CHAPTER V.

DAILY LIFE WITHIN AND WITHOUT THE HOUSE.

At Sparta--At Athens--Chronology--Sun-dials--Breakfast--Morning Occupations--Lunch--The Afternoon--Warm Baths--Dinner--Amusements--The Gymnasia--Greek Hospitality.

A picture of the daily life of the Greeks must of necessity be subject to various changes according to time and place. Life in the sixth century B.C. was different from that in the fourth; the daily occupation and the mode of life of a Spartan differed from those of an Athenian or Theban; and again, the rich and free citizen spent his time in a very different way from the small artisan or countryman, who was dependent on the work of his own hands.

There is very little to say about the heroic period, and we cannot form any complete picture of it. Homer describes only the life of the nobles, but he does not tell us how they spent their time when they were not fighting, though this was a very common occupation, owing to the numerous feuds and predatory expeditions against their neighbours. It is not likely that the princes and nobles spent all their time at festive banquets, delighting in plentiful food and drink, and listening to the songs of the bard, though there are many passages in Homer which might lead us to suppose so. No doubt the pleasures of the feast and of wine were held in very high estimation in the heroic period, yet serious and respectable citizens can hardly have spent their whole day in luxurious idleness, like the wooers of Penelope, who daily feasted at the expense of others. Laertes, who, even in his old age, worked in his garden, was far more typical of the Homeric noble, who was in reality only a landed proprietor on a large scale, and devoted the greater part of his time to agricultural pursuits, himself often taking active part in them. He was also occupied with gymnastic exercises, and occasionally by political duties, such as attendance at the popular assemblies which concerned the interests of the country. But the great mass of the people, as opposed to the few members of the nobility, occupied themselves chiefly with agriculture and cattle rearing, and, to a small extent, with handicrafts which were but slightly developed at this time, when many things were imported from other countries, and others chiefly made at home. Of course they all had to attend their Prince as vassals in case of war, and in consequence there must have been military training for the lower classes, even in time of peace. Apart, however, from military details, we learn nothing from Homer about the life of these classes of society, and very little about that of the nobility, for his description of the life of the Phaeacians bears only a very partial analogy to Greek circumstances at that time, since the poet desires to represent this people as specially fortunate beyond others. We may, therefore, forsake the misty domain of legend and turn to those ages which are enlightened for us by writers, though even there we shall find many gaps unfilled.

It is a natural consequence of the nature of our authorities that, even in historic times, the descriptions of authors present us principally with a reflection of life in towns, and especially large towns or capitals. At the present day life in large towns differs in many essential respects from that in small ones, and even more from that in the country; and doubtless, even in antiquity, there were strong contrasts, though, perhaps, less clearly marked than in modern times. In large towns, too, there were many differences due to the character of the race and the nature of the town itself; the life of a citizen in a large trading city must have been very different from that at a place where there was very little trade, and the interest of the inhabitants was centred in agriculture. But of all this in reality we know very little.

The life of the Spartan citizens was the most regular and uniform, and this in consequence of the fixed and severe demands made on them by the State. Their dwellings, though large and roomy, were of the simplest description, and in other respects, too, the life of the Dorians was distinguished by simplicity, yet even here refinements of life gradually gained ground, and in the Dorian colonies often went so far as to produce effeminacy. Life at Sparta itself adhered longest to its primitive simplicity. Here, too, the old Dorian custom of common meals, called _Syssitia_ or Pheiditia, prevailed longest; a Spartan took his meals, not with his family, but with other companions, usually connected by relationship. They were small parties of about fifteen men, who clubbed together for this purpose; each contributed his appointed share to the expenses of the meal, partly in kind (especially barley, wine, cheese, figs, or dates), partly in money for the purchase of meat. This last was, however, supplied in part by the frequent sacrifices, and also by hunting, for the custom prevailed of contributing additional gifts now and then, apart from the legal contribution: sometimes some game or wheaten bread, instead of the usual barley bread, or poultry, young cattle, fruits, etc., according to opportunity or season. The notorious “black broth,” which played a great part at these meals, was not so much soup as a solid meat dish with broth, and though simple and easily prepared, was probably not as bad as it seemed to the dainty palates of the other Greeks. These common meals, though by no means luxurious, were not in any sense meagre; and though plentiful drinking after the meal was not as customary at Sparta as in other places, yet every guest had his cup beside him filled with mixed wine, and as soon as it was empty it was filled up again by the cup-bearer. The intercourse among these men was cheerful and free; they discussed political and military matters, and also found time for merriment and even singing. Women dined alone at home with the smaller children and the daughters; the boys, as soon as they had outgrown their mother’s care, were taken by their fathers to the mess, and sat beside them there on low stools, receiving little portions of the dishes which were considered suitable for youth. When they grew older they dined together with their own mess.

