The penestai or penestae (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: oἱ πενέσται, ''hoi penéstai'') were a class of unfree labourers in

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

. These labourers were tied to the land they inhabited, comparable in status with the

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

helot The helots (; , ''heílotes'') were a subjugated population that constituted a majority of the population of Laconia and Messenia – the territories ruled by Sparta. There has been controversy since antiquity as to their exact characteristics ...

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Tradition made the penestae descendants of the Achaeans subjected by invading tribes arriving from Thesprotia. Archemachus (cited by

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (, or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; ) was an ancient Greek rhetorician and Grammarian (Greco-Roman), grammarian, flourishing about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century ...

, VI, 264), a 3rd-century BC writer, believed instead that they were

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

ns:

The Aeolian Boeotians who did not emigrate when their country
Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...
was conquered by the Thessalians, surrendered themselves to the victors on condition that they should not be carried out of the country, nor be put to death, but should cultivate the land for the new owners of the soil, paying by way of rent a portion of the produce of it, and many of them are richer than their masters.

The Thessalian lands were very productive and spacious with a low

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

; the penestae thus had large amounts of rich land to cultivate. The contributions given to the Thessalians and Archemachus' remark about their wealth imply that the penestae could freely dispose of the portions in excess of their ''rent'' payments and that they could possess goods. Certain penestae, known as ''latreis'', worked as house servants, receiving a salary in exchange.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus (, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style was ''atticistic'' – imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime. ...

mentions (II, 9) that disobedient penestae were beaten and that generally speaking, they were treated like

chattel slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. They appear to have been much less numerous than the free Thessalians. From a passage in

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and cu ...

, it appears that the penestae sometimes accompanied their masters to battle, and fought on horseback as their knights or vassals. The penestae of Thessaly also resembled the

s in another respect for they often rose up in arms against their lords. There was also an Illyrian tribe was called " Penestae".Wilkes, J. J. ''The Illyrians'', 1992, page 172, .

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* Smith, William (editor); ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' is an English language encyclopedia first published in 1842. The second, improved and enlarged, edition appeared in 1848, and there were many revised editions up to 1890. The encyclopedia covered law ...

'', ,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, (1870) * Jean Ducat, ''Les Pénestes de Thessalie'', Belles Lettres, series "Centre de recherces d'histoire ancienne", 1994 * Yvon Garlan, ''Les Esclaves en Grèce ancienne'', La Découverte, series "Textes à l'appui", 1989 , pp. 106–107 *{{cite book, last=Mili, first=Maria, title=Religion and Society in Ancient Thessaly, publisher=Oxford University Press, year=2015, isbn=0198718012, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qs2SBQAAQBAJ Slavery in ancient Greece Ancient tribes in Macedonia Ancient tribes in Thessaly Greek tribes Government of ancient Thessaly

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