Ancient Greece: Social Structure

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Learning Objective

I will learn about the social structure of Ancient Greece.

Assignment Instructions

How was the society of Ancient Greece structured?

Even though democracy is one of Greece’s most important legacies, Ancient Greece was not a land of personal freedom.  There was a well-established class system that controlled Greek life.  At the very top were male citizens, landowners who had many rights and privileges.  At the bottom were female slaves who had so few rights that they couldn’t even marry.

SLAVES

 Slavery was an accepted practice and an important part of the Greek way of life.  Almost 40 percent of Athenians were slaves.  This slave labor force allowed the Ancient Greeks time to pursue politics, philosophy, and the arts.  Slavery in Ancient Greece was not based on race; many slave traders bought and sold prisoners-or-war.  Abandoned and orphaned children were sometimes forced into slavery.  Children of slaves became slaves themselves.  Slaves were considered private property.  They worked in fields, mines, shops, and households. 

HELOTS—NEARLY SLAVES

The city-state of Sparta conquered the lands around it and forced people who lived there to work on their former farmland.  These people were called helots.  They could not be bought or sold, but they could not travel, had few rights, and had to turn over most of their crops to the Spartans.  The Helot population allowed the Spartans to focus on military training.

METICS

Ancient Greek trade brought people from many different areas to the city-states of Greece.  Metics were generally foreign-born free men and women.  They worked as traders, craftsmen, businessmen, and bankers.  They could not own land or vote.  Women metics could become hetaerae, companions for Greek citizens whose wives had to stay home. 

CITIZENS

About 26 percent of Athenians were citizens, but only half of them were male citizens with full rights and privileges.  Female citizens had few rights.  Female citizens could own property but had to give control of their property to a male relative.  Women were expected to stay at home only leaving for special occasions such as funerals and weddings.  Female citizens were married at age 14 or 15 to male citizens who were 30 years or older.  Women sent their household slaves to shop and to run other errands.  Male citizens spent a lot of time out of the house tending to the business of politics and the enjoyment of the arts.

List three interesting facts about each Ancient Greek social class.

 Guidelines

Notes do not have to be written in complete sentences.  The assignment is worth 12 points