Introduction to ancient Greek society

Although ancient Greek society was dominated by male citizens with full legal status, the right to vote, hold public office, and own property, the social groups that made up the population of a typical Greek city-state or city-state were very diverse. Women, children, immigrants (Greek and foreign), laborers and slaves all had clear roles, but there was interaction (often illegal) between classes and some movement between social groups, especially for second generation descendants and Stressful times such as war.

Ancient Greek society consisted mainly of the following groups:

Male citizens - three groups: the landed aristocracy (aristoi), the poor peasants (periokoi), and the middle class (artisans and merchants).

Semi-free labor (such as Spartan helots).

Women - belong to all of the above male groups, but have no civil rights.

Children - Generally classified as under 18 years of age.

Slaves - Douluo people who bear civil or military responsibilities.

Alien - A nonresident ( xenoi ) or foreign resident ( metoikoi ) of lower status than a male citizen.

Demeter and Persephone

Demeter and Persephone

Osama Shukir *** · Amin (CC BY-NC-SA)

Class

Although male citizens held by far the highest status in Greek society, there were also different classes within this group. At the top of the social tree are the "best men," the nobility. With more money than others, this class can provide themselves with armor, weapons, and a horse during military campaigns. The nobles often split into powerful family factions or clans, which controlled all the important political offices in the city-state. Their wealth came from their property and, more importantly, the best land, namely: the most fertile and closest to the protection afforded by the city walls.

A poorer class of second-class citizens also exists. These people own land, but the plots may be less productive and further from the city, and their properties receive less protection than prime land closer to the city. The land may be so far away that the owners have to live on it rather than travel back and forth from the city. Known as periokoi (peripheral dwellers) or worse, "dusty feet," these citizens gathered for protection in communities of small villages affiliated with neighboring cities. This secondary class grew significantly as the city's population grew and inheritances were increasingly divided among siblings.

The third group is mid-level business class. Engaged in manufacturing, trade and commerce, these were the nouveau riche. However, the nobility jealously protected their privileges and political monopoly, ensuring that only landowners ascended to real power. However, there are some changes between classes. Some may rise through accumulation of wealth and influence, others may fall through bankruptcy (which may result in loss of citizenship or even enslavement). Ill health, loss of inheritance, political unrest, or war can also cause the "best" to gather dust.

Women

Female citizens have few rights compared to male citizens. Unable to vote, own land or inherit, a woman's place is in the home and her purpose in life is to raise children. Contact with non-household men was discouraged, and women spent their time in indoor activities such as wool work and knitting. Spartan women were treated differently from other states, for example, they had to undergo physical training (naked) like men, were allowed to own land, and could drink alcohol.

Female citizens were required to marry as virgins, and the marriage was usually organized by the father, who chose the husband and accepted his dowry. If a woman had no father, then her interests (marriage prospects and property management) were looked after by a guardian (kurios), who might be an uncle or other male relative. Typically, people get married at the age of thirteen or fourteen, and love has little to do with the match between husband and wife. Of course, love may have developed between the couple, but the best may be philia - a universal friendship/love emotion; eros, the love of desire - to be found elsewhere, at least for men. There are three grounds for ending a marriage. The first and most common is the husband's denial (apopempsis or ekpempsis). No reason is needed, just the return of the dowry. The second reason for termination is the wife's departure from home (apoleipsis), in which case the woman's new guardian must act as her legal representative. However, this rarely happens and the woman's reputation in society is tarnished. A third reason for termination is when the bride's father demands the return of his daughter (aphairesis), possibly to offer her to another man for a more attractive dowry. However, this last option is only possible if the wife has no children. If a woman becomes a widow, she must marry a close male relative to ensure that the property remains in the family.

Of course, women were also present in various other non-citizen classes. The group for which we have the most information is sex workers. Women are divided into two categories here. The first, and perhaps the most common, is brothel *** (***ē). The second one is the advanced *** (hetaira).

These latter women were musically and culturally educated and often entered into lasting relationships with married men. It's the same kind of women who entertain men (in every sense of the word) at prestigious seminars.

Children and Adolescents

Citizens' children attend schools where the curriculum covers reading, writing and mathematics. After these basics are mastered, study turns to literature (such as Homer), poetry, and music (especially the lyre). Athletics is also an essential element of young people's education. In Sparta, boys as young as 7 years old were brought together under the supervision of an older young man to develop their bodies through grueling physical training. In Athens, young adult citizens (18-20 years old) were required to serve in the military, and their education continued, including courses in politics, rhetoric, and culture. Girls also receive a similar education to boys, but with greater emphasis on dance, gymnastics, and musical achievements, which can be displayed in musical competitions and religious festivals and ceremonies. The ultimate goal of a girl's education is to prepare her for her role in raising a family.

