Slavery in Ancient Greece - Essay Example

Running Head: Slavery in Ancient Greece Slavery in Ancient Greece Name Course Lecturer Date Introduction Just like in the general ancient world, slave labour was a fundamental component of the ancient Greece. Ancient Greece was characterized with immense slavery of human beings, which greatly contributed to its civilization1. Moreover, the more the slaves a family owned the more respected and wealthier they were thought to be. Roles of salve were segregated in based on gender. Different roles for males and females were warranted by the philosophical claims that males are naturally superior over females2. Other than gender, females faced another disadvantage in the society through deprived position in social hierarchy. Thus, scholars over the years have concluded that, the Greek society in the ancient times was largely stratified in regard to gender, race, and class (Dillon & Garland, 2010). This paper explores slavery in ancient Greece; there sources, treatment, range of tasks they engaged in, their number in Greece, and slave labour complemented free labour in ancient Greece. The main sources of Greek slaves In ancient Greece, various methods were employed in obtaining slaves. The first and most important source of slaves was from prisoners of war. Once the Greeks went on a battle, those taken to captivity later become slaves. Some of these prisoners were Greeks themselves. However, majority of these slaves were “barbarians”, which referred to any non-Greek person (Dillion, 2002). According to Hall (2007), slaves were also obtained from children born by slave parents. In other words, those children born during slavery as a child of a slave became the master’s property. In other cases, parent exposed their newborn babies and abandoned them during infancy by a hillside or at the city gates, whereby the parents hoped they would either die or taken by anyone who wanted them. Another major way in which Greeks obtained slaves was through kidnapping. People were either kidnapped by the people who needed slaves or by other common people who later sold them. Moreover, people became slaves if their family required money. The family used to sell some of their children as slaves to get money. In most cases, daughters were sold, due to believe that males were required to handle the farm and help with other chores (Dodd & Christopher, 2003). The price of slaves varied depending on age, appearance, and attitude. The healthy, young, attractive and submissive went for a higher price, while the old stubborn and weak sold for less3. How slaves were treated Slaves were differently treated in ancient Greece. This mainly depended on their purpose, occupation, age, attitude and looks, and whims of their masters. Mistreatment included three main punishments. They could not talk back especially to their owners, otherwise they were whipped and even arrested. Also, slaves did only what the master ordered, and not their own things. Moreover, slaves had no right to chose where to live, who to work and live with. In general, slaves were harshly treated in ancient Greece. In case they try to disobey orders or escape they were thoroughly beaten. Furthermore, slaves’ legal rights varied with states. However, in many cases their fate largely relied on the whims of their owners, who had absolute rights over their slaves but not to kill them (Schomp, 2008). Eltis et al (2011), observes that slaves’ treatment also included the limits of what they could do. They were not allowed to enter public assembly or gymnasium, except the temple. They could not use their names but those assigned their masters willed. In this regard, slaves were considered more of a property rather than Greece citizens. Females were household servants and could be fairly treated compared to those in other different areas4. In most case, they were treated at least as a part of though no equal to the family. Female slaves were at times allowed to engage during family rituals, such as sacrifices. Moreover, they were kept under the supervision of the woman of the family who kept them busy and in line. Generally, considering that female slaves literally belonged to the masters, their treatment depended on their position and the master’s temperament (Dubois, 2008). However, Lanni (2006), argues that not every type of slavery was bearable like that of household servants. Male slaves in the mine work or in the ships lives were encompassed by danger and misery. These individuals could not live for long considering the grueling work and working conditions that were greatly dangerous. Slaves who were forced into these cruel conditions were ones condemned to death sentence for various crimes. It was believed they would die very soon under these conditions. In Sparta, Sicily, and Thessaly slave treatment was regarded the harshest. There were no rights entitled to slaves. They lived in misery and exposed to mistreatment to the point of death (Dillon & Garland, 2010). Owners did not view slaves as investments (Gagarin, 2011). In southeastern Attica at Laurion mine workers were mistreated and exposed to brutal conditions. Shafts in the mines were small, poorly ventilated, and unsafe. This caused injury and accidents that killed slaves. Sparta mainly relied on the helots for labour. Helots were considered serfs and not slaves and thus, despite being bound to work, they retained their language, communities, and customs unlike slave5. In Athens, also, slaves could get varied treatment on the personality