Many slaves were freed by their masters at some point during their lifetime. The reasons for this are extremely variable, and probably had to do with the personal relationship between master and slave. A freed slave in ancient Greece tended to become a "Metic" — a free, foreign-born resident of the city who had no citizenship rights.

According to most reliable accounts of the time period, Solon was appointed to a position of near-tyrannical power in Athens during the Archaic Era because the Athenian people felt he possessed the wisdom and judgment to resolve their social and economic tensions. Solon enacted a series of reforms that contributed to the emergence of republican ideals in Athenian society.

Periander ruled the city-state of Corinth as a tyrant in the seventh century BCE. He is generally recognized as a particularly capable ruler who presided over Corinth at the height of its economic and political power.

Female citizens in most Greek city-states were considered inferior to men and excluded from the political process (they could not vote nor attend assemblies). Nevertheless, female citizens were still citizens and enjoyed rights that would have been unfamiliar to women in most of the rest of the world (including noncitizen residents of ancient Greece). Female citizens were afforded protection from kidnapping and enslavement (a common practice in this time period). They were able to participate in religious ceremonies and could even lead cults as priestesses; and, crucially, they had access to courts and the judicial system which allowed them to protect their property and their rights. It is worth noting, however, that women could not actually represent themselves in court — men would have to speak on their behalf. So, whilst female citizens enjoyed many important rights and privileges, they were nonetheless still considered inferior to men.

During the Archaic Era in Greece, around 650 BCE, the so-called “hoplite revolution” took place. Hoplites were infantrymen who organized themselves into a tight military formation, called the phalanx, and fought to defend their city-states. Hoplites were generally militiamen, drawn from the ranks of the lower classes in Greek society. These individuals threatened to withhold their military service if they were not granted equal rights to the elites.

Doulos, in ancient Greek society, were slaves. During the Archaic Era, slavery grew dramatically in ancient Greece, to the point that close to the majority of the population living on the Greek mainland were slaves. Doulos had no rights of their own and were considered as “living property.”

It is generally the case, that where the treatment, protection, and status of women is concerned in ancient Greece, Sparta will be the exception. Spartan women had much more social and political influence than their contemporaries in other city-states. Spartan women could seek divorce much more readily than Athenian women, for example. Spartan women could even commit adultery, so long as their own husband was incapable or unwilling to provide a child.

Women were not able to compete in the Olympic games, although there was a separate game for women called the Heraean games. Women were able to attend and observe the Olympic games only if they were not yet married. Married women were prohibited from attending the games on penalty of death.

The Greek concept of kyrios refers to the belief that a man had to act as a legal, moral, and practical guardian over an individual woman. This idea was a manifestation of the extremely paternal nature of ancient Greek society. In practical terms, this meant that every female citizen, particularly in Athens, was required to have a recognized male guardian. This, naturally, infringed upon the rights of women in many, many ways. Women, for example, were completely excluded from the political process and could not attend democratic assemblies. Furthermore, women were not able to speak for themselves in court, instead a man would have to speak on their behalf.

During the Archaic Era, many Greek city-states were ruled by tyrants. These tyrants won their power on the back of popular support and generally overthrew aristocratic oligarchies which were often detested by the common people. Tyranny (in the modern sense of the word) might sometimes seem like an inappropriate word, after all many of the “tyrants” were beloved by the people and able to hold power for decades without fear of reprisals. But, these rulers were autocrats who essentially had absolute power in their lands. The Greeks believed that tyranny in and of itself was not wrong, it was the individual tyrants who could be judged as malevolent or benevolent. Eventually, the Greeks began to view tyranny as a dangerous form of government and, by the Classical Era, democracies and oligarchies had replaced most tyrannies.