Khoris oikountes and the obligations of freedmen in late classical and early hellenistic Athens

Lewis, David; Canevaro, Mirko

Abstract

This article addresses the riddle of the identity of the khoris oikountes or 'dwellers apart' mentioned by Demosthenes (4.36-7) as a group subject to the navy draft. Many scholars view the term as a designation for slaves who lived separately from their owners; others argue that khoris oikountes was a general term for freed slaves. We show that two groups of freedmen existed in Athenian law, one bound to remain in their ex-owner's household and subject to post-manumission obligations, the other not. It is the latter group, which occupied a position vis-a-vis the state almost identical to that of metics, which is the most credible candidate for identification with Demosthenes' khoris oikountes. Included is an in-depth philological and historical analysis of the 'wills of the philosophers' in Diogenes Laertius.

Citation

Lewis, D., & Canevaro, M. (2014). Khoris oikountes and the obligations of freedmen in late classical and early hellenistic Athens

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 15, 2013
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Sep 8, 2017
• Journal: Incidenza dell'antico
• Electronic ISSN: 1971-2995
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Keywords: Ancient Greece; Athens; Slavery; Manumission; Law
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/999111
• Publisher URL: http://www.incidenzadellantico.it/volumi/ida12.php#page=page-1