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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 …

…of their revenue which derived from these slaves or to the more extreme, be reduced to poverty. Some undoubtedly would have had to let their farms instead of cultivating them by slave labour. A number of craftsmen would have lost their apprentices and journeymen. But the great majority of Athenians who owned no slaves but cultivated their own little farming estates or worked on their own as craftsmen, shopkeepers or laborers would have been unaffected.