No Greek race despised handicrafts when pursued for the sake of money as much as the Dorians; no Spartan would pursue a craft or trade. Still the life of the Laconian must not be imagined as one of pure idleness; there were sufficient opportunities for other occupations. In the first place there were the gymnastic and military exercises, which occupied a great part of the day, then there was the study of music, which was continued even after their education had ended; hunting, too, was a very favourite occupation among the Dorians, and was valued on account of its tendency to harden the body. Some time, too, was occupied by State matters, and also by the exercise of religious duties, such as sacrifices, choruses, etc. Moreover, there was a great deal of social life among the men. In most Dorian cities there were special meeting-halls, or club-rooms (λέσχαι), which existed at Athens also and other places. The older citizens used to assemble there and discuss various matters of interest.

We must now turn to Athens, where, in consequence of the more numerous literary authorities, we can form a clearer idea of the conditions, and attempt also to form a picture of the town itself, such as it appeared in its most flourishing period under Pericles, and after his time. It would be a great mistake to form an idea of the appearance of the whole city from the splendid buildings on the Acropolis, the temples which are partly standing at the present day, and the other public buildings which were constructed and decorated without regard to expense. Most private houses were quite plain outside; the ground-floor generally had no windows; there were no splendid porticoes, or elaborate façades, and they were low, seldom having more than two storeys. There was no regular arrangement of streets in the older period, any more than there was in our cities in the middle ages; and even after the burning of the city by the Persians, when dwellings had to be constructed for the returning population, the town was quickly rebuilt without any regular plan. It was not till later that streets were methodically laid out, and this was largely due to the influence of Hippodamus of Miletus, who flourished about the middle of the fifth century, and reformed the ancient style of building cities. Athens itself could not profit by his system, which adopted a uniform artistic plan for the construction of a whole town; but he was able to carry out his scheme in the building of the lower city, near the Peiraeus, which took place under Pericles. Here Hippodamus constructed a network of straight broad streets, cutting each other at right angles, and in the middle he placed a large market, evidently in the form of a square, called the “Market of Hippodamus.” The land belonging to this suburb had probably been very little built on; we do not know whether the State had any right of ownership over these new buildings. The flourishing suburbs, the numerous public squares planted with trees and laid out in the manner of parks, did much to improve the appearance of the city, but a great deal must still have been wanting to make it appear really comfortable to us moderns, or even to the Romans of the Empire. In the first place, the streets were unpaved, and there were no sidewalks; these improvements were not introduced until the Roman period, and Greek antiquity was content with ordinary high roads; it is natural, therefore, that in dry weather the dust, and in rainy weather the mud, should have been disagreeable. Very little attention was paid to the cleanliness of public roads; all kitchen refuse, bath water, etc., was simply poured out of doors; at night it was even thrown straight from the windows on to the street, and though it was usual to call, “Out of the way,” yet careless people might sometimes be besprinkled on their way home at night. There was no public cleansing of the streets; it was left to beneficent rains to wash away all uncleanness, although the street and market police (ἀστυνόμοι) and (ἀγορανόμοι), whose duty it was to maintain order in the streets and market places, were supposed to see that they were kept in proper condition, and could compel proprietors who threw out ashes or other refuse to clear this away; yet they probably confined themselves to keeping the streets in fairly good building condition, and seeing that all was in order when processions had to pass along certain roads. Generally speaking, Nissen[D] is probably right when he maintains that, to form an idea of the life at Athens by any modern counterpart, we must not think of Florence or Munich, but rather of Cairo or Tunis.

