Women and Slaves
In Athens, only men were considered citizens. That means that women and slaves were treated more unfairly and had less rights than men did. Women could not own or inherit property, attend any assemblies, and sometimes didn’t even have the right to choose their own husbands! Many had no jobs, but stayed home and did work around the house. Slaves were treated even more unfairly. They were either born into slavery or were captured in wars. They had no choice about if they wanted to be a slave or not. Most jobs require a lot of skill. Some jobs they had to do were cleaning the house of tutoring children. Others were craftsmen or farmers. Some unlucky slaves worked in the Silver Mines. They worked 10 or more hours a day in tunnels that were 300 feet below the surface. There was barely any air and were most of the time whipped if they stopped.
Education
In Athens, education is very valued and important. They thought that having good, educated people was the main goal. Boys were taught until ages 6-7 at home by their mothers or slaves. From ages 7-14, boys went to school. They went to school until the age of 18, then go off for military training. Girls got no time in school and were usually married by age 15. They were not taught to read or write and spent most of their days helping their mothers at home or in the kitchen.
Government
Athens became a democracy at around 500 B.C.E. Only men were allowed to be free citizens back then. Any man over age 18 that was born in Athens is a citizen. Slaves and women were not considered citizens no matter old they were. Every day, a group called the Council of 500 met and talked. They ran day-to-day businesses and suggested new laws. These laws had to be approved by a bigger group called the Assembly. To have an Assembly meeting, at least 6,000 people had to be present or else slaves ran around with ropes dipped in red paint and gathered up people to take part. Every citizen had the right to speak at these meetings. Every speaker was timed and stopped after a certain amount of time.