What was life like for slaves in ancient Greece?
Enslaved people who lived and largely worked independently of their masters were those least likely to feel the iron rod of discipline. Athenian slaves, too, could be physically punished and even tortured, and enslaved people elsewhere were also subject to beatings.
What was life like for the slaves?
Plantation slaves lived in small shacks with a dirt floor and little or no furniture. Life on large plantations with a cruel overseer was oftentimes the worst. However, work for a small farm owner who was not doing well could mean not being fed. The stories about cruel overseers were certainly true in some cases.
What were slaves called in ancient Greece?
helots
In Sparta, there were state-owned slaves called helots. Helots were assigned to work a certain piece of land. They were also forced to give part of what they grew to the state. At times, helots outnumbered the free Spartans by twenty to one.
What did male slaves do in ancient Greece?
Many slaves worked and lived in their masters’ house, doing all the housework and, in many cases, tending to the family’s children. Male slaves did the shopping for the household. If they lived and worked independently, they made periodic payments for their masters.
What kinds of work did slaves do in ancient Greece?
The principal use of slaves was in agriculture, but they were also used in stone quarries or mines, and as domestic servants.
What did Greek slaves wear?
Exomis. The exomis was a tunic which left the right arm and shoulder bare. It was worn by slaves and the working classes.
What kind of food did the slaves eat?
Weekly food rations — usually corn meal, lard, some meat, molasses, peas, greens, and flour — were distributed every Saturday. Vegetable patches or gardens, if permitted by the owner, supplied fresh produce to add to the rations. Morning meals were prepared and consumed at daybreak in the slaves’ cabins.
Did slaves cook in ancient Greece?
Female slaves served as maids, nurses and cooks, and there were craftsmen, artists, musicians and others who were enslaved but could live a decent life and earn income as well. Craftsmen who worked with their masters lived in their own quarters and earned their income at free will.
What did slaves eat in ancient Greece?
Some were sent to row on Greek ships and spent the rest of their lives inside without any sunlight or fresh air, eating nothing but bread and drinking nothing but water. Likewise, slaves were also sent to work in mines, and they might live only two or three years before the lead, a poisonous material, killed them.
What did female wear in ancient Greece?
Typical Clothing for Women The typical garment worn by women in Ancient Greece was a long tunic called the peplos. The peplos was a long piece of cloth that was fastened about the waist with a belt. Part of the peplos was folded down over the belt to make it appear as if it was two pieces of clothing.