or foreigners who benefited the state. By 'foreign crowns' Aeschinēs relates to crowns that were voted to Athenian citizens by foreign states. A deme was a township or a village which served as the basic political and administrative unit in the Athenian polis. On manumission by proclamation in the theatre, see Rädle Rädle, Herbert. 1971. Freilassung von Sklaven im Theater. Revue Internationale des Droits de l'Antiquité, 18: 361–4. [Google Scholar], "Freilassung von Sklaven im Theater"; Mactoux Mactoux, Marie-Madeleine. 2008. "Regards sur la proclamation de l'affranchissement au théâtre à Athènes". In La fin du statut servile? Affranchissement, Libération, Abolition, Hommage à Jacques Annequin, Vol. II. XXX Colloque du GIREA, Besançon 15–16–17 Décembre 2005 Edited by: Gonzales, Antonio. 437–51. Besançon: Presses universitaires de Franche-Comté. [Google Scholar], "Regards sur la proclamation". 8. Aeschinēs had already launched his motion against Ctēsiphōn in 336 BC, but the case was brought to court only in 330. On probable reasons for the delay see Harris Harris, Edward M. 1995. Aeschines and Athenian Politics, New York: Oxford University Press. [Google Scholar], Aeschines, 140–1. On Aeschinēs' arguments in Against Ctēsiphōn see Harris, ibid.; Gwatkin Gwatkin, William E. Jr. 1957. The Legal Arguments in Aeschines' Against Ktesiphon and Demosthenes' On the Crown. Hesperia, 26: 129–41. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], "Legal Arguments", 135–8. 9. Plutarch, Nicias, 3.3: 10. For the epigraphic evidence of proclamations of crowns in the theatre see Gwatkin, "Legal Arguments", 138–40. See also Mactoux, "Regards sur la proclamation", 450-1, who believes that proclamations of manumissions stopped because this mode of manumission (which, in her opinion, was a ritualised integration of the freed slaves into the community as a defined group of non-citizens) was no longer needed in the fourth century BC, when the free non-citizen population became more diverse, fluctuating and less identified with the polis. 11. I here disagree with Mactoux, "Regards sur la proclamation", 441, 445, who argues that since the herald had an official role in the polis, we should see manumission by proclamation in the theatre as an official act, used by the state as a means of controlling a social process which might generate disorder. By contrast, I believe that proclamations in the theatre were not an official mode of manumission that was assigned to the herald by the dēmos. Aeschinēs may have told the truth-when he described the tumulus raised by such proclamations, and it may well be that slave-owners exploited the fact that the herald was present in the theatre for other matters and asked him to proclaim the manumission of their slaves. We should also note that according to Aeschinēs' quotation of the 'Dionysiac Law', the herald is threatened with losing his civic rights should proclamations be made in the theatre without the authorisation of the people. Such a threat makes no sense if we presume that the herald was officially entrusted with the task of proclaiming manumissions in the theatre. 12. IG IX(2) 109a, lines 1–9: The stratēgos (literally, 'general') was the chief elected magistrate of the Thessalian Confederacy, to which belonged the city of Halus. 13. See Larsen Larsen, Jacob A.O. 1968. Greek Federal States: Their Institutions and History, Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Google Scholar], Federal States, 291–2; Rädle Rädle, Herbert. "Untersuchungen zum griechischen Freilassungen." PhD. diss., Universität zu München, 1969 [Google Scholar], "Untersuchungen", 158–9; Helly, "Lois", 154. 14. For example, Calderini Calderini, Aristide. 1965. La manomissione e la condizione dei liberti in Grecia, Rome: L'Erma di Bretschneider. (originally published Milan: U. Hoelpi, 1908) [Google Scholar], Manomissione, 141; Rensch Rensch, Gualterus. "De manumissionum titulis apud Thessalos." PhD. diss., Halle – Academia Fridericiana, 1908 [Google Scholar], "Manumissionum", 95; Busolt Busolt, Georg. 1920. Griechische Staatskunde, Vol. I, München: Beck. [Google Scholar], Staatskunde, I, 290; Helly, "Lois", 154. 15. See Liv., 7.16.7. 