Work - urban and rural

Most people in ancient Greece had an occupation. The majority of occupations were found in the cities. Most rural work was difficult as fertile land on the Greek peninsula was hard to come by.

Urban work

Work in the cities revolved around the agora, an open market place. In most cities, the agora was a square lined with trees and surrounded by buildings. It was an open area where people could meet, chat and do business. Refer Image1

Most urban work that took place in the agora was related to trade. Anything could be bought or sold from pottery, food, furniture and jewellery. Livestock and slaves were also sold.

Small shops were set up around the agora. Local farmers could travel from the country to sell their produce. Fresh foods such as meat and fish were displayed on cool marble slabs.
There were also tradesmen such as barbers and shoe repairers who offered their services to people in the agora.

The Greeks had a cash economy. They traded with coins. Most city states minted their own coins. In most agora in Greece, there were ten officials to check the weights and measures of coins to make sure all coins were of the same standard. Some traders attempted to use counterfeit coins, or coins not made entirely of gold or silver. These officials stopped any counterfeit money from being traded. There were also officials appointed to check the quality of goods in the agora. Refer Image2

The ancient Greeks had many crafts and trades. Potters made clay vessels and painted them with beautiful designs. Pots and vases came in many different sizes and had many different uses, drinking and wine-mixing jugs, oil and storage pots, even grain transporting pots. Athenian pottery reached its height of sophistication in design and decoration in the 5th century. There were two main styles of pottery decoration, red-figure and black-figure vases. When a clay pot was fired, the areas that were designed to be black were painted in black clay.

Red-figure pots were painted black with the figures and designs left bare. When a pot was fired, the uncovered sections would turn red, creating either a black- or red-figure vase. Decorations varied from Oriental styles featuring lions and flower motifs to scenes from popular mythology and geometric designs.

There were also craftsmen who specialised in sculpture, painting, inscribing and building. These craftsmen found work in constructing and decorating temples, making pieces for private consumers and making pieces for international trade.

Greek craftsmen were skilled in metalworking. They made weapons and jewellery in bronze, gold, silver and iron. The Greeks developed a sophisticated mining system. Unlike the slave mines of the Romans, the Greeks built safer and worker-friendly mines. Archaeologists have discovered Greek mines that included pillars of rock left in place to hold up the roof of the mine.

Tradesmen and craftsmen worked in a specific section of the city. In Athens, this area was called the kerameikos. Some craftsmen were employed in small factories, some worked independently, depending on the size of the city.

There were some urban occupations that Greeks disliked. Sausage sellers and tanners were frequently made fun of in Athenian comedy. Sausage sellers were considered cheats and poor men. Tanners were associated with the smell and labour involved in their work. They took the hides of animals and dried them in the sun. The tanners then rubbed oil into the dried hides to help make the leather supple. It was a messy and smelly job.

Wealthy Greeks often did not have to work, and were able to spend their time at leisure reading, discussing philosophy, engaging in politics or involved in organising religious worship. Some wealthy Greeks owned factories. The Athenian politician Cleon owned a tanning factory. His opponents often made fun of him and used this messy occupation against him in political debates.

Rural work

Good farmland was hard to acquire in Greece. The peninsula was divided by mountains and small rivers. The soil was laced with limestone, leaving it dry and infertile.

The areas of Greece best suited for farming were limited to valleys, plains and coastal land. The Greeks used the land as best they could, farming the land that was able to be farmed and using the mountains and infertile land as grazing for sheep and goats.

In some areas, farmland was so poor it could only produce enough food for a small family. In the plains around Sparta, the land yielded enough crops to support the entire polis (city state). Farmers who could grow enough produce would travel to the nearest city and trade their grain for other products.

The agricultural year began in October when grain was sown. By April and May of the next year, the crops were ready to be harvested. After the grain had been collected, the land was left unplanted so that the soil could recuperate. Refer Image3

Wheat, emmer and barley were planted. These were the staple crops used to make bread and porridge, an important part of the Greek diet. Olives and grapes were also important crops. The climate was well suited to the cultivation of olives and grapes. Olive trees and grape vines flourished for a long time with minimum upkeep. Olives were eaten, used in cooking, and were crushed to make oil. In the ancient world, olive oil was used more widely than in modern times. It was used in medicine, lighting, cooking and even cosmetics. Greek olive oil was a prized commodity in ancient trade.

Grapes were eaten and made into wine. Greek wine was also popular in the ancient world. The ancient Greeks drank wine mixed with water. People who drank their wine undiluted were considered barbarians.

The ancient Greek farmers also kept animals. The primary domestic animal was the goat.
Farmers also kept pigs and poultry for meat, sheep and goats for milk. Beef was only eaten at religious ceremonies. Oxen were used as working animals, pulling heavy equipment and carrying loads. Horses were imported from northern Greece.

The life of the farmer and urban worker was not easy. The comic writer Aristophanes wrote many plays with old, hard-working farmers as the heroes, triumphing over the soft, wealthy, urban politician.