Ptolemaic Egypt

Cambridge University Press eBooks, pp. 211–273

Abstract

This chapter introduces slavery during the three centuries of Ptolemaic rule in Egypt for which papyri, recycled in mummy casing or discovered archived together, provide a wealth of texts in both Greek and Egyptian Demotic. Greek settlers brought a developed form of slavery to Egypt. Traditional forms of dependence, however, continued in domestic as in temple contexts, where sacred slaves were dedicated to a god. The terminology of slavery is scrutinised and Greek city law codes examined for information on slaves. The third-century BC archive of Zenon provides many details on where slaves came from and how they were acquired. Slaves are mainly found in a domestic context but there is some evidence for workshop employment, especially in textiles; evidence for their use in agriculture is minimal. To gain their freedom slaves might benefit from testamentary grants but running away was the more usual method.

Authors 7

1. Jelle Bruning Aachen Rijksuniversiteit Leiden

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Rijksuniversiteit Leiden, The Netherlands

2. W. Graham Claytor

   University of Warsaw

   Affiliation as printed

   Uniwersytet Warszawski, Poland

3. Jennifer Cromwell

   Manchester Metropolitan University

   Affiliation as printed

   Manchester Metropolitan University

4. Christopher J. Eyre

   University of Liverpool

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Liverpool

5. Brian Muhs

   University of Chicago

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Chicago

6. Sarah J. Pearce FRCP

   University of Southampton

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Southampton

7. CHRISTOPHER J. TUPLIN

   University of Liverpool

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Liverpool