16. The stone on which the manumission document was inscribed could not of course be carried around as an "identity card", but it was placed in a public place so that all passers-by could see it. Moreover, in many cases (if not in every case) the inscription was a copy or an abridgement of the original handwritten document, which was often deposited in public archives. Sometimes several copies were made and entrusted to archives, magistrates, or private persons. See Mulliez Mulliez, Dominique. 1992. Les actes d'affranchissement delphiques. Cahiers du Centre G. Glotz, 3: 31–44. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], "Actes d'affranchissement", 34–7; Zelnick-Abramovitz, Not Wholly Free, 203–4. 17. On manumission by the fictive sale of the slave to a divinity, see most recently (also reviewing previous studies) Zelnick-Abramovitz, Not Wholly Free, 86–99. 18. IG IX(1) 32 709a: 19. On manumission by consecration of the slave to a divinity see Zelnick-Abramovitz, Not Wholly Free, 86–99. 20. IG VII 3314: Cf. IG VII 3330, 3313. See also IG IX(1) 109, 120, 125–7, in which both the Assembly and the Council were involved. Lines 3–4 of the inscription quoted here, where the slaves are required to stay with their ex-mistress as long as she lives as a prerequisite to the act of manumission, constitute a paramonē clause, frequently found in manumission documents in many parts of the Greek world. On paramonē clauses and the status of freed slaves under paramonē, see Calderini, Manomissione, 286; Koschaker Koschaker, Paul. 1931. Über einige griechische Rechtsurkunden aus den östlichen Randgebieten des Hellenismus, Leipzig: S. Hirzel. [Google Scholar], Griechische Rechtsurkunde, 45; Westermann Westermann, William L. 1955. The Slave Systems of Greek and Roman Antiquity, Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. [Google Scholar], Slave Systems, 35, 55–6; Gernet Gernet, Louis. 1955. Droit et société dans la Grèce ancienne, Paris: Sirey. [Google Scholar], Droit et Société, 169–70; Babacos Babacos, Antonios M. 1964. Familienrechtliche Verhältnisse auf der Insel Kalymnos im 1. Jahrhundert n. Chr. Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, 81: 31–51. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], "Familienrechtliche Verhältnisse"; Samuel Samuel, Alan E. 1965. The Role of the Paramone Clauses in Ancient Documents. Journal of Juristic Papyrology, 15: 221–311. [Google Scholar], "Paramone clauses"; Rädle, Untersuchungen, 142–5; Hopkins Hopkins, Keith. 1978. Conquerors and Slaves, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar], Conquerors and Slaves, 149–50; Albrecht Albrecht, Karl-Dieter. 1978. Rechtsprobleme in den Freilassungen der Böoter, Phoker, Dorier, Ost- und Westlokrer, Paderborn: F. Schoningh. [Google Scholar], Rechtsprobleme, 199–200; Kränzlein Kränzlein, Arnold. 1981. "Bemerkungen zu den griechischen Freilassungsinschriften". In Symposion 1979, Vorträge zur griechischen und hellenistischen Rechtsgeschichte, Edited by: Dimakis, Panayotis. 239–47. Köln: Bohlau. [Google Scholar], "Bemerkungen"; Waldstein Waldstein, Wolfgang. 1986. Operae Libertorum. Untersuchungen zur Dienstpflicht freigelassener Sklaven, Stuttgart: F. Steiner. [Google Scholar], Operae Libertorum, 93–101; Zelnick-Abramovitz, Not Wholly Free, 222–48. 21. As believed, for instance, by Albrecht, Rechtsprobleme, 119–23, 135–7, 151–3. 22. IG V(2) 345, lines 1–13: …. The dāmiourgoi were eponymous magistrates in Orchomenus. 23. IG IX(1) 109: 24. Pollux, 3.83: . According to Pollux, Dēmosthenēs referred to laws of the apeleutheroi and laws of the exeleutheroi, both terms denoting freed slaves. If Pollux presents Dēmosthenēs' words correctly, there must have been a difference between these two appellations. For the possibility that these terms represented two distinct groups of manumitted slaves, see Harrison Harrison, Alick R.W. 1998. The Law of Athens I, 2nd ed., London: Bristol Classical Press. (originally published by Oxford University Press in 1968) [Google Scholar], Law of Athens, 181; Zelnick-Abramovitz, Not Wholly Free, 100–26. 25. See, for instance, Segré Segré, Mario, ed. 1952. Tituli Calymni, Vol. 22/23, Bergamo: Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni italiane in Oriente. [Google Scholar], Tituli Calymni, no. 158, 167, 169, 193. 26. See, for instance, IG IX(2) 1296 A, lines 31–2 from Azorus; SEG 23, 462 ( = SEG 26, 670), lines 12–15 from Dolichē; and Helly, "Lois", 143–52 ( = IG IX(2) 1290), lines 13–16, from Pythion, discussed below. 