Greek Society and Economy Chapter 10 Section 2

Family Life The typical Greek family consisted of husband, wife, and children. As head of the house, the man had control over his family. Poorer women worked outdoors on farms or sold goods in markets. But in city-states like Athens, women from richer families were expected to stay at home while the men took part in public life. Although women did play public roles in religious ceremonies, for the most part their lives were restricted.

Family Life In most Greek homes, women supervised the household, raised the children, kept track of money and spending, and managed the slaves. Many Greek women made most or all of the clothing family members needed. They had to spin wool or flax into yarn, weave fabric, and sew or knit the clothes. Greek women also supervised the preparation of meals.

Sparta Women In Sparta, women enjoyed more rights and freedoms than did women in other city-states. Spartan women could sell their property. Like their brothers, Spartan girls were educated and trained in sports. Such Spartan customs shocked the Greeks of other city-states.

Greek Society Ancient Greek society had a complex class system, with rich landowners at the top and slaves at the bottom. Between these two extremes were ranked the small landowners, merchants, and artisans, and the landless poor of Greek society.

The Aristocracy Early city-states were controlled by aristocrats or kings. Some aristocrats claimed decent from kings or gods. They believed this gave them the right to hold political power. Their wealth came from owning large plots of land, where they raised crops and livestock. Slaves did most of the work on these estates. This left aristocrats with free time for politics and leisure activities.

Citizens and Non-citizens Society was divided between citizens, mostly adult males, and non-citizens, whose rights were limited. All citizens had the right to vote. Farmers who owned large areas of land enjoyed a relatively high status, or rank in society. Although such landowners were rich, they made up only a minority of citizens. Many more citizens were small farmers, farmers who owned smaller plots of land. Small farmers rarely had enough land to raise livestock or produce a food surplus.

Citizens and Non-citizens On a lower social scale were the tenant farmers, people who paid rent, either in money or crops, to grow crops on another person’s land. These farmers were called thetes. Merchants and artisans were often resident aliens, or metics. A metic might be a Greek from another city-state or someone who was not Greek. Metics were non-citizens. Although they were free, they enjoyed fewer rights than the nativeborn men of the polis.

Slaves The lowest class in Greek society was made of slaves. Slaves were acquired in various ways. Most were prisoners of war. Others were bought from slave traders or sold into slavery by their families. Sometimes parents who could not care for their children abandoned them. These children often became slaves. Most slaves in the Greek city-states came from other lands.

Slaves By 500 B.C.E., slavery was widespread in Greece. In some city-states, slaves made up one-third of the population. Slaves did many jobs in Greek society. Household slaves cooked, cleaned, and took care of children. Some slaves were teachers. Others worked on farms, ships, or in mines. Their labor helped the Greek economy grow. Slaves had no legal rights and could be punished harshly by their owners. Slaves were sometimes worked to death under cruel conditions

Conquest Some city-states obtained more land and resources by conquering their neighbors. Sparta, located on the Peloponnesian Peninsula, decided not to depend on trade for growth. Spartan troops conquered the neighboring city-state of Messenia and turned its conquered people into non-free laborers. The Messenians were forced to raise crops for the Spartans.

Conquest This captive workforce freed Spartan men from their farming chores. So the Spartans were able to form a professional army that was the most feared in Greece. By the mid-500s B.C.E., Sparta controlled most of the Peloponnesian Peninsula.

Colonization Migration, moving to a new area, was another solution to the population problem. Beginning in the 700 B.C.E., new waves of Greek colonists sailed off to find new places to settle. Leaving home was not an easy decision. Colonists faced danger and uncertainty on the voyage and the challenge of building new home.

Colonization The ideal site for a colony was on the coast. There, the settlers could anchor their ships. They could also set up a port for trading with other ports. The best spot would have good land for farming. It needed to be near important resources such as timber or minerals that could be exported. Greek colonists brought flame from home to light fires in the new colony. The flame symbolized their ties to their old city-state.

Colonization Colonists often traded with the home city. But most colonists never returned home. They made new lives in their new city-state. By 500 B.C.E., there hundreds of Greek colonies around the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. They stretched from the shores of what is now Russia all the way west to Spain.

The First Coins Trade led to an important new development. Around 650 B.C.E., the kings of Lydia began making the world’s first gold and silver coins. Lydia was in present-day Turkey, near the city-states of Ionia. Using coins led to a kind of economic revolution. Coins of standard size and value gradually replaced the old bartering system, in which some goods would be traded for other goods. Thanks to the use of coins, trading became a lot easier.

The First Coins Greeks learned about coins from trading with Lydia. Several city-states set up their own mints, or places where coins are made. Each city-state stamped its coins with symbols of the city or an image of the god or goddess who protected the city. The coins of Athens, for instance, were marked with an owl. This bird was associated with Athena, the goddess for who Athens was named.

Athens Grows Rich Trade made the city-state of Athens rich. Athens had very little farmland, but it did have an excellent port called Piraeus, three miles away. The Athenians relied on commerce to meet their needs for food and other resources. For example, Athenians came to rely on grain that was shipped from ports on the Black Sea.

Athens Grows Rich To pay for the grain, Athenian workshops produced pottery, jewelry, and other trade goods. These products, along with olive oil and wine, were also shipped to other lands. Ships returned to Athens with timber, minerals, and luxury goods such as ivory, glass, and perfume. Streets and markets bustled with activity.

The Effects of Expansion Greek colonization affected both trade and culture. Just as colonization spread Greek culture and goods across the Mediterranean world, it also drew new customs and ideas back to Greece. As a result, cultural borrowing increased throughout the Mediterranean region. The use of coins and the Greek alphabet were both inspired by the cultures of Asia Minor.

The Effects of Expansion The establishment of colonies had economic effects on Greece. Many colonies became prosperous, or successful. The colonies carried on an active trade with Greece. They also introduced mainland Greeks to new goods from foreign lands. Merchants grew rich from the increased trade. They built large merchant fleets, or groups of ships, that crossed the Mediterranean.

The Effects of Expansion As their wealth increased, merchants began to play to pay a greater role in the life of Greek city-states. The new wealth of the city-states also brought about changes in how the city-states were governed.