- Penestae
The penestae (in Greek oι Πενέσται, "hoi penestai") were a class of unfree labourers tied to the land once inhabiting
Thessaly , whose status was comparable to that of theSparta nhelot s.tatus
Tradition made the penestae descendants of the
Achaeans submitted by invading tribes arriving fromThesprotia . Archemachus (cited byAthenaeus , VI, 264), a3rd century BC writer, believed instead that they wereBoeotia ns:"The Aeolian Boeotians who did not emigrate when their country
Thessaly was conquered by theThessalia ns, surrendered themselves to the victors on condition that they should not be carried out of the country, nor be put to death, but should cultivate the land for the new owners of the soil, paying by way of rent a portion of the produce of it, and many of them are richer than their masters."The Thessalian lands were rich and vast; the penestae thus had lots of land of considerable dimensions. The contributions given to the Thessalians (and Archemachus' remark about their wealth) imply that the penestae could freely dispose of the rest, and that they could possess goods. Certain penestae, known as "latreis", worked as house servants, receiving in exchange a salary.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus tells us (II, 9) that they were beaten when they refused to obey and that, generally speaking, they were treated like bought slaves. They appear to have been much less numerous than the free Thessalians.From a passage in
Demosthenes it appears that the penestae sometimes accompanied their masters to battle, and fought on horse-back as their knights or vassals. This circumstance is not surprising, in view of the fame of the Thessalian cavalry. The penestae of Thessaly also resembled theLaconia n helots in another respect, for they often rose up in arms against their lords. There were penestae among the Macedonians also.ee also
*
Slavery in ancient Greece
*Helot References
*Smith, William (editor); "
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities ", [http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-dgra/0889.html "Penestae"] ,Boston , (1870)
* Jean Ducat, "Les Pénestes de Thessalie", Belles Lettres, series "Centre de recherces d'histoire ancienne", 1994 ISBN 2-251-60512-6
* Yvon Garlan, "Les Esclaves en Grèce ancienne", La Découverte, series "Textes à l'appui", 1989 ISBN 2-7071-2475-3, pp. 106–107
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