Daily Life in Athens

Daily Life in Athens I. Life in Public A. The Business of Men 1. Went to the Agora and talked about philosophy and politics. 2. Find goods at the Agora II. Public Buildings B. temples and Government buildings lined the Agora. 1. A board displayed notices, like new laws and court cases coming up. 2. A certain building was the Headquarter of the army. III. At Home in Athens C. Private Life 1. Throughout Greece private homes were plain and simple. made of mud bricks, and consisted of rooms set around an open courtyard, which was the center of the household 2. They also had simple varieties of foods to choose from. such as bread, cheese, olives, fish, vegetables, and fruit; most Greeks ate little meat D. Women of Athens 1. The women stayed home and the men worked at the Agora. 2. No freedom 3. They ran the household and were responsible for everything at home like children. 4. Called slaves IV. Slavery in Ancient Greece E. Slaves 1. Worked very hard in Greece 2. They were owned by someone else and were common for Athens. F. Who Were the Slaves? 1. Slaves were children of other slaves. 2. A lot of slaves were foreigners. G. The Lives of Slaves 1. Household slaves had the easiest life. 2. They were treated like members of the family. 3. Some could buy their own freedom. 4. There were many different kinds of work. 5. Households could not function well without slaves. 6. Slaves who worked in the mines didn’t live long.

As many as 100,000 slaves lived in Athens—almost one third of the population • Many became enslaved when captured by armies during war or by pirates while traveling on ships • Slaves did many kinds of work, such as farm work, mining silver and other metals, making pottery, constructing buildings, and forging weapons and armor • Greek households depended on slaves to cook, serve food, take care of the children, and weave cloth

Chapter 6 Section 3 Key Terms

Agora- a public market and meeting place in an ancient Greek city; the agora of Athens when spelled with a capital

Athens- a city-state in ancient Greece, the capital of modern day Greece

Slavery- condition of being owned by and forced to work for someone else

Vendor- a seller of goods