Harris 2026 Symposion 2024 Response to W. Schmitz By Edward Harris

https://www.academia.edu/166128661/Harris_2026_Symposion_2024_Response_to_W_Schmitz?email_work_card=title This article is a response to an essay by W. Schmitz in Symposion 2024, who uses a passage from Diodorus ()8, fr. 7.1) to argue that the helots of Sparta were in a relationship of nexum to their masters. Schmitz claims that the phrase ton action exaitein denotes the procedure of nodal surrender. A careful study of the term shows that the term actually refers to the extradition of criminals from one community to another. The Helots of Sparta were slaves and not in a dependent position similar to debt-bondage as has been demonstrated by the recent studies of Ducat, Lewis, Luraghi and Hodkinson. The article ends with five points about scholarly method. ...