Even though classical Greece seemed to be an enlightened culture, it still supported slavery and the oppression of women. How do you reconcile this dichotomy?
Slavery played a major role in ancient Greek civilization. Slaves could be found everywhere. They worked not only as domestic servants, but as factory workers, shopkeepers, mineworkers, farm workers and as ship's crew members. Women were the property of men. They did not even have the right to divorce in classical Greece. Furthermore, if a man could not get a woman pregnant he might arrange for another man to do it for him. The lack of women's legal rights has been a common complaint from women and others about Greek law. But because of their important role they could make demands that allowed them more influence than their rights allowed.
There were many different ways in which a person could have become a slave in ancient Greece. They might have been born into slavery as the child of a slave. They might have been taken prisoner if their city was attacked in one of the many battles which took place during these times. Another possible way in which one might have become a slave was if a family needed money, they might sell one of the children into slavery. Slaves were treated differently in ancient Greece depending upon what their purpose was.
If one was a household servant, they had a fairly good situation, at least as good as slavery could be. They were often treated almost as part of the family. They were always supervised by the woman of the house who was responsible for making sure that all the slaves were kept busy and didn't get out of line. This could be quite a task as most wealthy Greek households had as many as 10-20 slaves. There were limits to what a slave could do. It is important to remember that these people were thought of as property of their masters rather than citizens of Greece Not all forms of slavery in ancient Greece were as tolerable as that of the domestic servant.
The life of a mineworker or ship's crewmember was a life of misery and danger. These people usually did not live long because of the grueling work and dangerous conditions of their work. Often those forced into these conditions were those condemned to death for committing crimes because it was understood that they wouldn't live very long under these circumstances. It is surprising to note that the police force in ancient Athens was made up mainly of slaves. Even the clerks at the treasury office were slaves. Slavery was a very important part of ancient Greece. It played a major role in so many aspects of Greek civilization from domestic living to the infamous Athenian naval fleet.
Women played an interesting role in ancient Greek culture. While they were considered citizens of the state, they were not allowed to vote or even to compete in the Olympic games. Greek religion was not about beliefs or doctrines; it was all about rituals, and women were chosen to perform these rituals at the sanctuary. An older woman was chosen to tend to the gods, and only she could enter the inner temple to bring the gods water for bathing and offerings of food. She lived in chastity and draped herself in a white veil during the ritual. Other women would wait outside and chant hymns and burn incense as the older woman would tend to the god. The laws of ancient Greece seem contradictory, since women were expected to manage their households and could take an active role in religion, yet they could not participate in politics or in the athletic games. However, despite the oppressive laws, woman had a strong presence in Greek culture.
Woman did many jobs. The wives also performed women's work which included spinning, weaving, baking bread, cooking, serving, cleaning, fetching water, and removing wastes. Women formed an important part of male society. They were in demand as conversationalists, entertainers, and they managed slaves. There were also women slaves who performed the more menial tasks. Women in less wealthy households did not have slaves and had to do all the housework themselves. In peasant households, the women were in charge of working the fields.
Slaves did all of the work that many Grecians would not dare to do. Woman also did very important work that Men could not do because of their jobs in the armed forces, government, and economy. While slaves did the work that was harsh, woman did the spiritual and housekeeping work. Without slaves, Greece would not have lasted so long. In addition, without woman, the men in Greece would have an extremely tasking life. In all woman and slaves alike played a highly important role in Greece.
