GREEK LIFE The Story of Mankind | ||
17. GREEK LIFE
HOW THE GREEKS LIVED
BUT how, you will ask, did the ancient Greeks have time to look after their families and their business if they were forever running to the market-place to discuss affairs of state? In this chapter I shall tell you.
In all matters of government, the Greek democracy recognised only one class of citizens—the freemen. Every Greek city was composed of a small number of free born citizens, a large number of slaves and a sprinkling of foreigners.
At rare intervals (usually during a war, when men were needed for the army) the Greeks showed themselves willing to confer the rights of citizenship upon the "barbarians'' as they called the foreigners. But this was an exception. Citizenship was a matter of birth. You were an Athenian because your father and your grandfather had been Athenians before you. But however great your merits as a trader or a soldier, if you were born of non-Athenian parents, you remained a "foreigner'' until the end of time.
The Greek city, therefore, whenever it was not ruled by a king or a tyrant, was run by and for the freemen, and this would not have been possible without a large army of slaves who outnumbered the free citizens at the rate of six or five to one and who performed those tasks to which we modern people must devote most of our time and energy if we wish to provide for our families and pay the rent of our apartments.
GREEK SOCIETY
[Description: A figurative representation of Greek society, listing freemen, slaves, and areas of activity such as law, soldiering, and art.]Indeed, ancient Athens resembled a modem club. All the freeborn citizens were hereditary members and all the slaves were hereditary servants, and waited upon the needs of their masters, and it was very pleasant to be a member of the organisation.
But when we talk about slaves. we do not mean the sort of
The Greeks accepted slavery as a necessary institution, without which no city could possibly become the home of a truly civilised people.
The slaves also took care of those tasks which nowadays are performed by the business men and the professional men. As for those household duties which take up so much of the time of your mother and which worry your father when he comes home from his office, the Greeks, who understood the value of leisure, had reduced such duties to the smallest possible minimum by living amidst surroundings of extreme simplicity.
To begin with, their homes were very plain. Even the
rich
nobles spent their lives in a sort of adobe barn, which
lacked
all the comforts which a modern workman expects as his natural
right. A Greek home consisted of four walls and a roof.
There was a door which led into the street but there were no
windows. The kitchen, the living rooms and the sleeping
quarters
were built around an open courtyard in which there was a
small fountain, or a statue and a few plants to make it look
bright. Within this courtyard the family lived when it did
not rain or when it was not too cold. In one corner of the yard
the cook (who was a slave) prepared the meal and in another
corner, the teacher (who was also a slave) taught the
children
the alpha beta gamma and the tables of multiplication and in
still another corner the lady of the house, who rarely left
her
THE TEMPLE
[Description: Ink drawing of a Greek temple on a hill.]
When dinner was ready the family came together but the meal was a very simple one and did not take much time. The Greeks seem to have regarded eating as an unavoidable evil and not a pastime, which kills many dreary hours and eventually kills many dreary people. They lived on bread and on wine, with a little meat and some green vegetables. They drank water only when nothing else was available because they did not think it very healthy. They loved to call on each other for dinner, but our idea of a festive meal, where everybody is supposed to eat much more than is good for him, would have disgusted them. They came together at the table for the purpose of a good talk and a good glass of wine and water, but as they were moderate people they despised those who drank too much.
The same simplicity which prevailed in the dining room also dominated their choice of clothes. They liked to be clean and well groomed, to have their hair and beards neatly cut, to feel their bodies strong with the exercise and the swimming of the gymnasium, but they never followed the Asiatic fashion which prescribed loud colours and strange patterns. They wore a long white coat and they managed to look as smart as a modern Italian officer in his long blue cape.
They loved to see their wives wear ornaments but they thought it very vulgar to display their wealth (or their wives) in public and whenever the women left their home they were as inconspicuous as possible.
In short, the story of Greek life is a story not only of moderation but also of simplicity. "Things,'' chairs and tables and books and houses and carriages, are apt to take up a great deal of their owner's time. In the end they invariably make
GREEK LIFE The Story of Mankind | ||