An important part of growing up as a Greek youth involves pedantry of both boys and girls. It is a relationship between an adult and a teenager that includes a sexual relationship but in addition to a physical relationship, the older partner acts as a mentor to the youth and educates them through the secular and practical experiences of the older person.

Labor

The proportion of laborers in Greek society was significantly higher than that of slaves. These are semi-free workers, completely dependent on their employers. The most famous example is Spartan's helot class. These dependents were not the property of a particular citizen—they could not be sold like slaves—and they often lived with their families. Typically, they make arrangements with their employers, such as giving a certain amount of produce to the farmer and keeping the rest for themselves. Sometimes the required quota may be higher or lower, and there may be some additional benefits for the serfs, such as protection and security. However, the serf class or helots could never achieve any real security as they had little or no legal status and were treated harshly and even killed in regular purges (especially in Sparta) to instill a sense of fear in order to ensuring their continued obedience to the ruling class. During certain times, such as wars, helots were required to serve in the army, and if they fought well, they could even break away from their destiny and join intermediate social groups that existed below full citizenship, including children of mixed parenthood (for example: father -Citizen, Mother-Helot).

Slaves

In Greek society, slaves were considered an essential and completely normal part of urban life. Slaves acquired through war and conquest, kidnapping and purchase are only losers in life. Even philosophers like Aristotle made intellectual arguments for the apparent inferiority of slaves, a product of their environment and genetic traits. The Greeks convinced themselves that they had the best circumstances and characteristics, the purest blood, and were therefore born to rule.

It is impossible to say exactly how many slaves (douloi) there were in Greek society and what proportion they represented in the population. For reasons of cost it is unlikely that every citizen had his own slave, but there is no doubt that some citizens owned many slaves. Thus, estimates of the slave population in the Greek world ranged from 15% to 40% of the total population. However, Lysias's defense speech in a court case in Athens, as well as hints from others, such as Demosthenes, strongly suggested that if every citizen did not own slaves, then of course they desired slaves, and becoming a slave owner was considered a measure of social status a way. Slaves were owned not only by private individuals but also by the state, which used slaves for municipal projects such as mining or, in the case of Athens, for the police force.

The relationship between slaves and masters seems to be the same as at any other time in history, with a mixture of contempt, distrust, and abuse on the part of the masters, and contempt, theft, and destruction on the part of the slaves. The source material is always from the perspective of the slave owner, but there are also references to friendship and loyalty in at least some master-slave relationships in literature, especially in Greek comedy. While whipping of slaves is often mentioned in Greek drama, there are also treatises extolling the benefits of kindness and motivation in slave management.

Slaves worked in all fields, with over 20,000 identified occupations. These include home working, agriculture, industrial workshops (for example: making shields, food, clothes and perfumes), mining, transport, retail, banking, entertainment, in the armed forces as a host's attendant or baggage handler, such as on naval ships Rowers, even warriors. Farms were usually small affairs, and even the wealthiest citizens tended to own several small farms rather than one large estate, so slaves were not concentrated in large groups as in later ancient societies.

For slaves, at least for some, there was a glimmer of hope that one day they would be free. In some cases, slaves, especially those working in manufacturing and industry, living separately from their masters and gaining some financial independence could use the money they saved to pay for their freedom. Additionally, slaves in the army were sometimes granted freedom from the country after a victory.

Foreigners

In addition to slaves, most Greco-Poles would have had some free foreigners (xenoi) who chose to relocate from other parts of Greece, the Mediterranean, and the Near East, bringing pottery with them and metalworking skills. These foreigners usually had to register their residence and thus became a recognized class (lower status than full citizens) called metics (metoikoi)). In return for "guest" citizenship, they had to provide local patrons, pay local taxes and sometimes additional taxes, fund small festivals, and even participate in military operations when necessary. Although suspicion and prejudice against foreign "barbarians" often appear in literary sources, in some cases metoikoi did manage to become full citizens after appropriately demonstrating loyalty and devotion to their host country. They then gained equal tax status and the right to own property and land. Their children can also become citizens. However, some states, notably Sparta, sometimes actively discouraged immigration or regularly deported aliens. . Relations between foreigners and local citizens appear to be tense, especially during times of war and economic hardship.