Xanthias is a character who may have been quite familiar to Athenian society, which had a large population of enslaved residents. The city’s relationship with enslavement was debated, in particular with regard to the ethics of enslaving fellow Greeks. In 416, Athens had slaughtered the male population of Melos after the island’s leaders insisted on remaining neutral in the Peloponnesian war, and enslaved its women and children. This event has been described as the inspiration for Euripides’ play Trojan Women, which explores the treatment of captive women of a conquered city.

Though they cannot be taken at face value, some ancient sources suggest the conditions of enslaved people were better in Athens than in other parts of the Greek-speaking world, even going so far as to claim it was difficult to tell differentiate between free and enslaved people. In some cases, it was possible for enslaved people to buy their freedom, and enslaved men were able to secure their freedom by fighting on the side of Athens at the Battle of Arginousai in 406.

Xanthias is not one of those men, however, which is a point returned to more than once. He is portrayed as clever, good-natured, and courageous.