Slave Manumission Inscriptions from Classical Athens
Presenter Status
PhD student, Department of Classics
Presentation Type
Oral presentation
Presentation Abstract
In the 330s-320s BC—the final two decades of its democratic constitution—the Greek city-state Athens generated a great quantity of written documents. Published as stone inscriptions, many of these artifacts survive today, albeit in a fragmentary state. Among them are manumission lists, publicizing the new legal status of slaves who managed to attain their freedom. This presentation will examine these documents with a particular attentiveness to the effects of slavery and manumission on slave families.
Biographical Sketch
Mills McArthur is a PhD student in the University of Chicago's Program in the Ancient Mediterranean World. His academic interests include ancient history, Greek epigraphy, and the ancient Greek language.
Slave Manumission Inscriptions from Classical Athens
In the 330s-320s BC—the final two decades of its democratic constitution—the Greek city-state Athens generated a great quantity of written documents. Published as stone inscriptions, many of these artifacts survive today, albeit in a fragmentary state. Among them are manumission lists, publicizing the new legal status of slaves who managed to attain their freedom. This presentation will examine these documents with a particular attentiveness to the effects of slavery and manumission on slave families.