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Slavery probably has its origins as warfare became more established at larger scales between societies. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt likely have some of the earliest evidence of slavery as conflict developed when societies began to compete with each other more frequently <ref>For more on the origins of slavery, see: Heuman, G. J. (Ed.). (2012). The Routledge history of slavery (1. publ. in paperback). London: Routledge.</ref>. Initially, most slaves may have been women captured from towns or villages during raids or attacks. Later, however, men became valuable as forms of labor in agriculture, while skilled workers were put to work in construction or helping with production of materials. Early depictions indicate that those captured in battles were sometimes shackled. Slaves were generally owned by the state, but by the 2nd millennium BCE and 1st millennium BCE, there is evidence private individuals also owned slaves . <ref>For more on the rise of private ownership and slavery, see: <Chirichigno, G. (1993). Debt-slavery in Israel and the ancient Near East. Sheffield: JSOT Press.</ref>. Slavery, in effect, was a form of keeping people as prisoners of war. Such slaves might be released if peace was agreed upon between warring sides. In the Indus, possible slave quarters have even been found between the 3rd and 2nd millennium BCE.<ref>For more on the slave quarters in the Indus, see: Catchpole, B. (Ed.). (1981). The clash of cultures: aspects of culture conflict from roman times to the present day (1. publ). London: Heinemann</ref>

Slavery was practiced in ancient Greece, where most slaves appear to have been war captives. Debt bondage, similar to the Near East and elsewhere could lead to a form of slavery, but this could be a temporary status and one could buy or earn their freedom, which was also true in the ancient Near East. Sparta may have had one of the largest slave systems. While it is hard to say what was legend and what was truth, the so-called Helots were a class of slaves that may have derived from a conquered city (Helos). Subsequent slaves were then called Helots. Sparta's slaves seem to all belong to the state and were essentially a class, where the Helots formed their own families and kin groups. In Athens, slavery was often at a private level and slaves were owned by individual households. Slave revolts began to become a problem as slaves began to outnumber their masters. In effect, by allowing slaves to have their families and also perpetuating the bondage of slavery for individuals inevitably led to populations of slaves increasing.<ref>For more on slavery in Greece, see: Wiedemann, T. (1994). Greek and Roman slavery (Reprinted). London: Routledge.</ref>