As regards the interior of the houses, we know very little about the arrangement and appointment of the rooms. Naturally these were liable to variations, since a small family might inhabit a modest little dwelling, or there might be larger houses, containing numerous apartments. The front door, which opened (sometimes outwards) into the street, at which those who desired entrance knocked with their fingers or the knocker, was opened by a slave, acting as porter, and generally led to a hall, through which, either direct or through a second door, an open hall surrounded with a colonnade (_Peristylium_) was reached, which in the dwelling-houses of the historic period corresponded to the open courtyard of the Homeric palace, and bears an analogy to the _Atrium_ of the Roman house. This space, which was uncovered in the middle, and surrounded by colonnades, was the usual dwelling-place of the family; sometimes they took their meals there, and the altar to _Zeus Herkeios_ generally stood there. Round about were apartments whose doors, and probably windows, too, opened into the central hall; for it was not customary to have ground-floor windows opening on the street, and the sides of the houses usually touched the walls of the neighbouring buildings, so that the rooms on the ground-floor could, as a rule, only obtain their light from the central hall. Some of these apartments were destined for the men, and others for the women, but there was no general room. If the house was built on a considerable space, and had only one storey, the men’s rooms generally opened direct on the central hall, while the women’s were placed behind these, and were separate from them, having a special door, and doubtless, too, a special corridor, through which the women could reach the street without passing through the men’s apartments. If the house was small it was built in two storeys, and the women’s apartments were then situated in the upper storey. This latter arrangement appears to have been the more frequent. We often find allusions to women looking down on to the street from the windows of the upper storeys, and we also often find women represented on vase pictures sitting at upper-storey windows. These window openings were closed either by bars or wooden shutters, since glass panes were unknown in the Greek period. Where there were a good many slaves, it seems that the male slaves slept in the men’s apartments, and the female in the women’s apartments, except in those cases where the master allowed certain couples to live together. In larger houses, which contained a great number of rooms, we must imagine not only special sleeping and dining apartments, along with guest-chambers, rooms for the slaves, store-rooms, work-rooms, library, bathroom, etc., but also a second hall in the centre of the women’s apartments, and gardens connected with this; though flower gardens seem to have been a late introduction at Athens--it is said, indeed, that they date from the time of Epicurus. We must not assume that everyone had his own house in ancient Athens. It is true that a house could be acquired for a very low price, as is proved by the example of Socrates, whose whole wealth was taxed as five minae (something under twenty pounds), and yet included a house; but still there were a great number of poorer citizens who hired their dwellings. The upper storey, which no doubt had a special entrance, and which occasionally projected beyond the ground-floor, was let to lodgers, while the owner lived on the ground-floor. Large lodging-houses, many storeys high, such as existed at Rome, were probably not found at Athens in the classical period.

We have no certain information about the place of the kitchen. It was probably always on the ground-floor, and was certainly the only room in the house which had a chimney, since there was no heating apparatus in the dwelling rooms. There appears to have been a complete absence of all sanitary conveniences.

