Athenian Chattel Slavery and the Economy of Classical Athens (5th–4th century BCE)

1. Solon ends citizen debt-bondage in Athens

   Jan 1, 594 BCELabels: Solon, Seisachtheia

   • Britannica
   • Aristotle Const
   • Cambridge

2. Cleisthenic reforms expand citizen politics amid slavery

   Jan 1, 508 BCELabels: Cleisthenes, Athenian democracy

   • Britannica
   • Britannica

3. Laurion silver windfall funds major trireme build

   Jan 1, 483 BCELabels: Laurion mines, Themistocles

   • Britannica
   • Themistocles
   • Herodotus

4. Delian League founded; war captives and markets supply slaves

   Jan 1, 478 BCELabels: Delian League, Athenian navy

   • Britannica
   • Delian League

5. Athens begins Long Walls, reinforcing port-centered economy

   Jan 1, 458 BCELabels: Long Walls, Piraeus

   • Britannica
   • Delian League

6. Delian League treasury transferred to Athens

   Jan 1, 454 BCELabels: Delian treasury, Athens

   • Britannica
   • PBS
   • Delian League

7. Athenian Standards (Coinage) Decree imposed on allies

   Jan 1, 450 BCELabels: Coinage Decree, Attic coinage

   • Coinage Decree
   • OUP Greece

8. Kleinias Decree tightens imperial tribute collection

   Jan 1, 425 BCELabels: Kleinias Decree, tribute assessment

   • Attic Insc
   • Thucydides

9. Decelean War triggers mass flight of enslaved workers

   Jan 1, 413 BCELabels: Decelean War, Thucydides

   • Decelea
   • Thucydides
   • Britannica

10. Athens defeated in Peloponnesian War; economy strained

    Jan 1, 404 BCELabels: Peloponnesian War, Athenian economy

    • Britannica
    • Britannica

11. Aristophanes’ *Wealth* depicts slave roles in households

    Jan 1, 388 BCELabels: Aristophanes, Plutus

    • Plutus
    • Carlos Museum

12. Xenophon proposes state-owned mine-slaves as public revenue

    Jan 1, 355 BCELabels: Xenophon, Ways and

    • Ways Means
    • Wikisource
    • Britannica

13. Aristotle theorizes slavery within household economy

    Jan 1, 350 BCELabels: Aristotle, Politics

    • OUP Chapter
    • Natural Slavery

14. Late Classical Athens shows very high enslaved population share

    Jan 1, 320 BCELabels: Demographic estimates, Classical Athens

    • Britannica
    • Carlos Museum
    • Cambridge