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Slavery of Athens and Sparta
HOW DID slavery impact the society socially
Slavery of Athens and Sparta
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Slavery has been a major component of human civilization all throughout history. People turn to slavery for many reasons, such as fear of different ethnicities and fear that these new foreign people will take over land that is not theirs. The conditions under which slaves work and live varies greatly by the time and location of which the slaves lived. Slaves play a major role in their society and contribute greatly to their communities, often forming one of the largest masses of the population. Though the accuracy of the information from primary sources may be tainted with exaggeration and bias, it is easy to deduce from primary works the treatment of slaves and the working and living conditions surrounding them. According to many sources, slavery conditions in Ancient Athenian society were far better than those in Sparta.
The definition of the word slavery encompasses a vast array of connotations, meanings, and values; in order understand slavery conditions in Athens and Sparta, it is important to decipher exactly what the word both means and implies. For all intents and purposes, in this essay the word slavery will refer to the non-citizen people of both Athens and Sparta who are enslaved by either the state or an individual person, depending on the state they live in. Slaves are the lowest class of citizens in each of the two states, and are often used for hard labour and general housekeeping, depending on the city in which they live. Forming the largest number of people in the community, slaves play a vital role in the economy of their state.
Athenian government is democratic, and its citizens play a major role in shaping the government. Athenian ‘citizens’ are comprised only of adult males; women, children, metics, and slave...
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...r portrait of both Spartan and Athenian slavery customs. In contrast to citizens, Athenian slaves do not lead particularly different lives; they do the same jobs, sleep in the same place, and eat the same foods. It is because of this degree of equality that Athenian slaves- in most cases- are better off than Spartan slaves.
Works Cited
Demosthenes. The Orations of Demosthenes. Ed. Kennedy, Charles Rann. Trans. Kennedy, Charles Rann. London: 1877. Web.
Hesiod. Works and Days. Trans. Wender, Dorothea. London: Penguin, 1973. Print
Plutarch. Life of Lycurgus. Trans. Dryden, John. The Internet Classics Archive. 1 December 2013
Westermann, William. The Slave Systems of Greek and Roman Antiquity. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1955. Web. 12 November, 2013.
Xenophon. Constitution of the Athenians. Marr, J. L., Rhodes, P. J. New York: Oxford, 2008. Print.
In comparing the Ancient Athenian system of government, and the Modern Day American political system, there are many similarities. In Ancient Athens, democracy was developed in response to a long history of oppressive rulers who used their position of power for their own benefit. Ancient Athenians sought a government where all citizens were considered equal under the eyes of the law, and all had a fair say in the running of their country. Following a series
During the era of 1450-1750 CE, the characteristics of human slavery throughout the world started as a system of assistance gained from the capturing of enemy soldiers and adopting them into the victors society, but changed to a large trafficking business reaching overseas, and then to inherited positions gained from being born into slavery. However, throughout this time period, slavery continued to center in Africa and the Middle East, and remained a prime source of human labor in every society, due to their ability to be easily obtained and cheaply managed. Before the Atlantic Slave Trade, most slaves were acquired through capturing soldiers and citizens following a military skirmage, and were not viewed as the lowest class of citizens.
The social structure of Sparta consisted of the Helots, Perioikoi and Spartiates. Enslaved in the wars of Messenia were the Helots, considered as the property of the state, and released on rare occasion as Neodamodeis ’new citizens’. Tyrtaeus’ compares the enslaved Helots to ’donkeys worn down by heavy loads’, a downtrodden minority group with no great power. However, Thucydides accounts for their de-facto influence in Spartan administration, with ’most of their decisions with a view to precautions against the Helots. Finley supports this assessment, identifying certain advantages Helots held over other slave groups in this era. The basic rights of the Helots included the right to their own possessions; the ability to retain a percentage of their crop; and ’in general, all the normal human institutions except their freedom’. Rights afforded may have been in response to fears of a Helot uprising, as their obedience was paramount to a functional Spartan society, and vastly outnumbered the Spartan
The Greeks have been known for their hospitality and politeness, especially when treating guests- whether strangers or not. This is demonstrated near the beginning of the Odyssey when Telemachus went to Pylos to visit Nestor. Nestor, not knowing who he was taking into his home as guests, treated them with great honor and respect. "Now is the time," he said, "for a few questions, now that our young guests have enjoyed their dinner. Who are you, strangers? Where are you sailing from, and where to, down the highways of sea water (p 299)?" If ever Greeks were to serve themselves before their guests or even a little better than them, then they were breaking the most basic of all Greek customs, for this tradition of hospitality was passed down from generation to generation, and breaking it would bring embarrassment and dishonor upon the home.
When it comes to hospitality, Greeks stand atop the list of all cultures for their generosity and politeness towards strangers. “Philoxenia” is the Greek word for “the love of strangers”. Philoxenia is demonstrated in several different cases in Homer’s The Odyssey. According to Greek customs, hospitality is respected by the immortal gods. If the Greek code of hospitality is not performed correctly, or not performed at all, the consequences may be very severe, gods may unleash their wrath to whoever does not follow this tradition of thoughtfulness. Homer suggests both positive and negative commentary on his own world through the examples of hospitalities that provide The Odyssey.
