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Partnership of citizens and metics: the will of Epicurus*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

M. Leiwo
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki, [email protected]
P. Remes
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki, [email protected]

Extract

The law of Athens prohibited any but full citizens from owning land or houses. Thus the law also impeded the bequeathing of real property to those who were not citizens. This law seemed to preclude those who were the real backbone of the trading and banking businesses from owning land and, therefore, from lending and borrowing by using it as a security.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 1999

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Footnotes

*

We would like to thank Margot Whiting and Finn Spicer for Checking our Non-Native English.

References

1 Harrison, A. R. W., The Law of Athens (Oxford, 1968), p. 237.Google Scholar

2 Millett, P., Lending and Borrowing in Ancient Society (Cambridge, 1991), p. 225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

3 The best-known bank in Athens was that of the rich and active former slave, Pasion, who obviously got citizenship because of his wealth. The visible property of the bank of Pasion, which was transferred to Phormion, former slave of Pasion, was 20 talents, and, in addition, Pasion had 50 talents of his own money invested as loans. This sum included the 11 talents that he had taken from the bank for his own business, see Dem. 36.5. Cf. Fine, J. V. A., Horoi. Studies in Mortgage, Real Security, and Land Tenure in Ancient Athens, Hesperia, suppl. 9 (1951), p. 84.Google Scholar

4 Leiwo, Cf. M., ‘Religion, or other reasons? Private associations in Athens’, in J., Frösén(ed.), Early Hellenistic Athens. Symptoms of a Change. Papers and Monographs of the Finnish Institute at Athens 6 (1997), pp. 103117.Google Scholar

5 Polyphilia was regarded even by Aristotle as one of the key elements, both positive and negative, in the democratic power, Arist. Pol.. 1284a19–22; Sinclair, R. K., Democracy and Participation in Athens (Cambridge, 1988), pp. 142144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

6 Diogenes Laertius states that Timocrates—brother of Metrodorus from Lampsacus and a disciple of Epicurus and hence certainly not the Timocrates mentioned in Epicurus' will—who had left the school in dispute with Epicurus, wrote together with a certain Herodotus a book charging that Epicurus was not a genuine Athenian citizen (10.4,6). The charge does not seem too convincing, and, whatever the case might have been, Epicurus never had any problems with the Athenian authorities on this subject.

7 Cic.de fin. 5.1–3. For the location of the Garden, see Dontas, G.,‘ Έdzкονισтιк­. Β’, Aραιολογικɂv δέλтικν 26 (1973), 1633.Google Scholar

8 This is suggested by D.L. 10.10 as well as Plut.Mor. 1098B.

9 This is seen in a letter where Epicurus expresses his gratitude for the support, Plut. Mor. 1097C. For the need for the support, see fr. 2 (Vogliano) coll. XII.

10 It seems that the metoikia as a specified political system in Athens disappeared about the end of the fourth century and beginning of the third. Naturally foreign residents still continued to live there; see Whitehead, D.,The Ideology of the Athenian Metic (Cambridge, 1977), pp. 163ff.Google Scholar

11 Cic. de fin. 2.92.

12 Harrison (n.1), p. 153, unless, of course, he had the right of ἔγκктησις.

13 In other philosophical schools the right of inheritance was solved in various ways. On the inheritance of land in the Academy and Lykeion, see Whitehead, D., ‘Xenocrates the metic’, RhM 121 (1981), 223244.Google Scholar

14 Sollenberger, M., ‘The Lives of the Peripatetics: an analysis of the contents and structure of Diogenes Laertius’ “Vitae philosophorum” Book 5',ANRW II 36.6 (1992), 37933879, 3859–3860.Google Scholar

15 Ibid., p. 3860 with the appropriate bibliography (esp. nn. 342,343); Gottschalk, H. B., ‘Notes on the wills of the Peripatetic scholars’,Hermes 100 (1972), 317.Google Scholar The only sceptic seems to be L. Brisson, who expresses rather vague doubts without any further discussion: Brisson, L., ‘Diogène Laërce’,ANRW II 36.5 (1992), 36193760, 3691.Google Scholar

16 Gottschalk (n. 15), p. 317 and esp. n. 3.

17 IGII/III 1245; Osborne, Cf. M. J. and Byrne, S.G., LGPN II (1994),Άμυνόμαχος 3Google Scholar.

18 Generally the oldest son got his grandfather's name.

19 Laks, A., ‘edition critique et commentee de la “Vie d' epicure” dans Diogène; Laërce (X, 1–34)’, in J., Bollack and A., Laks (edd.), Etudes sur I'Epicurisme Antique. Cahiers de Philologie 1 (Lille, 1976), pp. 1118, at p. 80.Google Scholar

20 Plut. Mor. 1117D seems to refer to a practice of this kind, but details of this payment system are unknown (Plutarch's citation of Epicurus’ supposed letter to Idomeneus is taken out of its context. This was, of course, done on purpose, and thus we should not lean too much on Plutarch's words); Philodemos,Pragmateiai 30. Cf. n. 9.

21 The annual feasts and commemorative celebrations have been studied in detail by Clay, D., ‘Individual and community in the first generation of the Epicurean School’, in Syzetesis. StudisullEpicureismo Greco e Latino offerti a Marcello Gigante (Napoli, 1983), pp. 255279Google Scholar and ‘The cults of Epicurus’, Cronache Ercolanesi 16 (1986), 11–28. Clay sees the establishment of cults and celebrations as a good attempt to secure the continuation of the school, and thus the last will of Epicurus serves this purpose from the beginning to the end.

22 This is clearly seen in the wills preserved in papyri. See e.g. POxy 494. For other testaments, see Montevecchi, O., ‘Ricerche di sociologia nei documenti dell'Egitto greco-romano’, Aegyptus 15 (1935), 67121.Google Scholar