Greek Society & Economy

1. Greek Society & Economy Chapter 8 Section 2

2. Society • All Greeks spoke the same language and worshiped many of the same gods. • All city-states allowed slavery and had a class system. • Some of the differences were the types of governments, economics, and way the society was organized, as well as customs and traditions.

3. Women in Ancient Greece • Depending on what city-state a women lived in, her rights would be different. • Spartan women had lots of freedom, whereas Athens women had little rights. • Typical Greek family was husband, wife, and children. • Men controlled the family, wealthier women stayed home to care for the family while poorer women worked on farms or sold goods at the market. • Women did have some public roles in religious ceremonies. • Women supervised the household, raised children, kept track of money & spending & managed slaves as well as made clothing.

4. Spartan Woman • Had more freedom • Could sell property • Were educated and trained in sports

5. Greek Society • Had a complex class system with rich landowners at the top and slaves at the bottom. • Early city-states were controlled by aristocrats or kings. Some aristocrats claimed to be descended from gods. • Most of their wealth came from owning large plots of land and having slaves grow the corps. • All citizens are allowed to vote. • Large landowners, though wealthy, made up only a small majority of the population. • Small farmers rarely had enough crops or livestock to create a surplus.

6. Other people that lived in Greece were merchants (metics), artisans, landless poor. • Slaves in Greek times were acquired in various ways. Some are prisoners of war, some are bought from slave traders, or sold into slavery by their families. • Parents that couldn’t care for their children would abandon them and they would become slaves. • Many slaves in Greek city-states were Greek themselves. • By 500BC slavery made up more than 1/3 of the population. The slaves did a lot of jobs around Greece such as cooking, cleaning, child care, teaching, farming, ship work, or in mines.

7. Economic Expansion • Some city-states gained land and resources by conquering their neighbors. • Other city-states, like Sparta, had no interest in trade. They just took land by force. The Messenians were forced to grow crops for the Spartans. • The captive workforce freed Spartan men from farming so they could be part of the professional army. • Around 700BC colonization became another solution to the population problems (such as over population and land hunger) • Ideal spot for a colony was the coast so they could dock their boats and continue to trade. • By 500BC there were hundreds of Greek colonies that stretched from Russia all the way to west Spain.

8. First Coins • ~650BC Kings in Lydia begin making the world’s first gold and silver coins. • The coins led to an economic revolution. • Coins of standard size and value gradually replaced the old bartering system. With coins, trade became easier. • Greeks learned about coins from trading with Lydia. • Each city-state stamped its coins with symbols of the city or an image of the god or goddess who protected the city. Athens coins were stamped with an owl, the bird associated with Athena.