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However, it seems that liberation in many cases was not complete: slaves are required under a paramone clause to stay with their ex masters for a specific period of time or until the latter passed away. One wonders what kind of freedom this was, but it seems that in some cases this was considered better than nothing, as the master did not have complete rights of life and death over them; furthermore, there were cases in which the slaves had become almost members of the family, so they did not want to be separated from their social environment, yet they would rather have the choice. The manumission acts were usually attended by witnesses, whose names are also mentioned on the inscription. The other people mentioned are the priests of the temple of Apollo and thus manumission inscriptions constitute an excellent source for tracing the succession lists of the priesthood of Delphi.
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It is interesting to notice that the slave is mentioned in all manumission inscriptions as " σῶμα" (body). Meda appears to be a young girl, who is manumitted at a price of two silver minas, i.e. at the lowest level. Her obligation is to take care of her parents until she becomes an adult; a possible
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A careful examination of the names and place of origin of those who liberated their slaves proves that the "trend" of liberating slaves in Delphi came with the advent of the
Aetolians. The majority of masters were of Aetolian origin at least in the first century. However, the trend soon spread and
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Despite their stylized expressions, these inscriptions offer an insights into Greek social and demographic history. Over 60% of the manumission inscriptions of Delphi concern female slaves. A comparison of prices proves that most female slaves were manumitted at a price roughly 20% lower than men.
45:. The slave was thus fictitiously sold to the deity, so that the sale action could never be violated. The act was recorded on inscriptions with a rather formulaic expression. The majority of the manumission inscriptions of Delphi are gathered in two main spots: on the supporting wall of the
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was the act of freeing slaves by their owners. Slaves belonged to their masters until they served long enough or until they gathered the necessary sum of money for their liberation. When that moment came, the act of manumission had to be guaranteed by a god, most commonly
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of the theatre and on the polygonal wall, particularly the part which served as back wall to the portico of the
Athenians. Most of the inscriptions date between 200 B.C. and 100 A.D.
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Tucker, C.W., 1982,"Women in the
Manumission Inscriptions at Delphi", Transactions of the American Philologic Association
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Andreau, J. and Descat, R., 2011 . The Slave in Greece and Rome, translated by Marion
Leopold. Madison, WI.
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explanation is that the parents paid for her manumission. Both parents appear to be slaves as well.
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the next two largest categories are, naturally, Locrians and
Phocians, who lived nearby.
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Garlan, Y., 1988 . Slavery in
Ancient Greece, translated by Janet Lloyd. Ithaca, NY.
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Duncan-Jones, R. P. 1984. “Problems of the
Delphic Manumission Payments 200–1 BC.”
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Scott, M., 2014,Delphi: A History of the Center of the
Ancient World, Oxford
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Regions (IG VII-IX) Delphi SGDI II 1708, Phokis — Delphi — 170-157/56 BC
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Austin, M., "The
Hellenistic World from Alexander to the Roman Conquest"
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A typical manumission inscription is that of the female slave Meda:
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Bechtel, J., 1878, Sammlung Griechischer DialektInschriften, Berlin
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Sosin,J.D. "Manumission with Paramone: Conditional Freedom?" , TAPA
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Fisher, N. R. E. 2001 . Slavery in Classical Greece. London.
24:. The most numerous single category of inscriptions are the
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30 ζάμιος πάσας δίκας καὶ ζαμίας, καθώς κα συλάση ἐπ’ ἐ-
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25 ωτὴρ Δρομοκλείδας· εἰ δὲ μὴ παρέχοισαν, πράκτιμοι
131:καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων Ἄσανδρος, ἰδιῶται Μένης, Εὐκλῆς Ἐτυ-
129:λευθερίαι. μάρτυρες· οἱ ἱερεῖς τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος Ἀμύντας
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Manumission inscriptions as a source of information
123:ὁ βεβαιωήρ. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ παρατυχὼν κύριος ἔστω
103:γεγονότες· εἰ δὲ μὴ τρέφοι ἢ μὴ εὐσχημονίζοι Μήδα
97:15 νιζέτω, ἐπεί κα ἐν ἁλικίαν ἔλθη, εἰ χρείαν ἔ-
121:{μᾶν} τεσσάρων κατὰ τὸν νόμον ἅ τε ἀποδομένα καὶ
119:ἔστων Μήδαι καὶ Σωσιβίωι καὶ Σωσοῖ ἀργυρίου μνᾶν
115:θεῶι τὰν ὠνὰν ἅ τε ἀποδομένα Τιμὼ καὶ ὁ βεβαι-
111:λεύη Σωσίβιος ἢ Σωσώ. εἰ δέ τις ἐφάπτοιτο Μήδας
107:20 Σωσιβίωι καὶ Σωσοῖ κολάζειν Μήδαν ὧ θέλοιν
20:is an incredible source of information on Greek
199:http://www.attalus.org/docs/other/inscr_24.html
125:Μήδαν σέων ὡς ἐλευθέραν ἀνυπόδικος ἐὼν καὶ ἀ-
109:τρόπωι, καὶ ἄωι ὑπὲρ Σωσίβιον ἢ Σωσὼ ὅγ κα κε-
133:μώνδα, Μεσατεύς, Ἄρχων Καλλία, Ἄθαμβος Ἀγάθω-
105:Σωσίβιον ἢ Σωσὼ χρείαν ἔχοντας, ἐξουσία ἔστω
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267:Archaeological discoveries in Central Greece
101:σμοῦ, εἴτε δουλεύοντες εἶεν εἴτε ἐλεύθεροι
99:χοισαν Σωσίβιος ἢ Σωσὼ τροφᾶς ἢ εὐσχημονι-
113:ἐπὶ καταδουλισμῶι, βέβαιον παρεχόντω τῶι
87:10 ἀπὸ πάντων τὸμ πάντα χρόνον, ποιοῦ-
62:The formula of a manumission inscription
28:, which reach roughly a number of 1300.
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83:στευσε Μήδα τῶι θεῶι τὰν ὠνάν, ἐφ’ ὧι-
93:φέτω δὲ Μήδα Σωσίβιον τὸν ἴδιον πατέ-
91:νόμους τᾶς πόλιος· Δρομοκλείδας. τρε-
77:5 τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτᾶς Λαδίκου, σῶμα γυ-
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95:α καὶ τὰμ ματέρα Σωσὼ καὶ εὐσχημο-
81:τιμᾶς ἀργυρίου δύο μνᾶν, καθὼς ἐπί-
89:σα ὅ κα θέληι. βεβαιωτὴρ κατὰ τοὺς
237:Manumission inscriptions at Delphi
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85:τε ἐλευθέρα εἶμεν καὶ ἀνέφαπτος
79:ναικεῖον κοράσιον ἇι ὄνομα Μήδα,
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75:μὼ Εὐδίκου, συνεπαινέοντος
16:The archaeological site of
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272:Slavery in ancient Greece
26:manumission inscriptions
239:at Wikimedia Commons
257:Slavery and religion
73:κου, ἐπὶ τοῖσοο Τι-
32:Acts of manumission
262:Greek inscriptions
235:Media related to
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69:1 ἄρχοστ
38:manumission
246:Categories
185:References
174:57: 203–9.
22:epigraphy
197:Source:
71:μηνὸς
47:parodoi
252:Delphi
43:Apollo
18:Delphi
172:ZPE
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