At the present day an indispensable factor in our daily occupations is some apparatus for measuring the time. This was not of so much consequence in Greek antiquity, and, in fact, the means for exact division were wanting. They had no exact arrangement of days extending from midnight to midnight, with twenty-four hours of equal length, but instead they distinguished between day-time and night-time, calculating from sunrise to sunset, and naturally the length of these periods differed according to the time of year. These two chief divisions were again subdivided; first came early morning (from about 6 till 9, if we take the equinoctial periods), the forenoon, when the market-place began to fill (9 to 12), the mid-day heat (12 to 3), and the late afternoon (3 to 6); in the night there was, first, the time when the lamps were lit (6 to 10), next the dead hours of the night (10 to 2), last the dawn (2 to 6). Besides this, they divided the day into twelve equal divisions, the length of which naturally varied according to the length of the day. For this purpose they made use of the sun, which was, of course, only available on cloudless days, though these are by no means infrequent in the south. All these arrangements for measuring the time were probably invented by the Babylonians in very ancient times, and introduced among the Greeks by Anaximander about 500 B.C. The most primitive is the “shadow-pointer,” which is only a pointed stick fixed in the earth, or a column, or anything else of the kind; the length of the shadow, which varies with the position of the sun, supplied the standard for calculating the hours. The length of the shadow, which changed from morning to evening, made a superficial division of time possible, but it could not fix the time once for all, for all days of the year, but had to be specially calculated according to the changes of the seasons. Twelve divisions of the day, to be determined by the shadow, corresponded with ours only at the equinox; these hours, if we may use the expression, were longer in summer and shorter in winter than our equinoctial hours. This explains why the time of the chief meal, which was usually taken at about five or six in the afternoon, was indicated sometimes by a 7-foot, sometimes by a 10-or 12-foot, or even a 20-foot shadow; for though at midsummer the shadow would be quite small at this time, it would have a considerable length at the equinox, and at the time of the winter solstice it is probable that they did not dine until after sunset. Unfortunately, we have not sufficient information to determine exactly the length of this shadow-pointer, which was doubtless always the same, in order to prevent confusion. The assumption that the pointer was about the average height of a human being, and that people even used their own shadows for measuring time, is very improbable. Such shadow-pointers probably stood in public places, where everyone could make use of them with help of the lines drawn on the ground; they could only be set up in private dwellings when these had large open spaces (which was not often the case) to which the sun could have access all day long. In later times inventions were made which supplied what was wanting in this mode of reckoning time; lines were graven on the stone floor on which the shadow-pointer stood, which gave, at any rate, some indication of the change in the length of the hours according to the months; a network of lines of this description belonged to the obelisk which Augustus set up on the Campus Martius, and also used as a shadow-pointer.

The sun-dials, invented later than the shadow-pointers, probably by Aristarchus, about 270 B.C., were different; here the shadow of a stick placed in a semicircle, on which the hours were marked by lines, indicated the time of day. There were three kinds: first, those that were calculated at the place on which they were set up, and could not be moved, and which indicated the hours of the day according as they changed in the course of the year; second, those which were arranged for moving, and could be set up at different places; and, third, those used by mathematicians, which showed the equinoctial hours such as we use to-day. It is impossible, however, to determine whether the Greeks were acquainted with all the three kinds which we find in use in the Roman period.

Besides this, water clocks were used, and here again we must distinguish two kinds. The common water clock, which, like our hour-glass, marked a definite period of time by the flowing away of a certain quantity of water, is certainly a very ancient invention. This clock consisted of a vessel of clay or glass, in the shape of a jar or a basin, which was filled with water by an opening above, and a second cup-shaped vessel, on the top of which the former was arranged in such a way that the water poured out slowly through little sieve-like openings into the lower vessel. Water clocks of this kind probably existed in most households, but were not real clocks, since they did not indicate the hour of the day, but were only used for calculating some particular period of time. They were chiefly used in the law courts to mark the time allowed to each speaker, and when a speech was interrupted in order to hear witnesses, or to read out documents, or for any other purpose, the flow of the water was stopped, and it was set going again when the orator continued his speech. These water clocks were also used on other occasions wherever certain periods of time had to be calculated, and this might take place in any household. The same principle underlay the water clocks which were supposed to have been invented by Plato, and perfected by the Alexandrine Ctesibius, by means of which a long period of time could be subdivided into equal parts, and thus the hours of the night could be calculated, which was of great importance. These water clocks could only be constructed when it was possible to make transparent glass vessels large enough to hold a quantity of water sufficient to last for twelve hours and longer; on the glass there was a scale graven, which gave the relation of the hours to the height of the water. But as the length of the night decreases and increases in the course of the

year, like that of the day, and therefore the length of the night hours is continually decreasing and increasing, a very complicated network of lines was required; four vertical lines denoted the length of the hours at the two solstices and the two equinoxes, so that the exact ratio was given for these days. At other times they had to make shift with a more or less exact calculation, assisted by horizontal curves, which connected together the third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth hours (Compare the scheme represented in Fig. 93, which shows the network of lines engraved on the glass vessel.) The longest and shortest days are here set down according to the latitude of Athens, the former as 14 hours, 36 minutes, 56 seconds, the latter as 9 hours, 14 minutes, 16 seconds. The improvement of Ctesibius consisted in adding a table with horizontal hour-lines to the water-vessel, on which a metal wire, fastened to a cork that swam on the water, marked the time by its position, which rose according to the increase of the water. These clocks could, of course, be used in the daytime, when the weather made the sun-dial useless, but a different scale was required from that of the night clocks. Still, as the difference between the longest night and the longest day, and the shortest night and the shortest day, is very slight, the same scale could really be used for day and night, but in reverse order as indicated by Fig. 93.

