The women-folk took their meals at home,[80] although the cost of their food was mainly defrayed by the public revenues. The men took their meals in dining-clubs (ἀνδρεῖα [andreia]). The whole population of each community was divided into clubs of this sort, apparently on the family basis, so that two or three families made up a club between them, to which their children and descendants would in turn belong. All the males of the family attended these meals; small children, boys, and young men as well as elders are all mentioned as being present at the same dinners.[81] The club is only an enlarged family party. The small children sat on the ground behind their fathers; they waited on themselves and on their elders, but the general superintendence of cooking and attendance was in the hands of a woman with three or four public slaves and some underlings in her control.[82] As they grew older, the sons sat beside their fathers. Boys ordinarily received half what their parents had; but orphans were allowed the full quantity at their dead father’s club. Thus the Cretan club was an amalgamation of several families into a sort of clan, whose male members all dined together. All the boys of the clan formed one boarding-school. They all slept in one room, perhaps attached to the dining-hall; there was always a dormitory attached to each of these buildings for visitors from other cities, so it would be natural to expect a dormitory for the children also. The boys took their meals in the club dining-hall, in the presence of their elders, by whose improving conversations upon politics and morals they were supposed to be educated. These elder members elected one of their number to serve as παιδονόμος [paidonomos] or “Superintendent of the boys” of their club.[83] Under his directions the boys learned letters “in moderation”: they were constantly practised in gymnastics, in the use of arms, especially the bow, which was a great Cretan weapon, and in the war-dances, the Kuretic and Pyrrhic, both indigenous in Crete. They learned the laws of their country set to a sort of tune, in order that their souls might be drawn by the music, and also, that they might more easily remember them. In this way, if they did anything which was forbidden, they had not the excuse of ignorance.[84] Besides this, they were taught hymns to the gods, and praises of good men. The favourite metre for these purposes was the Cretic ( ― ˘ ― ), which was regarded as “severe” and so suitable for teaching courage and restraint.[85] The Pæan was their chief national form of song. Cretan boys were also practised in that terse and somewhat humorous style of speaking which we have already seen at Sparta.[86]