his is the general attitude that Athenians held toward their wives. The Athenian wife was expected to marry and bring a dowry into her husband's house. Although this dowry was attached to the woman, she was in no way allowed to control the lands and moneys she might bring to her husband.. Similarly, women were not allowed to vote or take any part in the Assembly, being seen as unfit for this privilege. The primary function of a citizen's wife was to take care of domestic affairs and provide the citizen with an heir. Athenian wives were rarely seen outside of their houses, for respectable wives had at least one slave who would purchase needed items at market. Poorer Athenian women were seen at market because they lacked slaves to run their errands. Women were considered intellectual non-entities and were treated as such in the Athenian Empire. Metics also had a low status in Athenian society. Metics were not allowed voting privileges in the Athenian democracy, but were compulsed to serve a specified time in the Athenian military and were taxed by the Athenians. Metics usually were lower-class tradesmen or craftsmen. Although some metics families eventually gained wealth, the vast majority of the metics remained second-class inhabitants of Athens, even though they performed some of the polis' most activities, such as military service and trade. Slavery was also matter-of-fact in 5th century Athenian life. Slaves were the property of specific owners and subject to the wishes of their owners. Like women and metics, slaves had no citizenship rights. It was possible for a slave to save enough money to buy his freedom, but a freed slave had only as much status as a metic. Aristotle defended slavery as necessary and a law of nature, saying in his Politics, "That some should rule and others should be ruled is not only necessary but expedient; indeed, from the very moment of birth some are set apart to obey and others to command."...