of their masters. Masters with bad temperament are said to expose their slaves in very harsh conditions such as in mines and farms. Females on the other hand were forced to work as prostitutes or entertainers. Masters however allowed those slaves termed as good working in their business6. Range of tasks undertaken by slaves As of regard to task undertaken by slaves, females worked as domestic slaves. They involved in spinning and the weaving tasks, which freed Athenian women cloth production role. Moreover, women engaged in household chores such as cooking, fetching water, cooking, taking care of the children. In very wealthy households, females were assigned specific duties such as nurse, housekeeper and so on. Males on the other hand were indulged in industrial and agricultural work (Dubois, 2008). The helots indulged in farming, making their Spartan owners free and available to engage in battles which were a main preoccupation to them (Webb, 2001). Other times, male helots could accompany the armies of the Spartans to war, where they served as skirmishers as well as soldier servants. On the other hand, female helots engaged in weaving and the spin work. This freed Spartan women the responsibility of producing cloth. Generally, anyone taken as slave was expected to mainly do the odd jobs in the factories, shops, fields, mines, and ships. In Athens, slaves made up the police force (Dubois, 2008.). However, slaves could not perform other things like schooling, enter politics, and use their own names but instead used the master’s assigned names (Jane & Wood, 2006). Generally, all tasks performed by slaves were done by freemen except only slaves did the odd jobs at the mines. Thus, mine work was exceptionally reserved for slaves. What do we know about the number of slaves in ancient Greece? Slavery became very common in old Greece such that slaves were found everywhere. In addition to working in homes as household servant, they worked in farms, mines, shops factories and in ships. In fact, Cohen (2000) observes that there were many if not more slaves like there were other free people in the city states. Researchers argue it is indeed difficult for historians to verify the accurate number of slaves present during the times. This is because many slaves appeared just like the poorer citizens of Greek, and there number was as much to the Greek citizens (Webb, 2001). In the Athens during the 15th century, it is estimated that for every one slave, there was an equivalent of one free person (Gagarin, 2011). In actual fact, even Greeks with considerable income usually owned one or two slaves to serve in family business, and help in household chores. It was thus difficult to identify who essentially slaves were in Athens particularly due to the fact that slaves got employed in manual jobs of noble rankings. Some slaves took high levels of doctors and managers to the extent that some earned enough money to buy their freedom.7 Did slave labour replace or complement free labour? Except in the case of mineworkers, other major occupations could be performed by both slaves and free man8. There was no disgrace associated with a freeman working with a slave. In fact, slaves were allowed to work together and do the same task with free men. For instance, fluting of columns was performed by both slaves and free men. From this perspective, free labour did not replace free labour, but rather complemented it (Dillon & Garland, 2010). Conclusion Conclusively, slaves were part and parcel of ancient Greece. They were obtained through various ways such as prisoners of war, kidnapping, being born by slave parents, and families could sell their children for money. The range of tasks undertaken by slaves included domestic chores like cooking, housekeeping, and family nurses for women, while their male counterparts involved in industrial and agricultural activities such as farming and mining. As established above, their roles and treatment largely depended on gender, age, whims of their masters, and their past life. Slaves convicted of worst crimes, were preferred killed through mistreatment in harsh work conditions and hard labour. By and large, the number of slaves in ancient Athens cannot be accurately stated. However, scholars argue that, slavery had become very common in old Greece such that slaves were found everywhere. For instance, in the 15th century in Athens, it is estimated that every slave person was equivalent to one freeman. Yet, despite their enormous number, slave labour did not replace free labour, rather, it complemented it. Particularly, this was evident in the case where slaves could freely engage in same tasks at the same time with freemen. References Cohen, E. (2000.). The Athenian nation. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press. Dillion, M. (2002). The Ancient Greeks in their Own Words. Sutton: Stroud. Dillon, M. &. (2010). Ancient Greece: Social and Historical Documents from Archaic Times to the Death of Socrates (3rd ED). Milton Park, Abingdon: Routledge. Dodd, D. &. (2003). Initiation in Ancient Greek Rituals and Narratives: New Critical Perspectives. London: Routledge. Eltis, D. E. (2011). The Cambridge world history of slavery. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gagarin, M. (2011.). Speeches from Athenian law. Austin: University of Texas Press. Hall, J. M. (2007). A History of the Archaic Greek World: Ca. 1200-479 BCE. Maiden: Blackwell Publishing. Jane, K., & Wood, P. 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