Zapraszamy na wykład prof. Julietty Steinhauer (University College London) w dniu 5.12.2023 o godz. 11.30 w Sali 10A.

Priestly perks, pay, and purchase: the economy of priest(ess)hoods in the Hellenistic period 

 

This paper argues that priestly duties could be a lucrative source of income rather than the financially draining obligation that they are often depicted as in the epigraphic record. Indeed, self-representations of acting priests give the impression that obtaining a priest(ess)hood is followed by a long line of benefactions only going in one direction, draining the priest(esse)s from their assets. I will take a fresh look at the evidence and will argue that what we see is quite different from the one way-street of outgoing expenses: we have records of priestly pay in cash and kind that – when examined more closely – shows that serving as a priest(ess) could be a lucrative job, particularly for women. Indeed,  obtaining a priest(ess)hood benefitted the priestesses’ oikos and must be seen as an economic investment of certain elite families via the female members of their kin that generated financial income and social and religious capital in equal terms.