Slavery in Ancient Greece

Slavery was quite prominent in ancient Greece. Slaves were found in all the places. Slaves were taken as domestic servants, factory workers, shopkeepers, ships crew, mine workers, and also as farm workers. Slaves were abundant. We can say they in ancient Greece there were more slaves than freemen.

What are the ways in which a person was taken as a slave in ancient Greece?
People became slaves in various ways. Some of the ways are:

1. If a child was born into a family of slaves he was naturally a slave from birth.
2. The prisoners of war were often taken as slaves.
3. Sometimes people abandoned children in some deserted place within the city or near the city gates. They either died or they were claimed by trespassers. Some of them took up these infants and employed them as slaves. This was quite a common occurrence in ancient Greece.
4. If the family required money, they would sell a family member as a slave.

In most cases, the daughter of a family was sold off for ransoms. The boys were kept to look after farming, and also to help out with household chores. Kidnapping was also in vogue. Children were kidnapped and were sold as slaves.

What treatments did the slaves receive in the hands of the masters?
The treatment of slaves was determined by what task they were assigned to perform. If a slave had to work at the household he was considered to be fortunate. He was treated as a person belonging to the family. They could participate in some rituals of the family like sacrifice. A woman belonging to the household always supervised the activity of the slave. She made sure that the slave performed work accurately and provide his best service.

A well to do family could have ten to twenty slaves. They were the property of their masters. Their masters assigned them names by which they were called. They had to discard their own names. Those who worked in the mines and in the ship were treated miserably. They had to work in very poor conditions and the hardship often took a toll on their lives. They often took to crimes because of what they were made to go through. They underwent death sentences for these activities. The price that the slaves were sold for was determined by their age, looks, physical strength etc.

Ancient Greek Life History / Ancient Greece Facts for Kids

We owe a lot to Ancient Greek Civilization. History of ancient Greece is a fascinating. On this site, we have given information on various ancient Greek life aspects - Arts, Boys and Girls, Architecture, Dancing, Gods, Myths, Medicine, Inventions, Houses, Government, Religions, Wars, Politics, Weapons and ancient Greece Cities.