Let us now consider the manner in which an Athenian citizen usually divided his time. We cannot, of course, name any definite hour for rising, still it seems probable that early rising was the rule at Athens, and that not only the artisans began their work directly after sunrise, but that the schools, too, often opened early. The morning toilet does not seem to have occupied much time. In washing, a slave poured water over his master from an ewer over a basin, and some substitute for soap, such as fuller’s earth or lye, was used; men who lived very simple lives, like Socrates, probably performed their ablutions at one of the public wells. Breakfast was a scanty meal, and generally consisted of unmixed wine and bread. After that, artisans or others who had a definite trade went to their daily occupations; but the citizens who had no regular profession, unless attracted by some other occupation, such as hunting, generally spent the morning hours visiting their friends, practising gymnastics, or, supposing they put off these occupations to a later hour, visiting the barber to have their hair arranged or their beards cut or shaved. As we have already discussed the question of hair-dressing (p. 65), we will here only give a picture of some ancient bronze razors (Fig. 94), which are of semi-circular shape, and differ essentially from our modern ones. The pretty terra-cotta group

from Tanagra, in Fig. 95, transports us to a barber’s shop; a worthy citizen, apparently covered by a long dressing-mantle, is seated on a low stool, while a short man standing behind him--perhaps a slave--is carefully cutting his hair with a pair of scissors. Barbers undertook the care of both hair and beard, and cut and cleaned the nails. These barbers’ shops were also meeting-places for the citizens--not only for idlers, but, generally speaking, for all who desired to hear the news. This custom still prevails in many parts of Italy, especially in the south, where the _Salone_ is a general meeting-place. Even in ancient times barbers had a reputation for being talkative. Every day many people entered their shops, and among them strangers who brought news and expected to receive some in exchange. It is well known that the news of the defeat of the Athenian expedition to Sicily was first made known in a barber’s shop in the Peiraeus by a stranger who had just landed.

All this occupied about the first quarter of the day; the second part was devoted to visiting the market. The market-place served not only its original end as a place for selling, but was also the place where acquaintances met and business was transacted. Here stood the money-changers and the bankers, at their booths or shops; here were shady arcades, with comfortable seats, where the hot rays of the sun might be avoided in summer, while there was opportunity in the winter of profiting by the warmth of the workshops situated close by the market-place. It was a very general custom in cold weather to go to public baths or smiths’ workshops, where a warm stove could certainly be found, and poor people, who did not possess the means of warming themselves at home, often pressed so eagerly to the bath-stoves that they singed their clothes. In fact, it was a very general custom to enter any workshop or booth to have a chat with the owner or the visitors there, even without any intention of making purchases. We need not, therefore, be surprised when we hear of Socrates visiting a shoemaker or a sculptor or any other artisan and beginning a discussion with him; this custom was so general that meetings were arranged in the workshops--thus, for instance, the people of Decelea, when they came to Athens, always met at a particular barber’s shop.

The men also went to market with the object of making purchases, for at Athens, curiously enough, this shopping was not undertaken by the women or their servants, but by the men instead, who were accompanied by a slave, and themselves purchased the required food, and in particular the fish, so very popular at Athens, for which there was a special market, whose beginning was announced by a bell. Later on, in the third century, it seems to have been no longer regarded as correct for the master of the house to make his own purchases; in the richer houses there was a special slave (ἀγοραστής) kept for this purpose; female slaves, too, were sometimes sent.

At mid-day the market was usually over; then the men went home and took a slight repast, not by any means the chief meal of the day, but rather something like our lunch. This meal, of course, varied a good deal according to individual fancy; many people contented themselves with the remains of the previous day’s dinner, others had fresh warm dishes served them; and in Sicily and Magna Graecia, where great stress was laid on good and plentiful food, this often became a really substantial meal. Some people entirely omitted this lunch, and either took a late breakfast or an earlier dinner. Still, most well-to-do people seem to have taken some meal at the end of their morning’s business.

