''Paroikoi'' (plural of Greek πάροικος, ''paroikos'', the etymological origin of

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and

parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to: * Parishes, in religion ** Parish churches, also called parochial churches * Parochial schools, primary or secondary schools affiliated to a religious organisation * Parochialism Parochialism is the ...

) is the term that replaced "

metic In ancient Greece, a metic (Ancient Greek: , : from , , indicating change, and , 'dwelling') was a foreign resident of Athens, one who did not have citizen rights in their Greek city-state (''polis'') of residence. Origin The history of foreign m ...

" in the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

and Roman period to designate foreign residents. In the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, ''paroikoi'' were non-proprietary peasants, hereditary holders of their land, irremovable as long as they paid their rent. They appeared in the

Justinian code The ''Corpus Juris'' (or ''Iuris'') ''Civilis'' ("Body of Civil Law") is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Byzantine Emperor. It is also sometimes referred ...

, which prohibited this status; so it remained provisionally clandestine. Paroikoi are comparable to the western concept of

serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

and appear to be widespread by the 13th century.

References

{{Authority control Society of ancient Greece Hellenistic civilization Hellenistic Athens Classical antiquity Byzantine law Greek words and phrases