Callias Author:Alfred John Church Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. HIPPOCLES THK ALIEN. Hippocles has been described as an alien. An "alien," then at Athens, as in the other Greek cities, was a resident foreig... more »ner. He might be an enfranchised slave, he might be a barbarian (as all persons not Greek were described), or he might be a Greek of the purest descent, but if he had not the rights of Athenian citizenship, he was an "alien." He could not hold any landed or house property: he was obliged to appear in any law suit in which he might be concerned in the person of an Athenian citizen who was described as his "patron," and he was heavily taxed. A special impost that went under the name of an " alien-tax " was only a slight matter, some twelve drachmas a year, but all the imposts were made specially heavy for them. And though they had no share in directing the policy of the state, they were required to serve in its fleets and armies. This treatment however, did not keep aliens from settling in Athens. On the contrary they were to be found there in great numbers, and as almost all the trade of the place was in their hands, some of them were among its richest inhabitants. At the time of which I am writing Hippocles had the reputation, which we may say was by no means undeserved, of being the richest resident in Athens.' And more than that, he was one of the most patriotic. He loved the city as if it had been his native place, and did the duty and more than the duty of a son to her. The special contributions which as a wealthy man. he was called upon to make to the public service were made with a princely liberality. He even voluntarily undertook services which were not required of him by law. Every year he had come forward to furnish the crew and munitions of a ship of war, a charge to which citizens only were properly liable...« less