This handbook is intended to serve as a guide to those objects in the Classical Collection which illustrate the daily life of the Greeks and Romans. Some of these have been brought together as a special exhibition in Cases 1 to 5 in the Fifth Room, while others which it has not been possible to move are referred to in their respective positions. Many of these antiquities are among the most valued possessions of the Museum, while others are entirely lacking in artistic qualities and would scarcely attract the visitor’s attention, yet placed in their proper relations they are found to be full of unsuspected interest. Investigations of the sites of ancient cities, settlements, and burial places, especially during the last fifty years, have brought to light objects of the most varied kinds which allow us to know, as was never before possible, the appearance and manner of life, the tools, utensils, weapons, and toys of the Greeks and Romans. Any one who will take up an old translation of an author such as the elder Pliny, Xenophon, or Martial, and compare it with a modern version will see at once the difference in this particular. The earlier translator was often at a loss when confronted with allusions to every-day life and consequently either did not express clearly the meaning of his original or even entirely misrepresented it. But quite apart from a correct interpretation of the works of ancient writers, the study of private antiquities enables us to form a mental picture of these people and their surroundings, the actors in the theatre, the citizens gathered in the assembly or at a religious festival, the houses from which they came, and the work they left behind; and as a result, to see the world with their eyes, to comprehend their aims and actions, and to compare them more intelligently with our own.