On the Explanation of the Wealthy Slave in Classical Athens
Cooper, Carrie
Masters in the Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology, December (2007)
Abstract
This paper seeks to explain the existence of wealthy and socially influential slaves in the fourth century BCE at Athens, Greece. I describe what went on at Athens from the late seventh century until the early third century and show that transformation in the land to labor ratio combined with cultural, legal and political changes led to a period of time where slaves acquired wealth and power. First, changes in the land to labor ratio at a time when Athens was going through vast political 
change led to a culture where it was socially unacceptable for a free Athenian to work for another free Athenian. Slaves could then work in sectors unavailable to free Athenians, which led them to gain wealth and eventually societal power.
I use Ian Morris’s explanation of why Athens began to use slave labor and show why it was inefficient for Athenian agricultural workers to hire free labor. I then show why the institution of never working continually as a free laborer under someone else continued throughout the sixth through fourth centuries. The section concludes that allowing slaves to gain skills in areas of the economy that would have been profitable, but socially stigmatized for Athenian citizens, allowed slaves to gain wealth.
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