Forced migrations, self-imposed exile and opportunities for social promotion in classical Athens: prospects for groups and individuals

Immigration as a factor of social mobility in classical Athens is a topic that has hitherto been underestimated. Athenian policies concerning the reception of political refugees call for reconsideration of this assumption. This paper aims to investigate the relation between the spatial mobility and the social mobility of those political refugees – individuals and groups – who chose Athens as a place of refuge. Political refugees were considered by the Athenians as “human capital” of which they could take advantage both in international relations and internal political debate: on the one hand, refugees who lost everything because of their support for Athens were publicly praised as benefactors of the Athenians in order to show gratitude towards loyal allies; on the other hand, the Athenian tendency to praise refugees’ contributions to the community in terms of their competences, occupational skills, and acts of generosity contributed to facilitating the integration of newcomers into the social structure of Athens