The afternoon was spent in various ways. The heat which prevails at this time during the greater part of the year generally compelled people to stay at home then; some took a little mid-day nap, but this was not very general. Men of serious disposition devoted these hours to reading or other intellectual pursuits, while those who were inclined to idleness probably went, even in the afternoon, to the houses devoted to dice-throwing and drinking, or else dawdled about in the barbers’ shops, workshops, etc.; the club rooms, which were specially devoted to social intercourse among the citizens, were probably very full at this time. Between the third and fourth divisions of the day, they generally took a bath as a preparation for dinner. The custom of taking a warm bath daily had at first found much opposition in Greece. In Homer we find warm baths only mentioned as a refreshment after long journeys or other fatigues, or else used for purposes of cleanliness; later on, cold baths, especially in the sea or in streams, were recommended as good for the health and strengthening for the nerves, while warm baths were looked upon as enervating; still the custom became very common of taking a bath before dinner, either at home or in one of the public baths. We have already introduced our readers to a public bath for women; Fig. 96 represents a public bath for men, taken from a vase picture. In the middle is the bath room, where the water is pouring out of two animals’ heads. On the right and left are youths who have already taken their bath, and are about to anoint themselves with oil. We know very little about these public baths from writers or from remains of the buildings. They were certainly not nearly so large or so luxurious as the _Thermae_ of the Roman Empire; but even in the Greek baths there were separate apartments for warm, cold, and vapour baths, with large reservoirs or smaller basins, in which water was poured out over the body, also rooms for undressing, anointing, etc. The more the custom grew of remaining for hours in these places or connecting them with the gymnasia, the more extensive they became and

the more luxurious. We cannot accurately ascertain to what extent the State sometimes owned these public baths and attended to their maintenance, but admission was not free even to these; a small fee was paid to the bath attendant, who superintended the place, and rendered assistance in the bath, not perhaps to cover the expenses of maintenance, so much as for his own trouble and labour. The owners of private establishments were obliged to charge higher fees if they wanted not only to cover their expenses, but also to gain a profit; mention is made of a private bathing establishment which was sold for 3,000 drachmae, and must, therefore, have brought in corresponding interest to the purchaser, which could only be obtained by the entrance fees of the bathers. The owner and attendants were responsible for the care of the bath, but not for the clothes of the bathers, which were often stolen. Those who had plenty of slaves used, therefore, to bring one with them to carry the utensils required for the bath, such as towels, oil flasks, and strigils, and to watch over his master’s clothes while he was bathing. As the custom of taking a warm bath daily became more general, the scene in the bath houses an hour before dinner grew more and more animated. Talking and joking went on; cheerfully-disposed people even sang, though that was regarded as unseemly; in the rooms devoted to refreshment after the bath they played knuckle-bones, or dice, or ball, sometimes even cottabus, for which game wine was necessary, and hence we must infer that opportunity for wine drinking was also given there in later times.

Towards sunset, or in winter after sunset, they returned home for the principal meal, or else went to the house of some friend who had invited guests. In the latter case the meal was generally a good deal prolonged, and followed by drinking, which extended far into the night. Those who dined at home with their wives and children generally finished their meal very quickly, and as the custom of early rising prevailed, they were probably in the habit of retiring early, unless the cares of business, study, or other serious pursuits kept some of them awake by lamplight; for the quiet of the night was a propitious time for serious thought after the noise of the day, which was probably as great in ancient times in the busy south as it is to-day. It is well-known that Demosthenes prepared nearly all his speeches at night.

