In this way the intercourse of nations may frequently be explained by the help of pottery. Not only, be it observed, may it be taken as an indicator of the movements or extension of the nations themselves, but of the manner and extent of their intercourse with the rest of the world. As an exponent of the customs of antiquity, its aid is of the highest value. We learn, for instance, that among the Greeks the usual custom was to mix wine in one vessel, cool it in another, draw it from the latter into jugs, and from them fill and replenish the beakers or cups of guests. We can see anywhere to-day tiny tea-sets for the amusement of children. The Greeks had something closely akin to them. Vases were given to children, as toys are given now. Some of those discovered are so limited in their dimensions that they could not have been used for any other purpose, and on others are depicted the games in which children engaged. Of all the uses to which an earthen jar could be put, certainly the most singular was that discovered by Diogenes, when he chose one for his habitation (Fig. 4). That such was the case there is strong reason for believing. This statement is one which may disconcert popular belief, and break off the association between the philosopher and a “tub;” but the authorities in favor of his home being a huge jar are tolerably decisive. A tub, moreover, scarcely seems to meet the requirements of the occasion, whereas it is easy to imagine a _pithos_ satisfying the limited demands of Diogenes in the way of house-keeping. Nor was the whim of the philosopher without parallel. It is said that during the Peloponnesian war the Athenians lived in similar vessels. The _pithos_ occupied by Diogenes was cracked and patched; and these vessels, when unfit for other use, were, long after his day, used as dwellings by the poor. [Illustration: Fig. 4.--Diogenes in Pithos.]