Because the Greco-Roman world focused much attention on aristocrats, they were located at the top of the social hierarchy. Merchants were seen as an important part of the social divisions that led to them having more power and respect, but even though merchants were treated better in the Greco-Roman world, slaves and peasants were treated poorly. The intense social divisions and inequalities are revealed when one sees that farmers were forced to work as slaves for powerful landowners and slaves were used as servants and workers in households. As in other classical civilizations, men in close-knit families held most, if not all, of the control. Although women had power in the upper classes, by law they were inferior to men and, as in Chinese civilization, girls were killed to maintain the family economy. In conclusion, similarly to other classical societies, the Greco-Roman world presented extreme social divisions, inequalities and gender.