There were also many other occupations, partly serious, partly entertaining, which filled up the life of the Greek citizen. At the time of the highest political development of Athens, in the fifth and fourth centuries, the political and judicial duties occupied a considerable amount of a citizen’s time. Even if he did not fill any of the numerous unpaid posts, or sit in the Council of Five Hundred, the _Boule_, whose duty it was to hold preliminary discussions, he still had to devote about forty days of the year to the ordinary popular assemblies, in addition to which there were often extraordinary meetings. Supposing the lot should have appointed him to be one of the 6,000 jurymen (ἡλιασταί) annually chosen, this gave him plenty to do for his year of office, for, besides the meetings, he had to acquire information about various suits at which he had to give his opinion; and we know, chiefly from Aristophanes, how devoted many citizens were to their judicial duties, and how all their thoughts and actions were often centred in this activity, which by no means always exercised a good moral influence over them. Rich citizens also performed voluntary public services (λειτουργίαι), which consisted partly in entertaining the people by providing scenic or choric representations, gymnastic games, torchlight processions, etc., partly in important services to the State, such as equipping a man-of-war at their own expense. These voluntary services not only imposed on the rich citizens considerable money burdens, which in later times, when the Athenian wealth had diminished, could no longer be met by one individual, but also took up a great deal of their time, since they had not only to supply the necessary money, but also to superintend and arrange the work. Another change in the monotony of daily life was supplied by the religious festivals, in which the Attic calendar was unusually rich, and the theatrical and other performances connected with them, with which we shall deal later on.

Those who possessed estates in the country, even when they lived in town, often went out to them to look after the management; hunting and bird-catching were also very popular occupations. The former especially was a favourite amusement. Hunting in ancient times was very different from what it is at the present day; this is partly due to the great difference between our modern firearms and the hunting implements of the ancients, partly to their almost universal custom of using nets, into which they drove the game and there killed it. These nets were used for nearly all quadrupeds which they hunted, and the strength and density of the meshes differed according to the object hunted, as well as the method of arrangement. There were in particular bag nets, which were drawn together behind the game when it ran into it, and falling nets, which were hung loosely on forked sticks, and when the animal ran against them fell down from the sticks and entangled it. Snares were also used for catching not only hares and foxes, but also larger four-footed game, such as boars and stags. In consequence of this custom of driving the game, and bringing it to bay, bows which were calculated for longer distances were of very little use in hunting; the animals were either killed by a light javelin thrown from a small distance, or, if the game had turned to bay, with a hanger, which was especially useful in boar hunting. Dogs were used for starting the game and driving it into the nets at bay, and the ancients devoted a good deal of care to their training; indeed, the important part played by dogs in Greek hunting is expressed by the Greek name for huntsman, which means “dog leader” (κυνηγός). They used to hunt boars, stags, hares; beasts of prey, such as wolves and jackals, were only hunted when they were dangerous to the herds; and larger animals, such as lions and bears, did not exist at all in Greece in historic ages, although the numerous legends of lion hunts bear sufficient testimony to their existence in earlier times. Birds were caught with nets, snares, traps, and lime; and, since Greece was by no means rich in quadrupeds suitable for hunting, bird-catching was one of the most popular occupations, and also a lucrative one. On the other hand, fishing, which was carried on with both lines and nets, seems never to have become a regular sport.

We have already alluded to the practice of visiting the gymnasia, and the military duties of the citizens. There were also public houses and gaming houses, but these do not appear to have played a great part in the lives of the men. The drinking parties supplied sufficient opportunity for social meetings. Those who visited the public drinking bars usually did so for other purposes as well--to see pretty girls or to meet companions for dice, though both these purposes could be effected in special houses. It is natural, therefore, that it was not regarded as respectable to visit these wine taverns, and that grave men, as well as youths of good principle, avoided them. Still, even here the custom seems to have gradually relaxed, and though the Athenians were never as bad as the inhabitants of Byzantium, who were accused of spending the whole day at the bars, yet at the end of the fourth and in the third century B.C. it was very common for young men, or people of the lower classes, to dawdle about in the wine bars and gaming houses.

