Pasion (also Pasio;
grc, Πασίων; before 430 – 370 BC) was a slave in
Ancient Athens in the early 4th century BC, who rose to become a successful banker and Athenian citizen.
Life
Pasion was born some time before 430 BC.
It is unknown where Pasion came from nor when he arrived in Athens. It is widely presumed that he originated from Syria and the Levant, circa 440 BC when vast numbers of Syrian slaves were brought to Greece through Phoenician ports, Tyre and Sidon. In Athens, he was owned by the bankers Antisthenes and Archestratus, who had a bank at the
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...
, the harbor five miles out of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
. During his slavery, he quickly rose to chief clerk (
Argyramoibos) in charge of a money-changing table at the port, and proved so valuable that by 394 BC he had been manumitted and granted resident alien status as reward for his faithful service.
When his owners retired, Pasion inherited the bank and established a shield factory. The gifts he provided Athens included one thousand shields and a
trireme
A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean S ...
. Ultimately, Pasion was granted Athenian citizenship and started investing in real estate in order to accumulate more wealth. When he became too old to work, Pasion had
Phormion, another slave, take care of the bank.
Pasion was married to Archippe, who "was thoroughly conversant with the trapezitic business; she had access to the bank's records, and detailed knowledge of its complex operations" and was evidently involved in his business.
When Pasion died in 370 BC his widow married Phormion in order to keep the bank in the family. Reportedly, she destroyed some of the bank records in order to protect Phormion and the business.
Pasion had two sons with Archippe:
Apollodorus and Pasikles.
References
Sources
*Meltzer, Milton. ''Slavery: A World History''. Da Capo, 1993. {{ISBN, 0-306-80536-7
*''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', ''s.v.'' Pasion.
Ancient Greek slaves and freedmen
Ancient Greek merchants
Ancient Greek bankers
Metics in Classical Athens
4th-century BC Greek people