Epikleros

Epikleros (ἐπίκληρος) (plural "epikleroi") was the term used to describe an heiress in ancient Athens, and in other ancient Greek city states. It denoted a daughter of a man who had no male heirs. In Sparta they were called "patroiouchoi" (πατρούχοι), as they were in Gortyn. Athenian women were not allowed to hold property in their own name, so laws to regulate the marriages of "epikleroi" had to be introduced. Athenian "epikleroi" were required to marry the nearest male relative of their father, in order to keep their father's property in the family. Even if a woman was already married, evidence suggests that she would have been required to divorce her spouse to marry that relative. Spartan women were allowed to hold property in their own right, and so Spartan heiresses were subject to less restrictive rules. Evidence from other city-states is more fragmentary, only allowing a few observations to be made for Gortyn and Rhegium.

Plato wrote about "epikleroi" in his "Laws", offering idealized laws to govern their marriages. In mythology and history, a number of Greek women appear to have been "epikleroi", including Agariste of Sicyon and Agiatis, the widow of the Spartan king Agis IV. The status of "epikleroi" has often been used to explain the number of son-in-laws who inherited from their father-in-laws in Greek mythology. The Third Sacred War originated in a dispute over "epikleroi".

Overview

The "epikleros" (a feminine adjective acting as noun) was a term used in ancient Greece to describe the daughter of a man who had died leaving no male heir. It translates to "attached to the family property".Grant "The Rise of the Greeks" p. 31] In most ancient Greek city states, women could not own property, and so a system to keep ownership within the male-defined family line was devised. Heiresses were required to marry the nearest relative on their father's side of the family, a system of inheritance known as the epiklerate.Pomeroy "Goddess, Whores, Wives, and Slaves" pp. 60–62] Although "epikleros" is often translated as "heiress", strictly speaking the terms are not equivalent, as the woman never owned the property and so was unable to dispose of it.Lacey "The Family in Ancient Greece" p. 24] Also, the term was used interchangably of the woman herself and of the property that was the inherited estate.Gould "Law, Custom and Myth" "Journal of Hellenic Studies" p. 43 footnote 36]

Athens

Athens is the city-state that is best documented. Athenian law on "epikleroi" was attributed to Solon; women with no brothers had to marry their nearest male relative on their paternal side of the family, starting with their father's brother and moving from there to the next nearest male relative on the paternal side.Grant "The Rise of the Greeks" p. 49] The historian John Gould notes that the order of relatives that were required to marry the "epikleros" coincided with the relatives required to avenge a murder. This set of relatives was known as the "anchisteia" (ἀγχιστεία).Gould "Law, Custom and Myth" "Journal of Hellenic Studies" pp. 43–44]

Solon, however, discouraged the practice of some men being adopted by relatives of "epikleroi" in hopes of securing a rich heiress.Lacey "The Family in Classical Greece" p. 89] He may also legislated that the husband of an "epikleros" must have sexual intercourse with her at least three times a month in order to provide her with children to inherit her father's property, but by the time of Pericles this law was enforced.Schaps "What was Free?" "Transactions of the American Philogical Association" pp. 165-166] It is unclear whether or not the nearest relative had the power to dissolve an "epikleros' " previous marriage in order to marry her himself in all cases.Lacey "The Family in Ancient Greece" pp. 139–145] Carey "Apollodoros' Mother" "Classical Quarterly" p. 88] The historian Susan Pomeroy states that most scholars lean towards the opinion that the nearest relative could only dissolve the previous marriage if the heiress had not yet given birth to a son, but Pomeroy also states that this opinion has not yet been definitely proven. Athenian law also required that if the next of kin did not marry the heiress, he had to provide her with a dowry. It may have been Solon who legislated that if the new spouse was unable to fulfill his thrice monthly duties to his wife, she was entitled to have sex with his next of kin so that she could produce an heir to her father's property. Alternately, she might have been required to divorce and marry the next nearest relative.Carey "The Shape of Athenian Laws" "Classical Quarterly" p. 104] As a consequence of these rules, "epikleroi" were the only women enrolled into the "phratry", or subdivision of a tribe that was one of the requirements of citizenship,Lacey "The Family in Classical Greece" p. 97] although the evidence for this is scanty.#tag:ref|In fact, it rests on one court case, argued by Isaeus, where it is possible that the speaker is merely trying to throw the jury off. [Gould "Law, Custom, Myth" "Journal of Hellenic Studies" p. 42] |group=notes

There was a specialized procedure for the betrothal of an "epikleros", a type of court judgement called "epidikasia".Lacey "The Family in Classical Greece" p. 106] The proceedings took place in the Archon's court. It was also the case that if a man made a will, but did not give any daughters of his their legal rights as "epikleroi" in the will, then that will was held to be invalid.Lacey "The Family in Classical Greece" p. 131] A young Athenian male serving his time as an "ephebe", or military trainee, was allowed to claim "epikleroi", the only legal right an "ephebe" was permitted in Aristotle's day. It is also unclear if a man who was eligible to marry an "epikleros" but was already married could keep his previous wife while also claiming the "epikleros". While all evidence points to the ancient Athenians being monogamous, there are a couple of speeches by Demosthenes implying that men did indeed have both a wife acquired through the normal betrothal procedure and another who was adjudicated to them through the "epidikasia" (ἐπιδικασία) procedure. The archon was also responsible for overseeing the treatment of "epikleroi", along with widows, orphans, widows who claimed to be pregnant and households that were empty.Roy "Polis" and "Oikos" in Classical Greece" "Greece & Rome" pp. 11–12] When the sons of an "epikleros" came of age, they gained the ownership of the inheritance.Hodkinson "Land Tenure and Inheritance in Classical Sparta" "Classical Quarterly" p. 395]

