Slavery in Athens

Slavery in Athens was crucial to the political fabric of Athens, allowing the Athenian masters to devote their time to a political career. Socially, slavery allowed the rich to fraternize more, giving them more leisure time. They were also often comic heroes of Athenian plays and this perhaps shows some fondness towards slaves. Economically, their roles are harder to judge, however, Athenian economy was somewhat reliant on their slaves but slavery was not the most crucial part, though many would have been inconvenienced.
The Greeks considered it normal and right to keep non-Greeks as slaves. This idea was questioned by a few individuals at the end of the fifth century, but in the fourth century the philosopher Aristotle answered them with his theory of "natural slavery": "Well it is clear that there are some who are naturally free or naturally slaves" [Aristotle, Politics I.5]. For them, slavery is both a necessary system and a moral one. Slaves were on the very margins of human society, classed among "living tools".
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