27. Details on the status and activity of Pasiōn, his wife Archippē, and sons Apollodōrus and Pasiclēs, and on Phormiōn, are found in the orations 36, 45, 49, and 50 in the Dēmosthenic corpus, and in oration 17 of Isocrates. On Pasiōn and Phormiōn see Davies Davies, John K. 1971. Athenian Propertied Families, 600–300 B.C, Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Google Scholar], Propertied Families, 429–42; Cohen Cohen, Edward E. 1992. Athenian Economy and Society, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. [Google Scholar], Athenian Economy, 81–106; Trevett Trevett, Jeremy. 1992. Apollodorus the Son of Passion, Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Google Scholar], Apollodorus. 28. Although often grouped together with other non-citizen populations in official texts, the sources reveal that the Greeks had a distinct terminology for freed slaves: apeleutheros, exeleutheros and apheteis. These terms distinguished them from metoikoi, paroikoi and other terms denoting free non-citizen residents, and from xenoi – foreigners staying in the state for a short while. See, e.g., IG I3 237, lines 9–10; IG XII(5) 647; Syll.3 742. 29. IG IX(1) 12, 96a, lines 1–6: 30. On such acquiescence clauses and their meaning (and their link to communal ownership) see, for manumissions in Thessaly and Calymna: Babacos Babacos, Antonios M. 1963. Vormundschaft im alt-thessalischen Recht. Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, 80: 311–22. [Google Scholar], "Vormundschaft", 321–2; idem, "Familienrechtliche Verhältnisse", 31–6; idem, Actes d'aliénation, 79–85; in Delphi: Westermann Westermann, William L. 1950. Extinction of Claims in Slave Sales at Delphi. Journal of Juristic Papyrology, 4: 49–61. [Google Scholar], "Extinction of Claims", 54–8; in Macedon: Petsas et al. Petsas, Photios M., Hatzopoulos, Miltiades B., Gounaropoulou, Lucrece and Paschidis, Paschalis, eds. 2000. Inscriptions du sanctuaire de la Mère des Dieux Autochtone de Leukopétra (Macédoine), Athènes: Centre de recherches de l'antiquité grecque et romaine, fondation nationale de la recherche scientifique. [Google Scholar], Leukopetra, 39–40; in Western Locris and Aetolia: Blavatskaja Blavatskaja, Tatiana V. 1972. "Zur Geschichte der Sklavenhaltung in den nordwestlichen Gebieten Griechenlands". In Die Sklaverei in hellenistischen Staaten im 3.–1. Jh. v. Chr, Edited by: Blavatskaja, Tatiana V., Golubcova, Elena S. and Pavlovskaja, Aleksandra I. 3–105. Wiesbaden: F. Steiner. [Google Scholar], "Geschichte der Sklavenhaltung", 49–50, 74–5; in Epirus: Cabanes Cabanes, Pierre. 1976. L'Épire de la mort de Pyrrhos à la conquête romaine Paris [Google Scholar], L'Épire, 417–22, 459–61; in Boeotia, Phōcis, and Locris: Albrecht, Rechtsprobleme, 216–31, 245–77; and generally: Calderini, Manomissione, 188; Rädle, Untersuchungen, 128–30, 188. On women's role as manumittors, as guardians to their children, as witnesses and as guarantors, see Calderini, Manomissione, 189–91; Babacos, "Vormundschaft", 314–5; Rädle, Untersuchungen, 125–7; Vatin Vatin, Claude. 1970. Recherches sur le mariage et la condition de la femme mariée a l'époque hellénistique, Paris: E. de Boccard. [Google Scholar], Mariage, 241–51; Cabanes, L'Épire, 399–461; Albrecht, Rechtsprobleme, 243–4; Hopkins, Conquerors and Slaves, 163–4; Schaps Schaps, David M. 1979. Economic Rights of Women in Ancient Greece, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. [Google Scholar], Economic Rights, 7–8, 50–1; Garlan Garlan, Yvon. 1988. Slavery in Ancient Greece, Translated from the French by Janet Lloyd Ithaca: Cornell University Press. [Google Scholar], Slavery, 74; Grainger Grainger, John D. 2000. Aitolian Prosopographical Studies, Leiden: Brill. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], Prosopographical Studies, 37–8. In our inscription both the mother of the manumittors and the freed slave seem to have a status better than is usually given to women in Athens and other areas. See also below. 31. In this manumission document the manumittors also stipulate that should Sōtia die childless her property will go to them and their heirs. 32. IG IX(1) 82c: On foundlings (threptoi) as slaves see Cameron Cameron, Archibald. 1939. " and Related Terms in the Inscriptions of Asia Minor". In Anatolian Studies Presented to William Hepburn Buckler, Edited by: Calder, William M. and Keil, Joseph. 27–62. Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Google Scholar], Nadel Nadel, Benjamin. 