Dio Chrysostom of Prusa Fragments on Household Management in Greek

The Fragments on Household Management is a collection of twelve excerpts attributed to the orator Dio Chrysostom, preserved within the fifth-century anthology compiled by Stobaeus. These passages do not constitute a continuous treatise but are selected discussions on the classical topic of oikonomia, or household management, which was a standard subject in ancient ethical philosophy concerning the household as the foundational unit of social order. The fragments address the governance of the private domestic sphere, emphasizing the role of the householder as a just and prudent manager. They explore the ethical principles guiding family relations, including the conduct of marriage and the rearing of children, advocate for temperate and reasonable treatment of enslaved persons, and discuss the prudent stewardship of property with an ideal of self-sufficiency. The work survives solely through the pedagogical compilation of Stobaeus, with no independent manuscript tradition, leaving the original context and placement of these fragments within Dio Chrysostom’s larger corpus uncertain. Modern critical editions typically list them among works of doubtful authorship, reflecting scholarly caution while maintaining their traditional attribution. These fragments exemplify the popular philosophical ethics of the early Roman Empire and, through their preservation by Stobaeus, contributed to the enduring Greco-Roman and later Christian literary tradition concerning domestic economy, illustrating the reception and dissemination of such practical moral thought in late antiquity.