The Geomori or Geomoroi () were one of the three classes into which

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

is said to have divided the inhabitants of

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

. The exact divisions between the three classes is uncertain, but the geomori ranked between the wealthy

eupatrid The Eupatridae (literally "good fathered", i.e. "offspring of noble fathers" or "the well-born") were the ancient nobility of the Greek region of Attica. Origin Tradition ascribes to Theseus, whom it also regards as the author of the union (''syn ...

s, the only class who were permitted to hold the highest civil and religious offices, and the poorer

demiourgoi The Demiourgoi (Gr. δημιουργός, from δήμιος, of or for the people, and ἒργον, work) were an artisan class in Attica in Ancient Greece that formed one of the three classes, along with the Eupatridae and the Geomori, into which ...

Class distinctions

Some scholars have noted that the precise meaning of these classes, as well as the nature of the division, are obscure. Even though one can say that nobles, husbandmen, and artisans belong to the eupatrids, geomori, and demiourgoi classes, respectively, there are no methods to ascertain any particulars respecting the relation in which the geomoroi stood to the two other classes. It is also not known whether an individual can transcend or be demoted to another class, such as the case of the poorer nobles who might have fallen into the ranks of the geomori. One, however, could turn to Grecian historians for insight, particularly in the way they described the three Athenian social classes as "quasi-equal," with the eupatrids exceeding the others in dignity; the geomori exceeding in usefulness; and, the demiourgoi exceeding in number.

Geomori concept

The term ''geomori'' may either signify independent land-owners, or peasants who cultivated the lands of others as tenants. The geomoroi have, accordingly, by some writers been thought to be free land-owners, while others have conceived them to have been a class of tenants. It seems, however, inconsistent with the state of affairs in Attica, as well as with the manner in which the name geomoroi was used in other Greek states, to suppose that the whole class consisted of the latter only; there were undoubtedly among them a considerable number of freemen who cultivated their own lands, but had by their birth no claims to the rights and privileges of the nobles. What is certain for some historians is that geomori and the social stratification in Attica is similar to the social distinctions adopted by other societies that have emerged from

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

ism. There are no recorded political distinctions between the geomoroi and the demiourgoi; and it may either be that there existed none at all or if there were any originally, that they gradually vanished. This would account for the fact that Dionysius (ii. 8) only mentions two classes of Atticans; one corresponding to the Roman

patricians The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

, the other to the

plebeians In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the Capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Et ...

. There are sources, however, such as Aristotle whose works indicated that the class divisions by Theseus marked the modification to the constitution in the direction of popular government. Some authors also consider the social divisions as a mechanism to unite the separate communities into a united country by describing the function and privileges of the people who came from these within the new society. In

Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...

, the name geomoroi was applied to the oligarchical party, consisting of the wealthy and powerful. In

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, the aristocratic party was likewise called ''gamoroi'', in opposition to the

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...

.Herod, vii. 155; Hesych. s. v. Tdjjiopoi; Miiller, Dor. iii. 4. § 4; Gbller, de Situ et Orig. Syrac.

References

{{reflist Social classes of ancient Athens Ancient Greek titles