Milyas (administrator of Demosthenes)

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Milyas ( ancient Greek Μιλύας ) was a slave , later possibly freed in the household of the ancient orator Demosthenes . He lived in the 4th century BC. Chr. In Athens . He is known from Demosthenes' speeches against Aphobus . With these three court speeches , Demosthenes took action on his own behalf against his former guardian Aphobos, whom he accused of having embezzled part of the family property. Milyas was a potential witness and co-accused in the trial. His role in the process provides information about the status of slaves and freedmen in ancient Athens, as well as ancient Greek property law. Little can be deduced from the sources about the rest of his life.

background

After the early death of his father, Demosthenes grew up under the tutelage of three men, including Aphobus. They also administered the family's property. Aphobos was responsible for the family business, a weapons manufacturer. When Demosthenes came of age, he reclaimed the family property. He accused Aphobos of having embezzled part of the income. Aphobos had transferred his duties to Milyas during a two-year absence from Athens. He therefore referred to Milyas, claiming that he was responsible for the irregularities in the company's finances.

Milyas' status and role in the process

Aphobus asked Demosthenes to release Milyas for interrogation under torture . This shows that he viewed him as a slave, because testimonies by slaves had to be made under torture in ancient Athens in order to be admitted as evidence in court. Demosthenes denied this, citing that his father had released Milyas shortly before his death. So ordering Milyas' torture would not be in his power. Demosthenes brought up his mother Cleobule and three household slaves as witnesses to prove Milyas' release by his father. He also denied that the former slave had any knowledge of the money's whereabouts, so he spoke out against its torture. This is one of the few arguments against torture in court known from ancient times. Demosthenes obviously did not want Milyas to be interrogated. It is unclear whether he feared a testimony that was unfavorable for the purpose of the trial or whether he wanted to spare his trusted colleague from torture. Demosthenes was obviously not against the torture of slaves in principle, since he offered his three slaves as witnesses and should have allowed their torture.

Demosthenes won the trial against Aphobos, but Milyas' status was never fully clarified and is still the subject of research today. Douglas M. MacDowell believes that, as Demosthenes claimed in his speech, Milyas was released by Demosthenes' father, likely as a reward for good work. In contrast, argued Gerhard door , Milyas was probably not released, but the Father only have wished that this should happen soon. Had he been released, this should have been made public and Milyas would have had to pay taxes as a Metöke ; this would have been easy to prove, but does not appear in the court speech. In this case Milyas would have had an unusually large scope of action for a slave and would have carried a striking amount of responsibility. The fact that his status as a released man could be contested at all suggests that if he had been released, nothing would have changed in his circumstances, job or place of residence, and that it was normal for him to continue serving the family.

swell

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Two of the three speeches are certainly assigned to Demosthenes; the authenticity of the third was temporarily disputed, see Gerhard Thür : The dispute over the status of the workshop manager Milyas (Dem., or. 29) . In: Ulrich Schindel (Ed.): Demosthenes. (= Paths of Research. Volume 350). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1987, ISBN 3-5340-5712-0 , p. 406. 429 and George Miller Calhoun : A Problem of Authenticity. In: Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. No. 65, 1934, pp. 80-102.
  2. ^ Gerhard Thür : The dispute over the status of the workshop manager Milyas (Dem., Or. 29) . In: Ulrich Schindel (Ed.): Demosthenes. (= Paths of Research. Volume 350). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1987, ISBN 3-5340-5712-0 , p. 405.
  3. ^ A b c d e Douglas M. MacDowell : Demosthenes the Orator. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010, ISBN 978-0-1992-8719-2 , pp. 47-48.
  4. ^ A b c Deborah Kamen: Status in Classical Athens. Princeton University Press, Princeton 2013, ISBN 978-0-6911-3813-8 , pp. 24. 31.
  5. ^ Gerhard Thür : The dispute over the status of the workshop manager Milyas (Dem., Or. 29) . In: Ulrich Schindel (Ed.): Demosthenes. (= Paths of Research. Volume 350). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1987, ISBN 3-5340-5712-0 , p. 413.
  6. ^ A b Douglas M. MacDowell : Demosthenes the Orator. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010, ISBN 978-0-1992-8719-2 , pp. 49-53.
  7. ↑ David C. Mirhady: The Private Speeches. In: Ian Worthington (ed.): Demosthenes. Statesman and Orator. Routledge, London 2000, ISBN 978-0-4152-0457-6 , pp. 191-194.
  8. ↑ On two similar cases see Gerhard Thür : The dispute over the status of the workshop manager Milyas (Dem., Or. 29) . In: Ulrich Schindel (Ed.): Demosthenes. (= Paths of Research. Volume 350). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1987, ISBN 3-5340-5712-0 , p. 422.
  9. ^ Gerhard Thür : The dispute over the status of the workshop manager Milyas (Dem., Or. 29) . In: Ulrich Schindel (Ed.): Demosthenes. (= Paths of Research. Volume 350). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1987, ISBN 3-5340-5712-0 , pp. 418-419.
personal data
SURNAME Milyas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Slave or freedman of the ancient orator Demosthenes
DATE OF BIRTH 5th century BC BC or 4th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 4th century BC Chr.