Here is a bit of information from wikipedia:
Social Structure
Only free people could be citizens entitled to the full protection of the law in a city-state. In most city-states, unlike Rome, social prominence did not allow special rights. For example, being born in a certain family generally brought no special priviliges. Sometimes families controlled public religious functions, but this ordinarily did not give any extra power in the government. In Athens, the population was divided into four social classes based on wealth. People could change classes if they made more money. In Sparta, all male citizens were given the title of "equal" if they finished their education. However, Spartan kings who served as the city-state's dual military and religious leaders, came from two families.
Slaves had no power or status. They had the right to have a family and own property, however they had no political rights. By 600 BC chattel slavery had spread in Greece. By the 5th century BC slaves made up one-third of the total population in some city-states. Slaves outside of Sparta almost never revolted because they were made up of too many nationalities and were too scattered to organize.
Most families owned slaves as household servants and laborers, even poor families might have owned one or two slaves. Owners were not allowed to beat or kill their slaves. Owners often promised to free slaves in the future to encourage slaves to work hard. Unlike in Rome, slaves who were freed did not become citizens. Instead, they were mixed into the population of metics, which included people from foreign countries or other city-states who were officially allowed to live in the state.
City-states also legally owned slaves. These public slaves had a larger measure of independence than slaves owned by families, living on their own and performing specialized tasks. In Athens, public slaves were trained to look out for illegal counterfeit coinage, while temple slaves acted as servants of the temple's deity.
Sparta had a special type of slaves called helots. Helots were Greek war captives owned by the state and assigned to families. Helots raised food and did household chores so that women could concentrate on raising strong children while men could devote their time to training as hoplites. Their masters treated them harshly and helots often revolted.
For a long time, the way of life in the Greek city-states remained the same. People living in cities resided in low apartment buildings or single-family homes, depending on their wealth. Residences, public buildings, and temples were situated around the agora. Citizens also lived in small villages and farmhouses scattered across the state's countryside. In Athens, more people lived outside the city walls than inside (it is estimated that from a total population of 400,000 people, 160,000 people lived inside the city, which is a large rate of urbanization for a pre-industrial society).
A common Greek household was simple if compared to a modern one, containing bedrooms, storage rooms, and a kitchen situated around a small inner courtyard. Its average size, about 230 square meters in the 4th century, was much larger than the houses of other ancient civilizations which indicate a better standard of living.
A household consisted of a single set of parents and their children, but generally no relatives. Men were responsible for supporting the family by work or investments in land and commerce. Women were responsible for managing the household's supplies and overseeing slaves, who fetched water in jugs from public fountains, cooked, cleaned, and looked after babies. Men kept separate rooms for entertaining guests because male visitors were not permitted in rooms where women and children spent most of their time. Wealthy men would sometimes invite friends over for a symposium. Light came from olive oil lamps, while heat came from charcoal braziers. Furniture was simple and sparse, which included wooden chairs, tables, and beds.
The majority of Greeks worked in agriculture, probably 80% of the population, which is similar to all pre-industrial civilizations. The soil in Greece is poor and rainfall is very unpredictable, and research suggests the climate has changed little since ancient times, so frequent weeding and turning of soil was needed. Oxen might have helped with ploughing, however most tasks would have been done by hand. The Greek farmer would ideally plan for a surplus of crops to contribute to feasts and to buy pottery, fish, salt and metals.
Ancient Greek food was simple as well. Poor people mainly ate barley porridge flavored with onions, vegetables, and cheese or olive oil. Few people ever ate meat regularly, except for the free distributions from animal sacrifices at state festivals. Sheep when eaten was mutton: "Philochorus [3rd c.] relates that a prohibition was issued at Athens against anyone tasting lamb which had not been shorn.[1] Bakeries sold fresh bread daily, while small stands offered snacks. Wine diluted with water was a favored beverage.
Greek clothing changed little over time. Both men and women wore loose tunics. The tunics often had colorful designs and were worn cinched with a belt. People wore cloaks and hats in cold weather, and in warm weather sandals replaced leather boots. Women wore jewellery and cosmetics - especially powdered lead, which gave them a pale complexion. Men grew beards until Alexander the Great created a vogue for shaving.
Medicine in Ancient Greece was limited if compared to modern medicine. Hippocrates helped separate superstition from medical treatment in the 5th century BC. Herbal remedies were used to reduce pain, and doctors were able to perform some surgery. But they had no cure for infections, so even healthy people could die quickly from disease at any age.
To keep fit and to be ready for military service, men exercised daily. Almost every city-state had at least one gymnasium, a combination exercise building, running track, bathing facility, lecture hall, and park. In most cities (other than Sparta) gymnasia were open only to males, and exercise was taken in the nude. City-state festivals provided great amounts of entertainment. Gods were honored with competitions in music, drama, and poetry. Athenians boasted that their city hosted a festival nearly every other day. Huge Panhellenic festivals were held at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia. Athletes and musicians who won these competitions became rich and famous. The most popular and expensive competition was chariot racing.
2006-06-25 11:47:35
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answer #1
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answered by Iamnotarobot (former believer) 6
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