The studied passage indicates a clear division of classes: the free men, those excluded from political rights, the serfs and the slaves. The question of ‘serfdom’ in ancient Greece remains a disputable concept among scholars, and there is no wide consensus that serfs and slaves were clear-cut categories in Gortyn – but it quite probable that the terms were used to distinguish the ‘home-grown’ servile population from the foreign chattel-slaves. Not surprisingly, the text confirms that slaves had fewer rights than free men, but also indicates that lower-status people were granted protection under the law against the most severe abuses – in sharp contrast with slavery practices in Athens for instance. These legal provisions might be explained by the fact that the servile population was rather ‘home-grown’ than from foreign origin – and it can be argued that the development of chattel-slavery involved a progressive diminution of the rights of those who became slaves. In any case, this is a strong indication that slavery practices differ from one city-state to another, meaning that conclusions derived from the Gortyn code should not be too quickly
Post, D. G. (2001, 07 02). Temple Universtiy. Retrieved 07 07, 2010, from Words Fitly Spoken: http://www.temple.edu/lawschool/dpost/slavery.PDF
It is surprising indeed that Even today, tyrannies and dictatorships exist in the world when more than two and a half thousand years ago the ancient Athenians had developed a functional and direct form of democracy. What contributed to this remarkable achievement and how it changed the socio-political. scene in Athens is what will be considered in this paper. The paper will have three sections, each detailing the various stages. of political development from the kings of Attica to the time of Pericles when, in its golden age, Athens was at the height of its. imperial power.
Hospitality today is nothing like it was in Ancient Greece. Today, good hospitality is being friendly and respectful to a guest. In Ancient Greece, hospitality was something people had to do, or face the wrath of Zeus. Zeus’s law of hospitality is that any stranger that comes to your home, the host must be willing to feed, entertain, and maybe offer them a bath and anything else they might be in need of without question until those things had been given, and also give them a parting gift. The guest, in turn, would not be a burden in any way. In The Odyssey, most people follow the rules of hospitality, but there are others who do not. The Greek concept of xenia shows the serious priority the Greeks place on the laws of the gods.
Athens and Sparta are both infamous Greek city states. Both could not be more different, yet similar in the way they governed their own city state. Another, main difference was the women’s rights and roles in the system. Athenian and Spartan women both were considered to be second to their male counterparts. Spartan women had more rights than Athenian women. Through, research realizing that the Spartan women were slightly greater role than Athenian women.
Far removed from our individualistic society today is the ancient Greece portrayed in The Odyssey, by Homer, where hospitality and good will are the way of things. As decreed by Zeus himself, those who wish the favor of the Gods must welcome foreign and domestic with hospitality. A man was supposed to offer the best of his food, his home, and his knowledge before ever asking for his guest’s name or why he was there. There is a sense that those of high status are the main givers of hospitality, but they are not the only ones commanded to offer hospitality. Homer emphasizes hospitality from everyone during Telemachus’ and Odysseus’ journeys, using a man’s xenos, host/guest relationships, with his guest to infer his integrity and character. If a man isn’t pure, then he doesn’t show hospitality and Homer makes sure that man is put in his proper place through the vengeance of those he has wronged.
The march towards developing a democratic society is often obstructed with societal unrest due to the influence of the status quo on the instruments of power. Before the rule of Solon, Athens underwent this same rule, as there was much discontent among the social classes in Athens. The society suffered financial disparity that often was the trigger for the war among the rich and poor in the society. This was a major factor that forced Solon into power to institute policies that would see a reformed Athens. By so doing, the society was looking for an avenue that would guarantee democracy and a society that is fair for everyone. The city-state of Athens was the epicenter of the revolution for the Athenian democracy during the fifth century BC. In the Athenian democracy, the electorate voted for the legislation of bills instead of a direct democracy where the electorates are tasked with electing representatives who later developed the bill. Among the first people who made significant contributions to the development of the Athenian democracy were Solon (594 BC), Cleisthenes (508/7 BC), Pericles (495 – 429 BC) and Ephialtes (462 BC). Pericles was the longest serving democratic leader who contributed much development in democracy in the city. This paper will give an account of the age of the Pericles.
The experiences of enslaved women differed from the experience of enslaved men in ancient Rome; slavery within ancient Rome can be traced back to the first century BCE and was based primarily on the chattel slave system. Slavery within the ancient roman society was highly normalised as it was considered a part of roman culture. Slavery within ancient Rome was so heavily normalised that it is considered to be described as a “slave society” Joshel (2010, p. 6) states that “For slaves living in the Roman world, there was no outside – no place without slavery and no movement that declared slavery wrong. Slavery was a normal part of life, and this was true not only for the Romans but for every neighbouring ancient culture”. Not only was slavery considered a normal part of Roman life, but it affected a great proportion of the Roman population. According to historian Walter Scheidel (2007, p. 6) “ There were somewhere between 5 to 8 million slaves in the Roman empire, some 250,000 to 400,000 new slaves were required every year to maintain the numbers”. A majority of these figures were men, children and - women; either being enslaved through birth, kidnapping or captured through war. Roman slaves were not seen as victims nor was slavery considered to be a crime at that time, as slavery was considered to be to a ‘natural law of the nations’ as stated by Joshel (2010, p.6) “For the Roman lawyer, slavery is not a crime, and the enslaved are not victims; rather, as Gaius and other Roman jurists nations. Natural law applies to all animals, not only human beings, but it concerns little more than the union of male and female, procreation of children, and their rearing”. With an estimated 5 to 8 million slaves within the Roman Empire, whether...
Understanding what hospitality meant to the ancient Greek Gods, It’s safe to say they were serious about it. They thought that, if they didn’t provide hospitality to others that they’ll be punished my Gods or even killed for not showing Xenia. The Greeks had to rely on the hospitality of others for food, shelter, and protection. They welcomed travelers that were traveling alone, into their home and provided services for them. The travelers, thank them for their hospitality by bringing gifts and exchanging them with the Greeks. That was a way for them to show, they appreciated their hospitality. In book XXII, the suitors were abusing the hospitality to the point where they took over. They wasn’t taking it serious, because Odysseus wasn’t around. Odysseus shows up and,
"Plutarch, The Spartacus Slave War" In Spartacus And Slave Wars, ed. Brent D. Shaw (Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2001) 131-138