4.28 Slaves in Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece depended on large numbers of slaves for work ranging from household duties to major building projects. Learn how Greeks used slaves and what the day-to-day life of a slave might have been like in this lesson.

A Slave’s Life

Some days, it seems like nothing goes right. Maybe you missed the bus, didn’t study enough for a test, or ran out of ice cream. Even on bad days, you know that tomorrow can be better. But imagine if each day you had to do what someone else told you — even if it was difficult or dangerous, you couldn’t say ‘no.’

For much of history, societies have relied on slaves, meaning unpaid workers, to get tasks done. In ancient Greece, slaves had to obey the commands of their masters and had no rights of their own, even though slaves made up about a third of the total population in cities like Athens.

Engraving of a Greek family. The boy on the left is a slave holding a jug.

1. Main points:

The text contrasts everyday challenges with the harsh reality of slavery in ancient Greece, where slaves, forming a significant part of the population, had to follow their masters’ orders without any rights.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: What role did slaves play in ancient Greek society?
• Contextual Analysis: How does the text compare the concept of a bad day in modern times to the life of a slave in ancient Greece?
• Linguistic Analysis: What does the text imply about the rights and freedoms of slaves in ancient Greece?

3. Further Discussion:

• How do you think the presence of such a large number of slaves affected the society and culture of ancient Greece?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: "In ancient Greece, slaves had to obey the commands of their masters and had no rights of their own."
• Contextual Analysis: "Imagine if each day you had to do what someone else told you — even if it was difficult or dangerous, you couldn’t say ‘no.’"
• Linguistic Analysis: "Slaves had no rights of their own, even though slaves made up about a third of the total population in cities like Athens."

Life as a Slave

The slaves in ancient Greece generally didn’t become slaves at birth. Instead, Greeks took slaves by conquest, meaning they took over another place and forced the inhabitants into slavery. Slaves were also kidnapped by pirates and kidnappers and then purchased by the Greeks. Sometimes, parents even sold their own children into slavery!

While this might seem awful, the parents often did it to save their children. You see, if parents couldn’t afford to feed their child, slavery would provide the child with food as well as clothes and shelter. Some slave owners even gave their slaves spending money, though there was no guarantee of this. Slaves who were owned by the government, rather than being owned by an individual citizen, might also have a slightly better social standing, although they would still have to do slave work, like construction and repair.

Drawing of the Greek Parthenon building. Government-owned slaves would have worked to build this, as well as most other major buildings.

Some slaves, on the other hand, had particularly bad luck. Some were sent to row on Greek ships and spent the rest of their lives inside without any sunlight or fresh air, eating nothing but bread and drinking nothing but water. Likewise, slaves were also sent to work in mines, and they might live only two or three years before the lead, a poisonous material, killed them.

Some slaves were sent to row on Greek ships, like this trireme

1. Main points:

The text describes the various ways people became slaves in ancient Greece, the conditions they lived in, and the harsh realities faced by those who worked in extreme environments like ships and mines.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: How did people become slaves in ancient Greece?
• Contextual Analysis: What were some of the reasons parents might sell their children into slavery?
• Linguistic Analysis: How does the text describe the conditions of slaves working on Greek ships and in mines?

3. Further Discussion:

• How do you think the use of slaves for labor-intensive tasks like building and mining impacted ancient Greek society and economy?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: "Greeks took slaves by conquest… Slaves were also kidnapped by pirates and kidnappers and then purchased by the Greeks. Sometimes, parents even sold their own children into slavery!"
• Contextual Analysis: "If parents couldn’t afford to feed their child, slavery would provide the child with food as well as clothes and shelter."
• Linguistic Analysis: "Some were sent to row on Greek ships and spent the rest of their lives inside without any sunlight or fresh air… Slaves were also sent to work in mines, and they might live only two or three years before the lead, a poisonous material, killed them."

Slave Work

What type of work you did as a slave depended on your sex. Men often worked as field slaves and maintained farms, doing work like planting crops and handling livestock. They would also go to the market to buy goods, help their master’s children walk to school, and take care of their owner’s horses. Women slaves did most of the cooking and cleaning around the household, while also taking care of their owner’s children. In fact, women slaves weren’t allowed to leave the house except to do chores. A male slave could be made a Greek citizen if he became free, but no woman could.

Once per year, slaves got their own holiday called the kronia. On this day, all government business stopped, and slaves would eat at the same table with their masters.

1. Main points:

The text outlines the different roles of male and female slaves in ancient Greece, highlighting the gender-based division of labor and the unique holiday of kronia where slaves and masters dined together.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: What were the different roles of male and female slaves in ancient Greece?
• Contextual Analysis: Why were women slaves restricted from leaving the house except for chores?
• Linguistic Analysis: What does the holiday kronia signify in the context of ancient Greek society?

3. Further Discussion:

• How do you think the experience of the kronia holiday might have affected the relationship between slaves and their masters?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: "Men often worked as field slaves… Women slaves did most of the cooking and cleaning around the household, while also taking care of their owner’s children."
• Contextual Analysis: "Women slaves weren’t allowed to leave the house except to do chores."
• Linguistic Analysis: "Once per year, slaves got their own holiday called the kronia. On this day, all government business stopped, and slaves would eat at the same table with their masters."

Lesson Summary

Ancient Greeks relied on slaves to do much of their work. Some slaves were taken in a conquest, while others were purchased from kidnappers. Male slaves took care of most field work, while female slaves took care of home duties.