Travelling played a far less important part in the life of the Greeks than it does at the present day. In ancient times almost the only inducement for travelling was business. The merchant plied his trade chiefly as a sailor, the small shopkeeper travelled about the country as a pedlar. In the heroic period we also find artisans and travelling singers on their wanderings, and in the first centuries of the development of art, and to some extent even afterwards, sculptors and architects were summoned from a distance to execute commissions under the orders of the State, or some special board of officials. But those who were neither merchants nor artisans had less inducement to travel; for military expeditions, which of course were numerous, can hardly be included among journeys. There were also official embassies and pilgrimages to celebrated shrines, or visits to the great national festivals. Again, Solon, Herodotus, and others travelled for political or scientific purposes, with a view to study history or ethnography, that they might learn to know foreign nations, their manners and customs, countries and buildings. In the Alexandrine period, journeys were also undertaken for purposes of natural science. Our modern custom of visiting foreign lands for the sake of their natural beauty was unknown in Greek antiquity, but we must not on that account suppose that the ancients had no feeling for natural beauty. The Odyssey gives a picture of travel in heroic times; the common man trudges along on foot, while the rich man goes in his carriage, drawn by horses or mules, and the fact that the latter was possible even in the mountainous Peloponnesus, proves that even at that period good roads must have existed there. The Greeks never attained as great perfection in road-making as the Romans; apparently those roads were kept in best condition which led to the national sanctuaries, and here regular tracks were cut out of the rocky ground, and there were places for passing other carriages, halting places, etc. This was not, however, the case with all the roads, and we must not assume that ancient Greece possessed a well-kept complicated network of streets, such as the practical Romans constructed at every place to which their legions came; indeed, in historic times it appears that people travelled very little in carriages. Of course these had to be used on long journeys, especially when women were travelling; then they used four-wheeled carriages, which were sometimes used for sleeping in; and they also had smaller two-wheeled carts. But as a rule men travelled on horse-back or mule-back, and very often merely on foot, followed by one or many slaves, who carried the baggage required for the journey, in particular bed-coverings, clothes, utensils, etc.

If it was necessary to spend the night anywhere on a journey of several days, the widespread beautiful custom of hospitality which prevailed in ancient times, and made men regard every stranger as under the protection of Zeus, enabled them to find shelter; and, though this custom could not maintain itself in later times in its full extent, yet the effects of it still remained, and many people entered into a sort of treaty of hospitality with men in other towns, which was usually handed on to the descendants. By this they pledged themselves on the occasion of visits from members of one or the other family, to receive them in their houses and afford them the rights of hospitality; some little token of recognition previously agreed on--such as a little tablet, a ring broken into two halves, or something else of the sort--was used in such cases to legitimise the stranger. Sometimes whole districts entered into a league of this kind with one another, or one single rich man became the “guest-friend” of some foreign community, and entertained them when they came to his home. The service of the “guest-friend” was not always extended so far as to supply complete entertainment to the stranger as well as lodging; often he only supplied the lodging, the necessary coverings for the bed, and the use of the fire, which could not easily be procured, but in other respects left the guest, if he had brought servants with him, to provide for himself; some additional gifts of hospitality were usually sent him. Still this custom of “guest-friendship” was not sufficient to supply shelter for all travellers; therefore inns were opened in large trading cities, near harbours, and places of pilgrimage, such as Delos, Delphi, Olympia, etc., where strangers were entertained for payment. These inns were of very various character--some of them apparently supplied only rooms and a little furniture, especially bedsteads, while the stranger brought his own bed and coverlets, and had to provide his own food; others supplied food and drink, and were often houses of ill-fame, and in consequence it is natural that the position of inn-keeper should have been generally looked down upon in Greek antiquity. Probably these inns were not particularly pleasant places to stay in; very often the landlord cheated the travellers, and it was customary to arrange the price of everything beforehand; there were also inns which were used as hiding-places by robbers and thieves, and thus might prove dangerous quarters for the guests. Another disagreeable accompaniment of southern inns, even in the present day, is hinted at by Aristophanes in the “Frogs,” when Dionysus, on his journey to Hades, inquires for the inns in which there are fewest fleas. Travellers do not seem to have troubled themselves about passports; a legitimation was only necessary when the town to which they were going was engaged in war, or when they went into a hostile country in time of war. But to travel at all at such times was not advisable, for the roads, which at no time were specially safe, were then infested by travelling mercenaries or marauders. Sometimes travellers had to submit to an examination of their luggage. Officials generally farmed out the tolls to private undertakers, and these therefore had, or at any rate took, the right, if they suspected travellers of trying to smuggle dutiable articles, to stop them and examine their luggage, and sometimes even to open letters which they had by them.