What is a metic?
Q: What is a metic?
A: A metic was a foreigner living in a Greek city-state (polis) during Ancient Greece. They did not have the same rights as citizens who were born in the state they were living in.
Q: Who was an example of a notable metic?
A: Aristotle was an example of a notable metic, who was born in Stageira but lived in Athens for a long time.
Q: How could metics become citizens?
A: Metics could become citizens if the city chose to bestow citizenship on them as a gift, which rarely happened.
Q: What privileges did citizens have that metics did not?
A: Citizens had eligibility for numerous state payments such as jury and assembly pay, while metics were not permitted to own real estate in Attica unless granted special exemption and none of these rights were available to them.
Q: Did metics share any burdens with citizens?
A: Yes, like citizens, metics had to perform military service and, if rich enough, were subject to special tax contributions.
Q: Was citizenship frequently granted to metics?
A: No, citizenship was very rarely granted to metics; more common was the special status of "equal rights" under which they were freed from usual liabilities.
Q: What other terms are used for non-citizens living on the territory of a polis? A: In Greco-Roman world they are called "paroikoi" and in Asia Minor "katoikoi".
