I πάροικοι di Grecia e Macedonia in età ellenistica e nella prima età romana

The essay examines the main occurrences of the term πάροικος in the inscriptions of towns of mainland Greece, Aegean islands and Macedonia in the Hellenistic age and in the first century of the Roman Empire. The sources show that in the towns of the aforesaid regions, πάροικοι in most cases referred to individuals who had transferred their domicile and were therefore the equivalent of the μέτοικοι of the classical πόλεις. An important exception is represented by the case of the fortress of Rhamnous in Athens, where πάροικοι were mercenary soldiers who had settled there themselves. Special reference is also made to the πάροικοι who are attested in Roman colonies of the Greek world: they could also belong to the indigenous population resident in the territory of the colonies, by equating the terms πάροικοι and incolae.