Trials - Athens - Society Flashcards
define polis
independent (self governing self sufficient) city state - must have an acropolis
What was the structure of Athenian society?
social class was based by wealth
citizenship prized and exclusive - only men w athenian parents and enrolled in their fathers deme (tribe/township) could claim
estimated 3 slaves to every citizen
large difference in status between citizens and non-citizens ( NCs approx. 90% of pop)
What were the social classes?
citizens divided into 4 groups based on their income:
pentacosiomedimnae - wealthiest - produced and sold the equivalent (or more) of 500 bushels of grain per year
hippeis - knights - rich enough to own a horse
zeugitae - usually famers - owned at least one yoke of oxen (or its equivalent)
thetes - poor - served as lightly armed troops in battle or as rowers in the navy
What were demes?
Demes - 10 - tribe leaders looked after their tribes; made decisions about protection and fighting force in their area, local tax collection and matters of local concern (e.g. water and farming)
How were the magistrates chosen and what did they do?
magistrates were chosen by lot
the 9 leading magistrates (archons) + a secretary were drawn from 100 men drawn from the 10 tribes - had to be 1 archon from each tribe
Chief archon dealt w issues w families, widows + orphans + was in charge of preparations for the Great Dionysia
King archon looked after religion (his wife was symbolically married to Dionysos) + the Mysteries
Military archon - responsible for foreigners + some rituals related to going to war
4th archon acted as a secretary
the other six guarded the laws
what were the roles and status of women?
couldn’t be citizens - no rights - couldn’t leave house
status of women depended on their class
they looked after the oikos (household) - look after children, managed slaves and finances etc.
couldn’t be in public without a kyrios (male member of family)
women who had most respect were the priestesses
Who were the hetairai?
intelligent women who mixed freely with men, attended drinking parties, discussed philosophy, drama and politics
Who had the most social freedom (women)?
hetairai (female companions - courtesans)
What were did the poor women do?
poor women had more social freedom- as had to go to market and fountain herself - often ran a small stall at the agora
What were the roles + rights of metics? (metoikoi)
couldn’t own property
could attend courts, theatres and festivals
were permitted to grow rich
had no political rights or legal protection
as they couldn’t own land by law, most were involved in trade and lived in the Piraeus
Who were the metics?
resident aliens (born outside Athens) rarely granted citizenship
largest group of free people (other than cit.s) living in Athens
had to register in with a citizen who became their patron
paid one drachma a month tax
Who were the slaves + what were their rights?
mostly non-greek
no rights
grants of freedom only resulted in metic status
were controlled by force
What was the role of slaves?
used in manufacturing, agriculture and domestic service - work athenian men don’t want to do
most were used to help run a house or business, others were forced to mine for silver and other materials - often died shortly after arriving
were used by everyone - approx. 3 slaves/citizen
were the economic backbone of society
what were the two types of slaves?
greek slaves
often to pay off debts
were often clerks, worked in mints, state govt. documents (like public servants)
could be freed once debt was paid
could act as tutors to the children
foreign slaves
a) Scythian archers - police (showed it was a peaceful city - no recorded incident of major problems)
main job to round up citizens to attend the ecclesia
b) port handlers - worked at piraeus
c) those who worked in Laurium silver mines
were criminals etc.
the mine funded the navy and was important to economy
household slaves - both greek and foreign
cleaned etc.
