Athenian Society in the 5th Century BC: Citizens, Metics, and Slaves

Athenian Society in the 5th Century BC

In 5th century BC Athenian society, there were three distinct classes:

Citizens

This class was composed of free adult males who were children of Athenian parents during the time of Pericles (5th century BC). Citizens constituted the core of privileged people who possessed full political rights and were the only ones who could possess or acquire land in Attica.

In return, citizens were obliged to pay taxes, abide by and comply with all laws, and be mobilized for war. Among the citizens, there were significant differences in their wealth: first, members of noble families and then the townspeople formed by small farmers, traders, artisans, and sailors.

Metics

Metics means "cohabitation." Foreigners were free and could engage in economic activities and participate in religious festivities. In turn, they paid a residence tax and had the same financial and military obligations as distinguished citizens. The rewards, in turn, were always generous, helping the state with money and credit, in addition to their blood, and they showed absolute fidelity in both good times and in difficult circumstances.

Slaves

The status of a slave was the same throughout Greece. Slavery was an institution supported by the entire society, including the slaves themselves, and admitted as a natural consequence of a war right internationally recognized and accepted by all peoples: the victors were entitled not only to the vanquished goods but also to its people. Also, a free man could become a slave.

They were slaves, finally, the children of slaves or newborns abandoned by their parents, collected, and raised by others. Slaves were individuals without political and civil rights. The owners could dispose of them as they wanted, but it was punished to kill or beat the slave of another. Owners could be deprived of their slaves. Slaves did the jobs entrusted to them by their owners, publicly, and those that had a miserable life were the workers in mines, where few survived. They could gain freedom by a ransom paid by the very slave, sometimes performed with his savings of years, by grants from the owner in payment for his services, through a will, or by declaration or services to the state.