Alienation of Public and Sacred Landed Properties in Greek Cities: Response to Léopold Migeotte,

This contribution focuses on the notion of public and sacred property in the Greek city in response to a paper by L. Migeotte. It examines in particular the epigraphic evidence pertaining to the alienation of public and sacred properties. Three different cases where public or sacred properties could be sold or offered as security are considered: the sale of land belonging to the gods, the sale of properties confiscated either from public debtors or as a consequence of exiles and political events and, finally, public properties as security in credit contracts. The second part concentrates on the Athenian Rationes Centesimarum, a set of inscriptions recording the operation of a massive sale of land and houses belonging to corporate groups between ca. 340 and 320 B.C. It tries to define the notion of public property in Athens and explores in what form and to what extent the polis retained control of those landholdings that were neither sacred nor private.