Taking as a wife an "epikleros" who had little estate was considered a praiseworthy action, and was generally stressed in public speeches. Modern estimates of the odds of an Athenian woman becoming an "epikleros" say that roughly one out of seven fathers died without biological sons.Golden "Donatus" and Athenian Phratries" "Classical Quarterly" p. 10] However, Athenian law allowed for a man to adopt another male as a son in his will, so not all daughters without brothers would have become "epikleroi".Roy "Polis" and "Oikos" in Classical Athens" "Greece & Rome" p. 12]

Other city-states

Evidence for other ancient city states is more scattered and fragmentary. In ancient Sparta, women had extensive rights, including the right to inherit property and to manage both their own and their spouse's property.Grant "The Rise of the Greeks" p. 98] Cartledge "Spartan Wives" "Classical Quarterly" pp. 97–99] In Sparta the law of "epikleros" only applied to unmarried girls, and the Spartan kings were responsible for finding spouses for "epikleroi" who had not been betrothed before their father's death.Lacey "The Family in Classical Greece" pp. 202–203] Herodotus, in his list of Spartan royal prerogatives, said: "The kings are the sole judges of these cases only: concerning an unmarried heiress, to whom it pertains to have [her] , if her father has not bethrothed her", but the exact meaning of this statement is debated. Some historians have interpreted this to mean that the kings had the right to give the heiress to anyone they chose, but others have suggested that the kings merely had the right to bestow the heiress on the nearest male relative, or to arbitrate between competing claims.Hodkinson "Land Tenure and Inheritance in Classical Sparta" "Classical Quarterly" pp. 394-396] The name given to these heiresses in Sparta was "patroiouchoi", which literally translates as "holders of the patrimony." They inherited the land themselves, and retained the right to dispose of their inherited property. There were no restrictions on who they might marry.Cartledge "The Spartans" p. 169]

In Gortyn, "epikleroi" were also called "patroiouchoi", and they were more generously treated than in Athens. If she wished, a "patroiouchos" could free herself from the obligation to marry her nearest relative by paying him part of her inheritance. If her nearest relative did not wish to marry her, she was free to find a spouse in her tribe, or if none was willing, then she could marry whomever she wished.Grant "The Rise of the Greeks" p. 199] Lacey "The Family in Classical Greece" pp. 212–213] Gortyn may owe the liberality of its heiress laws to the fact that it was one of the few city-states known to have allowed daughters to inherit even if they had brothers; daughters in Gortyn received half the share of a son.Schaps "Women in Greek Inheritance Law" "Classical Quarterly" p. 55]

Rhegium owed its laws on "epikleroi" to Androdamas of Rhegium, a law-giver whose views on this subject were especially esteemed according to Aristotle.Grant "The Rise of the Greeks" p. 260] In Charondas' laws, an "epikleros" had to be given a dowry if her nearest kin did not wish to marry her.Lacey "The Family in Classical Greece" p. 225]

Plato

Plato, in his "Laws", set forth laws that governed not the ideal state, which he described in "The Republic", but what he felt might be obtainable in the real world. Included amongst them were some dealing with inheritance and heiresses. In general outline, they conformed to Athenian practice, with the daughter of a man who died without male heirs becoming an "epikleros". Plato gave rules governing who the husband of the "epikleros" might be, and said that the inherited plot might not be divided or added to another plot. The main departure from Athenian law came if there was no direct heir, and the inheritance go to collateral relations. In that case, Plato assigned the inheritance not to one person, but to a pair, one male and one female, and ordered that they must marry and provide an heir to the estate, much like the "epikleros".Schaps "Women in Greek Inheritance Law" "Classical Quarterly" p. 56]

History

In the tales of heroic Greece, royal succession often passed from father-in-law to son-in-law, and some historians have seen in this an early example of the "epikleros" pattern. Some examples include Pelops, Bellerophon, Melampus, Peleus, Telamon, and Diomedes. Not all such heroic era royal successions followed that pattern however, as in the case of Menelaus, who married Helen of Troy and succeeded Helen's father Tyndareus, even though Tyndareus had living sons, Kastor and Polydeukes.Finkelberg "Royal Succession in Heroic Greece" "Classical Quarterly" p. 305]

Aristotle related that the revolt of Mytilene against Athens in 428 BCE originated in a dispute over "epikleroi". The Sacred War of 356–346 BCE, which led to the defeat of the Phocians, was also started by a disagreement over "epikleroi".Lacey "The Family in Classical Greece" pp. 229–230] It is likely that Agariste, the daughter of Cleisthenes of Sicyon, who married Megacles of Athens was an "epikleros".Lacey "The Family in Classical Greece" p. 276 note 29] Likewise, the widow of the Spartan king Agis IV, Agiatis, was forced to marry Cleomenes, the son of the man who had executed Agis, King Leonidas II. Plutarch stated that the reason Leonidas married Agiatis to Kleomenes was that Agiatis was a "patroiouchos" from her father, Gylippos.Hodkinson "Land Tenure and Inheritance in Classical Sparta" "Classical Quarterly" p. 398]

Notes

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External links

* [http://www.stoa.org/projects/demos/article_law_glossary?page=32&greekEncoding=UnicodeC A Glossary of Athenian Legal Terms]
* [http://www.stoa.org/projects/demos/article_women_and_family?page=9&greekEncoding= Women and Family in Athenian Law]
* [http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women_and_property_in_athens.htm Women and Property in Ancient Athens]
* [http://mailer.fsu.edu/~jsicking/cla3501/lec8.html Women and Gender in Classical Athens: Property, Inheritance, and Marriage]