The following pages do not claim to be an absolutely literal translation of Dr. Blümner’s text. Such slight alterations have been made as the different and more concise character of the English language seemed to demand, assuming that, in a work of this character, the most faithful translation is that which clearly presents the author’s meaning in the different dress of another language. In one or two cases I have ventured to make some slight alterations. Thus, on page 277, my translation of the

If the account of Greek life and customs given in this work does not present all sides of life in due proportion, we must lay the blame on the insufficiency of the sources whence a description of this kind is derived. These are of three kinds: literary, artistic, and epigraphic. The literary sources supply us with a large amount of detail for the work in hand, but seldom give complete pictures or descriptions of social conditions. Those writers of the Free Age of Greece whom we still possess ent

Costumes, Stitched and Draped—The Chiton—The Himation or Chlaina—Drapery—The Uniform Male Dresses of Sparta—The Chlamys—Similarity Between Male and Female Costumes—The Difference Between Doric and Ionic Garments—The Fashion at Athens in the Fifth Century B.C. —The Materials—Footgear—Leggings—Head-Coverings—Mode of Dressing the Hair. To obtain a complete insight into the life of former ages we require primarily a knowledge of the historical and geographical, political, and religious conditions of

An Athenian Home—The Birth of a Child—Its Dedication—Its First Years—Learning to Walk—Playthings—Amusements. We must now transport ourselves in imagination to the house of an Athenian citizen of the better classes. He is a rich man, who not only owns a comfortable, though simple, town house and land outside the gate managed by slaves, but also draws considerable interest from capital invested in trading vessels, and from the numerous slaves who work in factories for wages. But, in spite of his c

Schools—At Sparta—At Athens—Methods of Instruction—Reading Lessons—Music—Geometry—The Gymnasia—Physical Training—The Education of Girls. Here , as in so many other domains of which we must treat, there is a marked distinction between the Doric and Ionic states. In the latter the education of boys was a private duty of the parents, and the State only retained a general right of control; while in the Doric states, and especially at Sparta, with whose institutions we are best acquainted, boys were

Love amongst the Greeks—Engagements—Marriage Rites and Ceremonies—The Laconian Custom—Marriage in the Doric States—The Mode of Life of the Athenian Women—Their Personal Habits—The Hetaerae . The boyhood of the young Athenian was occupied by school and play; his youth was spent in gymnastic exercises, and sometimes also in scientific studies and military labours. When he attained his majority as a citizen, he acquired the right of exercising his political and civic duties, taking part in popular

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 v

Banquets—The Various Courses—The Symposium—Its Character—Conversation—Music—Entertainments—Jugglers—Flute-Girls—Riddles—Games—Excessive Drinking. At Athens, and probably throughout Greece—except, perhaps, at Sparta—the chief meal of the day was taken in the evening. This was not, however, the case in the Homeric period, when it was taken at mid-day, and the evening meal was of less importance. The customs of the heroic age differed in many respects from those of later times. In particular, the p

The Great Plague—Homer’s References to Physicians— Asklepiadae —The Oath of Hippocrates—General Practitioners and Specialists— Plutus of Aristophanes—Customs connected with Death, Burial, and Burning—Tombs and their Ornaments. Greek mythology tells us that in the golden age mankind lived without trouble or sorrows, equally unacquainted with vice and with cruel disease; but when fatal curiosity opened the disastrous box of Pandora, along with a thousand other troubles which pursue mankind, there

Jumping—Use of Dumb-bells—Running—The Torch-race—Quoit-throwing—The Javelin—Wrestling—Boxing— Pancration — Pentathlon —Ball-games—Archery—Training. We have already had occasion to allude to the important part played by gymnastics in Greek life. In the Doric states it was the basis of the education of girls as well as boys, and even at Athens the training of the body was an important feature of the education of boys and youths, and was also diligently cultivated even afterwards for the sake of de