1976. "Slavery and Related Forms of Labor on the North Shore of the Euxine in Antiquity". In Actes du colloque 1973 sur l'esclavage, Annales littéraires de l'Université de Besançon, 182 197–233. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. [Google Scholar], "Slavery", 204–19; Zelnick-Abramovitz, Not Wholly Free, 173–80. 33. On the isoteleia in Athens see Harrison, Law of Athens, 189, 193; Whitehead Whitehead, David. 1977. The Ideology of the Athenian Metic, Cambridge: Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society. Suppl. 4 [Google Scholar], Athenian Metic, 11. The isoteleia was considered to be a privilege since it exempted the beneficiary from taxes paid only by non-citizens, thus removing the apparent mark of non-citizen status. 34. I follow the reading of B. Helly Helly, Bruno. 1976. Lois sur les affranchissements dans les inscriptions thessaliennes. Phoenix, 30: 143–58. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], "Lois", 151–2 ( = IG IX(2) 1290): Lines 6–10 of this inscription, where Philoumenē and her son are ordered to stay with their ex-owner Amyntas as long as he lives and to do whatever he says, constitute a paramonē clause; see above, note 20. 35. See Harrison, Law of Athens, 108–9; Schaps, Economic Rights. 36. Arvanitopoulos' amendment, followed by Babacos BabacosAntonios M.Actes d'aliénation en commun et autres phénomènes apparentés d'après le droit de la Thessalie antique, Thessalonike 1966 [Google Scholar], Actes d'aliénation, 80 is: The inscription reads (with Arvanitopoulos' amendments): 'and marry whomever they wish', instead of 'whomever she wishes', but there are other grammatical mistakes on the stone. 37. IG IX(1) 34, lines 1–5, 8: 38. On the Phōcian Confederacy see Larsen, Federal States, 40–8, 300–2. 39. SGDI 1718, lines 10–12: 40. SGDI 1844 (186 BC), and 2133 (182 BC), performed in Delphi by men from Amphissa. See also IG IX(1) 12 9 from Thermon in Aetolia (third century BC), where a woman (her legal status is not noted) and her descendants are granted citizenship by the Aetolian League – on which see below. 41. Cabanes Cabanes, Pierre. 1974. "Les inscriptions du théâtre de Bouthrôtos". In Acts du colloque 1972 sur l'esclavage Annales littéraires de l'université de Besançon, 163, 105–209. Paris [Google Scholar], "Bouthrôtos", 105–209. 42. Cabanes, "Bouthrôtos", no. IV, lines 31–32: No. XIII, lines 29–31: Cf. also ibid., nos. XIII + XIX, XXX + I; SEG 15, 384 = 37, 515.1–19. 43. On collective ownership and joint manumission in Epirus see Cabanes, L'Épire, 418–22, 459–61. 44. That women could also become citizens in Aetolia may be gathered from a third-century BC grant of citizenship to a woman and her descendants (IG IX(1) 12 9, from Thermon) by the Aetolian League. The inscription does not specify the woman's previous legal status, but, obviously, she formerly belonged to the non-citizen population and might have been a freed slave. From the city of Crannon in Thessaly comes a third-century BC grant of citizenship to a woman, together with, so it seems, the right to own land (politeian kai en[k]tasin; IG IX(2) 458). Similarly, there is evidence of a fourth-century grant of citizenship to a woman in Dōdona in Epirus (SEG 15. 384 = 37. 515, lines 1–19). In some regions of the Greek world women seem to have enjoyed a better legal status than in classical Athens, for instance, but it is not clear whether this was also the case before the Hellenistic period. Likewise, it seems that kyrieia (legal power) over women was in some places or some periods not known or non-binding, since women are known to have transacted without a kyrios. See Babacos, "Familienrechtliche Verhältnisse", 116–27; Actes d'aliénation, 93–5; Vatin, Mariage, 243–52; Cabanes, L'Épire, 408–13; Albrecht, Rechtsprobleme, 242–4; Schaps, Economic Rights, 49–51. 45. Helly, "Lois", 152–6. The ex-owner himself, Amyntas, did enjoy his freed-slaves' further services since he had obligated them by a paramonē clause for the rest of his life. For the formula 'and he/she/they will by no means whatever be liable to the law of manumitted slaves' see also IG IX(2) 1296 A, from Azorus, and SEG 26. 670 [ = 23. 462] from Dolichē (both in Thessaly) = Helly, ibid., 143–49. For a similar formula see P. Lazaridis, BCH 99 (1975), nos. 1, 4, 5, from Pthiōtic Thēbes. See also Babacos, Actes d'aliénation, 79–88, on laws pertaining to manumitted slaves in Calymna and Thessaly.