Banausos (Ancient Greek βάναυσος, plural βάναυσοι, banausoi) is an epithet of the class of manual laborers or artisans in Ancient Greece. The related abstract noun βαναυσία – banausia is defined by Hesychius as "every craft (τέχνη) [conducted] by means of fire", reflecting the folk etymology of the word as coming from βαῦνος (baunos) "furnace" and αὔω (auō) "to dry". The actual etymology of the words is unknown; they are not attested outside Attic-Ionic or before the 5th Century B.C.. The epic heroes call their smiths δημιουργοί – dēmiourgoi.

Athenian usage

The use of banausos follows an economic transition in Greece: the use of coinage, the invention of the trireme and of hoplite armor, the prevalence of chattel slavery permitted the rise of a new hoplite class, who used the term to divide themselves from the artisans.

Banausos was used as a term of invective, meaning "cramped in body" (Politics 1341 a 7) and "vulgar in taste" (1337 b 7), by the extreme oligarchs in Athens in the 5th century BC, who were led by Critias. These were the Laconophiles who yearned for the good old times when there was none of this "equality" nonsense, and you could beat your neighbor's slave in the street (see Ps.-Xenophon: Constitution of Athens). In this usage, it refers to the laboring class as a whole; i.e. the artisans, such as potters, stone masons, carpenters, etc; professional singers; artists; musicians; and all persons engaged in trade or retail. It makes no distinction between slave or free.

These extreme oligarchs were opposed both to the moderate oligarchs, such as Theramenes; and to the democrats, such as

Dictionary of Philosophy the entry "banausic".