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The Green Bag
a minimum rate of twelve per cent, and in marriage to Phormio and I give to thirty per cent was common on bottomry Archippe for her dowry the talent loans. Slave labor also tended to lower charged on land in Peparethus, the talent prices, so that the legacies left by rich charged on land in Attica, a lodging Greeks must be interpreted with these house of the value of 100 minae and also comparative values prominently in our the female slaves and jewelry and other things which she has in her custody in minds. The will of the rich manufacturer, my dwelling house. All these things Demosthenes the elder, father of the I bequeath to Archippe." celebrated orator, as revealed in young In Lysias10, Diodotos, father of two Demosthenes's suit against his guardians,7 sons and a daughter, also provides by sets forth a testament full of interest, will for minors and gives his wife with both from the ancient and modern legal a dowry of a talent — possibly the same point of view. Among other provisions, amount he received with her at his own the testator looked after the care of his marriage. The very wealthy and celebrated minor children — young Demosthenes, seven years old at this father's decease, Athenian admiral Conon11 bequeathed and his little sister, five years of age — a talent and forty minae to a nephew, and left large sums (for those days) to three talents to his brother, and by will the three guardians appointed by will. also dedicated 5,000 staters (sixteen The guardian, Therippides, was given talents and forty minae) to the patron the interest, income and use of one talent, deities Athena and Apollo at the ten minae, till young Demosthenes Oracle of Delphi; and still possessed reached his majority; to the second an estate large enough to leave to his named guardian, Demophon, was left the son a residue ("the remaining things") daughter, with a dowry of two talents"8 of over seventeen talents.12 These above and to Aphobos, the third guardian nom extracts show that gifts were possible inated by the will, was bequeathed what under the old Greek will and raise a sus might seem to us a rather doubtful legacy, picion of anticipatory modernism in the to wit: the wife of the testator, though work of the old Greek draftsman. Besides, signatures or seals of the wit there went with her a dowry of one talent, twenty minae, and the use of the nesses appeared on the Greek will.13 In mansion house and the furniture therein. Demosthenes, both "the seals" of the These legacies absorbed one third of the testator and witnesses are mentioned, wealthy manufacturer's fortune and do and the seal probably more than the not leave this celebrated will of history signature (by handwriting) was the entirely within the realm of an em common mode of identification and of establishing the original attestation of bryonic instrument. Of striking similarity is the extract the testamentary document. While the from the document that purported to be number of witnesses to the old Greek copy of the will of the rich banker, will varies in the extant data, no less than three witnesses — the number com Pasion? "This is the Will of Pasion of '"Oration 32, a. 6 et seq. "Lysias. Or. 19, as. 39 and 40. Acharnae. I give my wife Archippe 'Demosthenes, Or. 27, B. 5 and Or. 29, e. 43. •About $2,000, though with a modern value from $20.000 up. "Demosthenes, Or. 45, a. 28.
"Anywhere from $180,000 to $360,000 at modern rates of interest, etc. "Isaeus, Or. 9, a. 12 et oliter. Or. 7, as. 1 and 2; Demosthenes, Or. 45, a. 17; Diogenes Laertius, 4. s. 44; 5. s. 57, etc.
