Slavery played a major role in ancient Greek civilization. Without it, the citizens wouldn't have been able to devote so much time into other activities such as the government, art and thought.
What were the Greeks' sources for slaves?
There were different ways in which a person could have become a slave in ancient Greece. The main source of slaves was prisoners of war. The prisoners of war that became slaves were sometimes other Greeks, but the majority of them were what the Greeks called "barbarians". The word "barbarian" referred to any person that was non-Greek. Another source of slaves was children that had been born into slavery.Also, they might have been exposed as an infant, and that means that the parents abandoned their newborn baby on a hillside or at the gates of the city to die or be claimed by anyone who wanted it. Another possible way in which one might have become a slave was if a family needed money, they sometimes sold one of the children into slavery. Usually it was a daughter because the male children were needed to help out with the chores or the farm. Kidnapping was another way in which one could have been sold into slavery.
The price one might have paid for a slave in ancient Greek times varied depending on their appearance, age and attitude. Those who were healthy, atttractive, young and submissive, could sell for as much as 10 minae ($180.00). Those who were old, weak and stubborn might have sold for as little as 1/2 a mina ($9.00). If there happened to be a large supply of slaves on the market, the price automatically went down. This usually happened after winning a large battle, when there were many prisoners of war.
What kind of jobs did the slaves do?
There were two kinds of slaves: public and private. The public slaves were government owned, and they had many jobs: secretaries, clerks, prison attendants, executioners, scribes, and accountants. The most famous group of public slaves were the police force in Athens--the "Athenian archers". They were made up of about 300 Scythian slaves. The second type of slave was the private slave. They were owned by an individual master. These slaves did everything from household chores to working in the industrial area. Some of their jobs were: maids, wet-nurses, teachers, and messengers. They also worked in the fields, usually beside their masters. They worked in quarries and mines, and the most famous mine was the silver mine in Laurium, where it has been estimated that 30,000 slaves worked.
There were some slaves that were set apart from the others. They were skilled craftsmen who would make things such as shoes or pottery and sell them. They would live outside the master's house on their own but give a certain percentage of their profits to their master. That is why they are sometimes referred to as "pay-bringers", because they would bring some of what they earned to their master. No one in Greece could tell the difference between these slaves and regular citizens.
What were the things that a slave couldn't do?
There were four personal restrictions that affected slaves:
1) In all legal matters, the slave must have his master represent him. He cannot represent himself.
2) A slave is subject to seizure and arrest.
3) He can only do what his master orders, he cannot do what he wants.
4) The slave cannot chose where he wants to live, or be who he wants to be with.
There were other limits to what a slave could do. They could not enter the Gymnasium or the Public Assembly. They could not use their own names, but were assigned names by their master. It is important to remember that these people were thought of as property of their masters rather than citizens of Greece.
If a slave misbehaved, he could be punished. In Athens, fifty blows was the common punishment. A master could only punish his own slave and not one that belonged to someone else. Here's an interesting fact: with the consent of the master, a slave could give testimony in court during a trial through torture. That is, they believed that the surest way to get the truth out of a slave was by pain.
How did slaves become free?
There were two basic methods used in setting a slave free. The first was if the state manumitted the slaves in a big group. (Manumission is a formal release from bondage by a slave's master.) This was usually carried out by a tyrant to strengthen his power or gain military support. The second way a slave could become free (or manumitted) was by his individual master. His master could free the slave in his own will, or while he was still alive. If a slave had saved up enough money to buy his freedom, then his master was compelled to accept it and set him free. In Greece, there were benefit social clubs called Eranoi. They helped some slaves by lending money so they could buy their freedom. But, if the slaves could not pay the Eranoi back, then the deal was off and they were back to being slaves.
One important thing to note about slavery in Ancient Greece was that slavery WAS NOT based on race, as in other countries' pasts. Slavery was not identified with color, but instead with superior force.
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B I B L I O G R A P H Y
Davis, William Stearns. A Day in Old Athens. Allyn and Bacon: New York, 1959, pp.51-56.
Demand, Nancy. A History of Ancient Greece. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.: New York, 1996.
Fine, John. The Ancient Greeks: A Critical History. Harvard University Press: England, 1983.
Finley, M.I. Ancient Slavery and Modern Ideology. Viking Press: New York, 1980.
Finley, M.I. Slavery in Classical Antiquity. Barnes and Noble: New York, 1964.
Meltzer, Milton. Slavery. Cowles Book Company, Inc.: New York, 1971.
Starr, Chester. The Ancient Greeks. Oxford University Press: New York, 1971.