Chapter I: Front Matter

A Day In Old Athens

by William Stearns Davis

Professor of Ancient History in the University of Minnesota

Preface

This little book tries to describe what an intelligent person would see and hear in ancient Athens, if by some legerdemain he were translated to the fourth century B.C. and conducted about the city under competent guidance. Rare happenings have been omitted and sometimes, to avoid long explanations, _probable_ matters have been stated as if they were ascertained facts; but these instances are few, and it is hoped no reader will be led into serious error.

The year 360 B.C. has been selected for the hypothetical time of this visit, not because of any special virtue in that date, but because Athens was then architecturally almost perfect, her civic and her social life seemed at their best, the democratic constitution held its vigor, and there were few outward signs of the general decadence which was to set in after the triumph of Macedon.

I have endeavored to state no facts and to make no allusions, that will not be fairly obvious to a reader who has merely an elementary knowledge of Greek annals, such information, for instance, as may be gained through a good secondary school history of ancient times. This naturally has led to comments and descriptions which more advanced students may find superfluous.

The writer has been under a heavy debt to the numerous and excellent works on Greek “Private Antiquities” and “Public Life” written in English, French, or German, as well as to the various great Classical Encyclopædias and Dictionaries, and to many treatises and monographs upon the topography of Athens and upon the numerous phases of Attic culture. It is proper to say, however, that the material from such secondary sources has been merely supplementary to a careful examination of the ancient Greek writers, with the objects of this book kept especially in view. A sojourn in modern Athens, also, has given me an impression of the influence of the Attic landscape upon the conditions of old Athenian life, an impression that I have tried to convey in this small volume.

I am deeply grateful to my sister, Mrs. Fannie Davis Gifford, for helpful criticism of this book while in manuscript; to my wife, for preparing the drawings from Greek vase-paintings which appear as illustrations; and to my friend and colleague, Professor Charles A. Savage, for a kind and careful reading of the proofs. Thanks also are due to Henry Holt and Company for permission to quote material from their edition of Von Falke’s “Greece and Rome.”

W. S. D.

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. May, 1914.

Contents

Chapter I. The Physical Setting of Athens. 1. The Importance of Athens in Greek History 2. Why the Social Life of Athens is so Significant 3. The Small Size and Sterility of Attica 4. The Physical Beauty of Attica 5. The Mountains of Attica 6. The Sunlight in Attica 7. The Topography of the City of Athens 8. 360 B.C.—The Year of the Visit to Athens

Chapter II. The First Sights in Athens. 9. The Morning Crowds bound for Athens 10. The Gate and the Street Scenes 11. The Streets and House Fronts of Athens 12. The Simplicity of Athenian Life

Chapter III. The Agora and its Denizens. 13. The Buildings around the Agora 14. The Life in the Agora 15. The Booths and Shops in the Agora 16. The Flower and the Fish Vendors 17. The Morning Visitors to the Agora 18. The Leisured Class in Athens 19. Familiar Types around the Agora 20. The Barber Shops

Chapter IV. The Athenian House and its Furnishings. 21. Following an Athenian Gentleman Homeward 22. The Type and Uses of a Greek House 23. The Plan of a Greek House 24. Modifications in the Typical Plan 25. Rents and House Values 26. The Simple yet Elegant Furnishings of an Athenian House

Chapter V. The Women of Athens. 27. How Athenian Marriages are Arranged 28. Lack of Sentiment in Marriages 29. Athenian Marriage Rites 30. The Mental Horizon of Athenian Women 31. The Honor paid Womanhood in Athens 32. The Sphere of Action of Athenian Women

Chapter VI. Athenian Costume. 33. The General Nature of Greek Dress 34. The Masculine Chiton, Himation, and Chlamys 35. The Dress of the Women 36. Footwear and Head Coverings 37. The Beauty of the Greek Dress 38. Greek Toilet Frivolities

Chapter VII. The Slaves. 39. Slavery an Integral Part of Greek Life 40. The Slave Trade in Greece 41. The Treatment of Slaves in Athens 42. Cruel and Kind Masters 43. The “City Slaves” of Athens

Chapter VIII. The Children. 44. The Desirability of Children in Athens 45. The Exposure of Infants 46. The Celebration of a Birth 47. Life and Games of Young Children 48. Playing in the Streets 49. The First Stories and Lessons 50. The Training of Athenian Girls

Chapter IX. The Schoolboys of Athens. 51. The Athenians Generally Literate 52. Character Building the Aim of Athenian Education 53. The Schoolboy’s Pedagogue 54. An Athenian School 55. The School Curriculum 56. The Study of the Poets 57. The Greeks do not study Foreign Languages 58. The Study of “Music” 59. The Moral Character of Greek Music 60. The Teaching of Gymnastics 61. The Habits and Ambitions of Schoolboys 62. The “Ephebi”

Chapter X. The Physicians of Athens. 63. The Beginnings of Greek Medical Science 64. Healing Shrines and their Methods 65. An Athenian Physician’s Office 66. The Physician’s Oath 67. The Skill of Greek Physicians 68. Quacks and Charlatans

Chapter XI. The Funerals. 69. An Athenian’s Will 70. The Preliminaries of a Funeral 71. Lamenting the Dead 72. The Funeral Procession 73. The Funeral Pyre 74. Honors to the Memory of the Dead 75. The Beautiful Funeral Monuments

