In order to be a true oikos, it had to be entirely self-sustaining it what it produced and consumed, as well as maintain its population over time. Thinkers such as Aristotle considered the self-sufficient oikos to be the fundamental, indivisible constituent of the polis. An oikos was expected to be self-sufficient in what it produced for itself. For these reasons, the oikos remained the pillar of ancient Greek economy. Additionally, lack of trust between members of an oikos and nonmembers usually prevented larger businesses not associated with an oikos from forming. Genuine urban commercial centers were relatively uncommon and sparse. The oikos was the primary unit of economic organization within the ancient Greek world. This is generally considered to be less favourable than work in the house itself. In a larger oikos, many slaves would be entirely dedicated to agricultural work. Of the oiketai, the men might have had the responsibility to work in the field. A small oikos would have had only a few household slaves known as oiketai. In some extreme cases, slaves were seen as factors of production without any agency rather than autonomous human beings. The Greeks did not consider him to be a kyrios to the slaves, he was instead their despotes, a word meaning master. While the oikonomos did not have absolute power over members of his oikos owing to his role as kyrios, this was not the case for slaves. The oikonomos of the household would have played a role in directing the labour of the slaves and metics. Wealthy households would have had many slaves and metics working for them. In addition to family members by kinship or marriage, slaves or metics might have lived and worked within the household. He was expected to provide education for boys under his care, represent his wards in legal proceedings, provide for their everyday needs, as well as arrange marriages of women in his care. The oikonomos in his role as kyrios also had many responsibilities. In Athens, an individual who had been under the care of a kyrios would be able to seek legal recourse for damages caused by their former kyrios. The power of the oikonomos to act as kyrios was not unlimited. In other cities, such as Gortyn and Sparta, it appears that married women had the right to use their property as they wished. Although it differed between different Greek cities, an oikonomos in Athens would have the authority to dispose of his wife's property owing to his role as her kyrios. The kyrios was understood to make decisions in the best interest of his wards about education, finances, and marriage. Marriage in the Greek world was seen as the transfer of responsibility over a woman from one kyrios to another in most cases, from her father to her husband. In this capacity, they were generally responsible for male members of the household under the age of 18, unmarried women, as well as their wife. The oikonomos of a household, in addition to making economic decisions for the oikos, acted as legal guardian, or kyrios (a word meaning 'lord' or 'controller'), for other members of the household. However, the woman would still remain a member of the oikos she grew up in and would return to her original oikos upon the end of a marriage. A married woman would join her husband's oikos. The ancient Greek world was a patrilocal society. The husband of the core nuclear family was generally the oikonomos. The oikos was composed of a nuclear family as well as extended family members such as grandparents or unmarried female relatives. The person in charge of all its affairs was the oikonomos. The oikos (household) was the base unit for the organization of social, political, and economic life in the Ancient Greek world.
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