Historical Essay Example on Slavery within Greek Society

A focal point of Greek society was its reliance on slaves and the effect the institution of slavery had on Greek thought and actions. By relying so heavily on the work of slaves, Greece was inevitably thrown into a positive feedback loop of perpetuating subjugation and exploiting servitude. Greek society relied on slaves in various facets of their lives, including their sustinence and their safety, and not least their happiness. 

At the bottom of the hierarchy of Greek society were, in general, slaves. Slaves were often reduced to working arduous labors and menial tasks with little or no pay; these tasks were vital to the economy and included agriculture, mining, and chores around the house and acting as house servants. As a result, slaves were looked down upon by almost all other members of Greek society. Homer writes that Zeus “takes half the good out of a man on the day he becomes a slave” (Homer, Odyssey, 17.332) showing that, regardless of how one becomes enslaved, he is automatically made inferior by entering this position. Slaves were treated extremely poorly and often suffered physical and verbal abuse from their masters, with their only enforced protections being security from being sold outside Greece or being killed without reason and other egregious actions. Because of this, slaves were often forced to work in mines and other dangerous conditions. For example, many ships built for Greek forces fighting Persia were funded by selling silver that was mined at Laurium by thousands of slaves. Mines like these were clearly important to the economies of Athens and other Greek city-states, so much so that, during the Peloponnesian War, Sparta convinced over twenty thousand slaves to leave Athenian territories (including the mines at Laurium) and take refuge in a city they set up. Around the same time, Athens attempted to convince Helots - the Spartan equivalent of a slave - to flee Spartan rule, where they were often used to tend to crops while the Spartans were away from their homes and farms. 

Slavery - and the threat of enslavement - was a major driving force behind military tactics. As evidenced by Athenian negotiations with Melos, the threat of slavery was enough of a driving factor to turn the Melian representatives away from the Athenian parley and towards war, even while greatly outnumbered (Thucydides 5.84). Similarly, the Athenians were not able to accept the terms proposed by the Melians during their conference, and were set on war and thus, acquiring more people to be used as slaves. This fear of being conquered and enslaved was a constant thought of all Greek men regardless of wealth or strength (Cuffel 325). During the Peloponnesian War, Athens was in need of men to break through a Spartan blockade. Athens voted to send a great number of free men as well as slaves to break this blockade and, after succeeding, freed any slaves that were sent. Given that the vast majority of slaves in Athens at this time were foreigners from other areas of Greece or surrounding territories of the Mediterranean, the slaves were probably forced to fight by the Athenian government. 

In addition to the Athenians, Sparta was also a society that used slavery to its military advantage. Sparta had a population of about nine to ten thousand citizens and about seventy thousand slaves. The Spartans were raised in such a way that they were physically dominate men, able to effectively subdue many others by force if needed. Similar to the Athenians in the Peloponnesian War, Spartans would often force their slaves, or Helots, to join them in battle. One instance, at the battle of Plataea in 479 BCE, there was a ratio of about seven Helots per one Spartan fighting against the forces of Xerxes I. This further emphasizes how reliant the Spartans were on using enslaved people to conquer territories, only to further subjugate those people as well; this was often justified by assuming the position that anyone that was enslaved deserved to be so, because they were “intrinsically inferior to the free man” (Cuffel 339). Spartans would also use slaves to their military advantage when they had suffered too many losses; by allowing slaves to marry widows that had lost their husbands at war, the Spartans made it seem like they had more soldiers than they did. These freemen weren’t allowed the full rights most other Spartan citizens had, and were called “Epeunaktoi” or ones who “married in” (Atheneus 6: The Banqueting Sophists, W#80) The simple act of giving these men a specific name further shows how the Greeks treated these former slaves with less respect than any other free men; it continues to treat them as outsiders, even after being incorporated into society.

The Greeks also relied on slaves to sustain their happiness by treating them as disposable objects, using them as sexual outlets or mocking them in plays. The Greeks tended to marry into families and have kids to continue the bloodline, but often implored the services of prostitutes or their own household slaves to have sex with; masters could even give slaves to others for the purpose of using them as a sexual partner. Prositutues were almost always slaves, and would sometimes be represented as being a free woman - which would allow them to charge more. There were many types of prostitutes, including the “cheap” ones that would only perform sexual acts, and more expensive ones, or “hetairai,” that would act as companions; these slaves would keep both unmarried and married men company. Because of this, female slaves were more often freed than male slaves, as masters or wealthy men would often free their mistress.  In addition, slaves were important parts of plays, often serving as comedic relief by being hit or abused. This further reinforces the custom of abusing slaves and suffering no repercussions, as doing it in plays will desensitize viewers to it.

In summary, slavery was a constant influence on Greek life, influencing how they were raised, how they acted, and how they thought. By continuing to expand Greek territory and enslave conquered people, the Greeks were further justifying their need for - and use of - slaves. Without slaves, life in Greece would have been extremely different, with free men being forced to do all the menial and onerous tasks that slaves were responsible for.