Just as there was variety in the size and status of the cities themselves, so there was great variety in the wealth and status of their citizens. It was possible for a city to vault over its neighbors to a higher status by a well-executed petition to the emperor, but it was unusual for an individual citizen to experience a radical re-ordering of his social position. Some aristocrats did win individual grants of Roman citizenship before Caracalla made it universal. But this privilege was usually bestowed in recognition of the wealth and social position they already had.
We can observe some of the social striations of a Greek city in the protocols of a second-century aristocrat’s benefactions to certain categories of her fellow-citizens. Menodora, from the otherwise unknown city of Sillyon, distributed cash awards to commemorate the successive service of herself, her son, and her daughter in the prestigious municipal office ofgymnasiarch (gymnasium-director):
85 denarii for each member of the boule 80 for each member of the gerousia 77 for each member of the assembly 3 for each of the assembly-members’ wives 9 for each citizen
3 for each vindicatus, freedman, and paroikos (IGRR 3.801)
Clearly, the members of the boule (Council) were on top. These were ex-magistrates and men of hereditary wealth who, upon reaching majority, paid an honorarium to enter their city’s governing council. The gerousia was a social and religious organization of the city’s older men. Many cities had groups of young men ( neoi), adolescents (ephebes), and boys (paides); perhaps these groups were not included here because Menodora’s tenure of the gymnasiarchy had already benefited them in other ways. In this city the members of the assembly (ecclesiasts) were clearly a privileged group, not co-extensive with the citizenry as a whole. The ecclesiasts" wives were also a privileged category: these were the only women singled out for special mention, though marked as inferior in status to their husbands. Finally came three groups of persons who were not of full citizen status: both vindicati and freedmen were probably ex-slaves who had attained freedom in different ways, while paroikoi were ‘‘neighbors,’’ perhaps city-dwellers who had been born in local villages or more distant cities.
Menodora herself had held all sorts of posts. As gymnasiarchy she would have been responsible for the city’s gymnasium, using her own funds to supplement what the city had allocated to purchase anointing oil and fuel for heating the baths. She had given her name to her year as eponymous magistrate, like her father before her. She was Priestess of All the Gods, Priestess of Demeter, Hierophant-for-life, and Chief Priestess of the Imperial Cult (IGRR 3.802). She had been, like her father, one of the dekaprotoi, a group of ten wealthy citizens who took responsibility to see that the city’s tax liability was met (Sartre 1991: 86). In addition she set up a foundation for the feeding of her city’s indigent children. Menodora was evidently the last of her line. Probably this is why she was elected to so many of the offices held by her male ancestors (van Bremen 1994; 1996: 108-13). When her son died she set up a temple to the goddess Tyche in his memory (IGRR 3.800). All these benefactions were recorded on stone by the Council, the gerousia, and the people of her grateful city.
Menodora’s social categories were defined by age and gender, citizenship status, and political role. Occupational groups were beneath her notice, but these organizations were very important to their members. Occupational groups honored their benefactors and recorded some of their own activities on stone or papyrus, offering us a rare glimpse past the elite into the world of working people. There are attested associations of actors, athletes, builders, butchers, carpenters, dyers, fullers, gardeners, goldsmiths, linen-weavers, porters, ship owners, shoemakers, traders, wool-weavers, and many more (van Nijf 1997). Members of these associations worked together and were often buried together. They dined together, buying wine and garlands with funds left by their departed colleagues, whose endowments mimicked on a small scale the grand commemorative strategies of the elite. Association members collectively endeavored to improve relations with the relevant authorities. The ferrymen might put up an effusive inscription honoring the harbormaster for his ‘‘virtue’’ (van Nijf 1997: 92-3). Associations sought favorable conditions for trade. The salt-dealers of Tebtunis, for example, appointed fines for members who set their prices too low or developed an exclusive relationship with big customers. To enlist the enforcement support of local authorities, these fines were to be split between the association’s own coffers and the public treasury. To enhance the association’s solidarity, members were required to ingest a specified quantity of beer on the twenty-fifth of each month (van Nijf 1997: 13-14). Members of occupational groups were probably a significant component of any city’s assembly. Cicero speaks scornfully of the assemblies of the cities of Asia: they are full of men who are ‘‘needy and light-weight:... craftsmen, shopkeepers, makers of belts and shoes’’ (Flac. 17-19, 52-61).
Little-mentioned, slaves labored in many workshops and private homes. Public slaves, sometimes ex-criminals, received a salary for low-level civic tasks like cleaning sewers and public baths, or repairing roads - one governor found ex-cons working as prison wardens! (Pliny Ep. 10.31-2).
World History
