Manumission and Slave-Allowances in Classical Athens

Abstract

Whereas the Roman slave’s peculium has been well explored by scholars, comparatively ignored is a similar institution in classical Athens. In this article, I first demonstrate the existence of an Athenian slave-allowance. I then argue that this allowance, like the Roman peculium, permitted masters to employ their slaves as independent contractors and offered slaves the possibility of saving money towards their freedom. I suggest, further, that the relative silence on this topic by modern scholars reflects an ideologically driven silence on the part of our ancient sources.