Symposion 2019, pp. 455-480, 2021/12/15
Vorträge zur griechischen und hellenistischen Rechtsgeschichte (Hamburg, 26.‒28. August 2019)
This paper discusses the legal capacity and motivations of femalemanumittors in Hellenistic Delphi, and the penal authority bestowed on femalebeneficiaries appointed in paramone clauses. These suggest that women enjoyedsimilar penal authority to that of male beneficiaries, depending on the stipulations ineach contract. Manumissions appointing female beneficiaries of paramone mayreflect the need to reduce the risk of claims asserted by heir or creditors of thebeneficiary’s male kin, whom it would often have been difficult for a woman to fendoff through the courts.
Keywords: paramone, penalty clauses, corporal punishment, contracts, women’s legal capacity
