Sarah B. Pomeroy....... Women In Hellenistic Egypt. From Alexander To Cleopatra ( By House Of Books)

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Egypt, Cleopatra, Graeco-Roman Egypt

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SLAVES AND WORKERS 129

nian Olympias brought with her to the marriage a female slave named Stolis and her infant son (P. Giss. I 2). How Olympias came to possess these slaves is not stated, but it is most likely that they were given to her as dowry. Her father was alive, so it is unlikely that she inherited them. Least likely is the possibility that she had purchased them. Most women would not have had the cash necessary for purchasing a slave. (For an exception, see the purchase by Thaybastis discussed on p. 131.)

ACQUISITION OF SLAVES

One of the earliest deeds of sale of a slave from Ptolemaic Egypt records Zenon's purchase of a girl who was approximately seven years old (P. Cair. Zen. I 59003 = C.P.Jud. I 1). She was of Sidonian 15 origin and bore a typical slave name, Sphragis ("Seal" or "Gem"). 16 Zenon purchased her in the spring of 259 B.C. in Transjordan from a Greek mercenary serving in the cavalry of the Jew Toubias. She worked at the textile factory at Memphis. Despite her age, she must have been useful. Even a small child can spin. There are, moreover, some intricate tasks in textile work, knotting, and embroidery that are best performed by small fingers. 17 In 256 B.C., Zenon received a petition from a person named Sphragis. She had been robbed on her way to Sophthis in the Memphite nome and had lost two dresses, wool, and some copper coins (P. Cair. Zen. II 59145). Sphragis had heard that her property had been found and asked Zenon to see that it was restored to her. It has been questioned whether the letter can be from the same Sphragis who was purchased three years earlier, for she would then have been only ten. 18 She could well have been the same. First of all, her age when she was purchased is only approximate. It is difficult for a young slave without a mother to know her exact age, and certainly the size of young girls varies greatly. Sphragis may have been somewhat older than ten, but even if she were not, running an errand that involves carrying wool is not beyond the ability of a ten-year-old who has not lived a sheltered life. Her youth, however, would have rendered her more vulnerable to an attack by robbers. Further-

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130 WOMEN IN HELLENISTIC EGYPT

more, since Zenon had purchased her himself, rather than through an agent, she probably knew him. She may have gotten to know him quite well on the long journey back to Egypt from Transjordan. This acquaintance, coupled with youthful intrepidness, could have given her the courage to write to him.

Zenon paid 50 drachmas for Sphragis. In the following chapter, it will be observed that a man and a woman skilled in linen manufacture asked for wages of one obol and one-half obol, respectively (PSI VI 599). If these wages, which

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