Stringed Instruments—The Lyre—The Cithara—Wind Instruments—The Flute—Trumpets, Tambourines, and other Instruments—Dancing as a Popular Amusement—The Dance in Religious Ceremonies. We do not intend in this place to discuss the history and theory of ancient music, but only to supplement what has been said already about the musical instruction of youth, by indicating the most important branches of music which were studied in Greece and describing the instruments in use. We shall pass over vocal mus

Greek Religion—The Functions of the Priest—Forms of Worship, Prayer, and Sacrifice—Purification—Holy Water—Two Forms of Sacrifice, Bloody and Bloodless—Libations—Prophecy and Divinations—The Oracles. In a description of Greek life it is impossible entirely to pass over the many customs connected with the worship of the gods, and their importance in the life of individuals. Greek religion did not appoint any fixed ceremonies to be observed every day, as the Jewish or Mahometan religions do; but s

The Olympic Festival—The Gymnastic and Equestrian Contests—The Hippodrome—The Judges—The Preliminary Ceremonies—The Course of the Festival—Honours to the Victors—The Delphic Festival and Pythian Games—The Isthmian and Nemean Games—The Athenian Festivals—The Festivals of Dionysus. In ancient and in modern times alike it has been usual to connect public festivals with some religious observance, even though the actual occasion might be the celebration of the change of the seasons or some regular ev

Origin of the Greek Drama—The Structure of the Theatre—The Theatre of Dionysus—The Theatre at Syracuse—The Auditorium—The Stage—The Orchestra—Scene-painting—Stage Accessories—The Greek Drama—Tragedy, Comedy, and Satire—The Choragia —Theatrical Masks—Costumes—Conditions of Admission to the Theatre—The Securing of Seats—The Audience. Greek drama, both tragedy and comedy, originated in the national amusements and performances of the choruses at the Dionysiac festivals. A few words must also be said

The Heroic Period—Tribal Wars—The Chariot—Characteristics of Greek Warriors—The Spartans—The Athenian Array—Greek Arms—Cavalry—Greek Sieges—Greek Ships—The Trireme. Scarcely any changes seem to have taken place in the character of the offensive and defensive arms of the Greeks from the most ancient period until the Roman time, though the conduct of warfare made enormous advances in the thousand years between the Trojan War and the age of Alexander the Great and his successors. Our authorities fo

The Ancient Greek Prejudice Against Labour—Cultivation of the Soil—Agricultural Implements—Cattle Rearing—Handicrafts—The Organisation of Labour—Various Trades—Wholesale and Retail—Bankers and Money-Changers. The domains on which the activity of the ancients was chiefly concentrated were agriculture and cattle rearing, trade, and handicraft. Intellectual or artistic labour, which at the present day plays a very important part as a means of earning a livelihood, was hardly considered at all in An

Slaves in Ancient Greece—Captives Taken in War—The Slave Trade—The Price of Slaves—Native Serfs—The Helots—The Penestae and the Clarotae—The Status of the Slave—Protection against Ill-treatment—The Slave’s Duties—Modes of Liberation. All the social and economic conditions of antiquity are based on the institution of slavery, and without it would have been impossible; in fact, slavery is so closely interwoven with the whole life of antiquity that even the political development of the ancient nati

J. A. St. John. “The Hellenes.” London, 1844. J. P. Mahaffy. “Social Life in Greece from Homer to Menander.” London, 1875. W. A. Becker. “Charikles neu bearbeitet von H. Goell.” Berlin, 1877. C. F. Hermann. “Griechische Privataltertümer,” 3rd ed., edited by H. Blümner. Freiburg and Tübingen, 1882. Panofka. “Bilder antiken Lebens.” Berlin, 1843. Panofka. “Griechen und Griechinnen.” Berlin, 1844. Weiszer. “Lebensbilder aus dem Klassichen Altertum.” Stuttgart, 1862. A. Baumeister. “Denkmäler des Kl