Chapter XII. Trade, Manufactures, and Banking. 76. The Commercial Importance of Athens 77. The Manufacturing Activities of Athens 78. The Commerce of Athens 79. The Adventurous Merchant Skippers 80. Athenian Money-changers and Bankers 81. A Large Banking Establishment 82. Drawbacks to the Banking Business 83. The Pottery of Athens 84. Athenian Pottery an Expression of the Greek Sense of Beauty

Chapter XIII. The Armed Forces of Athens. 85. Military Life at Athens 86. The Organization of the Athenian Army 87. The Hoplites and the Light Troops 88. The Cavalry and the Peltasts 89. The Panoply of the Hoplites 90. The Weapons of a Hoplite 91. Infantry Maneuvers 92. The Preliminaries of a Greek Battle 93. Joining the Battle 94. The Climax and End of the Battle 95. The Burial Truce and the Trophy after the Battle 96. The Siege of Fortified Towns 97. The Introduction of New Tactics

Chapter XIV. The Peiræus and the Shipping. 98. The “Long Walls” down to the Harbor Town 99. Munychia and the Havens of Athens 100. The Glorious View from the Hill of Munychia 101. The Town of Peiræus 102. The Merchant Shipping 103. The Three War Harbors and the Ship Houses 104. The Great Naval Arsenal 105. An Athenian Trierarch 106. The Evolution of the Trireme 107. The Hull of a Trireme 108. The Rowers’ Benches of a Trireme 109. The Cabins, Rigging, and Ram of a Trireme 110. The Officers and Crew of a Trireme 111. A Trireme at Sea 112. The Tactics of a Naval Battle 113. The Naval Strength of Athens

Chapter XV. An Athenian Court Trial. 114. The Frequency of Litigation in Athens 115. Prosecutions in Athens 116. The Preliminaries to a Trial 117. The Athenian Jury Courts 118. The Juryman’s Oath 119. Opening The Trial. The Plaintiff’s Speech 120. The Defendant’s Speech. Demonstrations by the Jury 121. The First Verdict 122. The Second and Final Verdict 123. The Merits and Defects of the Athenian Courts 124. The Usual Punishments in Athens 125. The Heavy Penalty of Exile 126. The Death Penalty of Athens

Chapter XVI. The Ecclesia of Athens. 127. The Rule of Democracy in Athens 128. Aristocracy and Wealth. Their Status and Burdens 129. Athenian Society truly Democratic up to a Certain Point 130. The Voting Population of Athens 131. Meeting Times of the Ecclesia 132. The Pnyx (Assembly Place) at Athens 133. The Preliminaries of the Meeting 134. Debating a Proposition 135. Voting at the Pnyx 136. The Ecclesia as an Educational Instrument

Chapter XVII. The Afternoon at the Gymnasia. 137. The Gymnasia. Places of General Resort 138. The Road to the Academy 139. The Academy 140. The Social Atmosphere and Human Types at the Academy 141. Philosophers and Cultivated Men at the Gymnasia 142. The Beautiful Youths at the Academy 143. The Greek Worship of Manly Beauty 144. The Detestation of Old Age 145. The Greeks unite Moral and Physical Beauty 146. The Usual Gymnastic Sports and their Objects 147. Professional Athletes: the Pancration 148. Leaping Contests 149. Quoit Hurling 150. Casting the Javelin 151. Wrestling 152. Foot Races 153. The Pentathlon: the Honors paid to Great Athletes

Chapter XVIII. Athenian Cookery and the Symposium. 154. Greek Meal Times 155. Society desired at Meals 156. The Staple Articles of Food 157. Greek Vintages 158. Vegetable Dishes 159. Meat and Fish Dishes 160. Inviting Guests to a Dinner Party 161. Preparing for the Dinner: the Sicilian Cook 162. The Coming of the Guests 163. The Dinner Proper 164. Beginning the Symposium 165. The Symposiarch and his Duties 166. Conversation at the Symposium 167. Games and Entertainments 168. Going Home from the Feast: Midnight Revelers

Chapter XIX. Country Life around Athens. 169. The Importance of his Farm to an Athenian 170. The Country by the Ilissus: the Greeks and Natural Beauty 171. Plato’s Description of the Walk by the Ilissus 172. The Athenian Love of Country Life 173. Some Features of the Attic Country 174. An Attic Farmstead 175. Plowing, Reaping, and Threshing 176. Grinding at the Mill 177. The Olive Orchards 178. The Vineyards 179. Cattle, Sheep, and Goats 180. The Gardens and the Shrine

Chapter XX. The Temples and Gods of Athens. 181. Certain Factors in Athenian Religion 182. What constitutes “Piety” in Athens 183. The Average Athenians Idea of the Gods 184. Most Greeks without Belief in Immortality 185. The Multitude of Images of the Gods 186. Greek Superstition 187. Consulting Omens 188. The Great Oracles 189. Greek Sacrifices 190. The Route to the Acropolis 191. The Acropolis of Athens 192. The Use of Color Upon Athenian Architecture and Sculptures 193. The Chief Buildings on the Acropolis 194. The Parthenon 195. A Sacrifice on the Acropolis 196. The Interior of the Parthenon and the Great Image of Athena 197. Greek Prayers