Generally speaking, slavery was an integral part of ancient Greece and and the ancient world. In the stricktly structured Greek society, the thousands of slaves formed the base of the social pyramid. and were often treated as "talking tools" (instrummenta vocalia) as Marcus Terentius Varro, the Roman polymath characterized them. Aristotle on the other hand described them as "living property."
Each free citizen had at least one slave at his disposal. Slaves in Athens included both Greeks and non-Greeks who were either prisoners of war or had lost their freedom due to poor economic conditions. The majority of slaves worked at their owner's house or workshop.
Slaves had no political rights. Their freedom was limited in participation in specific religous festivals.
Of course some owners afforded their slaves much greater amount of independence of what was deemed feasable. In general, however, slaves had the right to tesdtify as witnesses in the democratic city's court system.
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