Outlines of Universal History, Designed as a Text-book and for Private ReadingFisher, George Park
History
Outlines of Universal History, Designed as a Text-book and for Private Reading
Fisher, George Park
World history
Business might follow until noon, the hour of the
_dèjeuner_, or breakfast, which, in the case of the rich, was a
substantial meal. Later in the day, males went to the practice of
gymnastics, which were followed, in later times, by a warm
bath. Towards sunset came the principal meal of the
day. Conversation and music, or the attending of a feast with
friends, took up the evening; if there was a festal company, often
the whole night. At the dinner-table, the Greeks reclined on
couches. Ladies, if allowed to be present, and children, were
required to sit. Spoons, sometimes knives, but never forks, were
used. (3) _Costume: Use of Wine._ The dress of the Greeks, both
of men and women, was simple and graceful. The men were generally
bareheaded in the streets. In bad weather they wore close-fitting
caps, and, in traveling, broad-brimmed hats. In Athens and Sparta
they always carried walking-sticks. The use of wine was
universal. It was always mixed with water. (4) _Slaves_. Slaves
were regarded as chattels. No one objected to slavery as
wrong. Slaves were better treated at Athens than elsewhere, but even
at Athens they were tortured when their testimony was required. They
were let out, sometimes by thousands, to work in pestiferous
mines. (5) _Women and Children_. In Athens, the wife had
seldom learned any thing but to spin and to cook. She lived in
seclusion in her dwelling, and was not present with her husband at
social entertainments, either at home or elsewhere. She had few if
any legal rights, although at Athens she might bring a suit against
her husband for ill-treatment. Concubinage was not condemned by
public opinion. There was no law against exposing infants whom the
parents did not wish to bring up,--that is, leaving them where they
would perish. When found and brought up, they were the slaves of the
person finding them. This cruelty was frequent in the case of
daughters, or of offspring weak or deformed. There were toys and
games for children. _Archytas_, a philosopher, was said to have
invented the child's rattle. Dolls, hoops, balls, etc., were common
playthings. Boys and girls played hide and seek, blind man's buff,
hunt the slipper, etc. Older people played ball, and gambled with
dice. (6) _Education_. The education of boys was careful; that
of girls was neglected. The boy went to or from school under the
care of a slave, called _pedagogue_, or leader. Teachers were
of different social grades, from the low class which taught small
children, to the professors of rhetoric and philosophy. It is
needless to say how much stress was laid on gymnastic and aesthetic
training. Boys read _Homer_ and other authors at an early age,
committing much of them to memory. They were taught to play on the
harp or the flute, and to sing. Lyric poems they learned by
heart. _Music_ held a very high place in the esteem of the
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