Andrew

 Slavery was a very important part of Ancient Greece. There were so many slaves that many historians believed that there were more slaves than free people in Ancient Greece! In many books that you may have read they might have included slaves being treated like garbage, in some parts of Greece this is true but most slaves’ lives were just like a poor Greek citizen’s life. This essay will talk about how slaves became slaves, the rights they had and the different types of jobs they had.  There were many ways how originally free people or already slave people became slaves, and there were also reasons why the citizens didn’t just pay workers to assist with chores and work. While the Greeks could have paid workers to do better jobs, they thought it was easier to force slaves to work than to pay money for workers. Most people would think that slaves just became slaves when they were born, but it’s not always like that, in fact, most slaves were born free. One way how someone became slave was when they were sold into slavery because their parents needed money, or sometimes P.O.W’s (Prisoners of war) were captured and turned into slaves. There were also slaves that were born into slavery as well because of their parents. In early Greek times, they kept no slaves, P.O.W’s were killed and everyone was free, later on however, they thought that slaves could be put to work or sold for money. Most people would think slaves were treated like garbage, in some areas that’s true but in Ancient Greece, a slaves’ life was not different from a poor Greek citizen’s life. Actually, there was even a Greek holiday called Kronia (For the Greek god Cronus, god of agriculture) that was held every year where slaves would eat with their master(s) and sometimes for the day the masters served the slaves and the slaves were treated like the master. Slavery was crucial to Ancient Greece and there were a few pros and many cons to being a slave.  In Ancient Greece, there were many rights that a slave did not have compared to a free Greek citizen. Slaves could not choose where they wanted to live, who to live with or who they wanted to work for, slaves could not even do what they wanted! Slaves couldn’t do anything their master didn’t tell them to do, they weren’t even allowed to have children or marry without their master’s permission. Slaves had no education or rite to vote either; they couldn’t enter politics, go to school or even use their own name! If a slave ever talked back to their master(s), they would be whipped and sometimes even arrested. While most slaves are treated this way, some are treated with some respect, in Athens, slaves were treated more liberally (Had more rites and could sometimes enter politics and religious affairs) and they were sometimes even allowed to roam free and be paid to work. However, in Sparta, slaves were used only for war, getting weapons and food ready; slaves in Sparta were even killed without breaking any laws! The Spartans weren't very fair either, the Spartans adored women so they treated women slaves differently from men slaves women slaves were treated just like free people and could even sometimes roam freely. Some Greeks treated slaves so badly they didn’t even give them a name and just called them “helots”, a word for slaves in Ancient Greece that came from the village of Helos, in south Sparta. Being a slave in Ancient Greece was not very fun and a life without rights is even worse. Not all slaves had the same job; there were two types of slaves, private and public slaves. Public slaves had jobs like secretaries, clerks, prison attendants, executioners, scribes and accountants, these jobs were all “public” so everyone knew what they were doing. Private slaves had jobs like maids, wet-nurses (women that breast feed other people’s babies), teachers, messengers, field workers, mineworker and ship crew workers, these slaves worked for people that personally hired them. Ship crew worker slaves and mineworker slaves died or got injured very quickly because these jobs are dangerous and grueling. Slaves were usually daughters because the sons were often needed to do chores and work out on the farm. Slaves weren’t all the same price, they cost 150-300 drachmas (money that was later on replaced by the modern euro, 500 drachmas would equal 1.46 euro) and the price depended on the slave’s age, appearance and attitude. Young, healthy and attractive slaves sold for more and weak, stubborn and old sold for less. The wealthiest Greeks would have 10-20 slaves in one household. Some people didn’t use the slaves to help out and just used them for trading purposes, for example, a man could buy a slave for 150 drachmas and sell it for 200 drachmas. Skilled slaves got better jobs and were sometimes even freed when old. One example of a good slave job is being a household slave; household slaves were sometimes treated like family and sometimes even attended family rituals and funerals. The most common type of slave job was a field worker; slaves were everywhere and even clerks at treasury offices were slaves. There was one particular group of slaves that were very famous in Ancient Greece, a group of Athenian police called the Athenian archers, a group that was made up almost entirely of slaves! The Athenian archers were made up of 300 people and almost all of them were slaves, the Athenian archers were treated with respect and helped protect the city when being invaded. All in all, being a household slave was the best type of slave and being a mine worker or ship’s crew worker slave would be the worst type of slave.  Now you know how people became slaves, the rights they had and the different types of slaves. Many people in Ancient Greece wouldn’t even know how to live without slaves assisting them in work. Now you might not think there were only slaves in the past but actually, there are still lots of slaves in the world today, especially in poor countries like Africa. You should do whatever you can to help and now after reading this essay; you should know that slavery has its pros and cons, but most slaves are treated cruelly and with disrespect. Slavery is a terrible thing to do and we should do whatever we can to stop it!
 * Ancient Greek Slavery **

<-- a woman slave <-- a slave working.