THE HOME-LIFE OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS.* IT is a question
of some importance how a person of average intellect but unacquainted with the Greek language can obtain any clear ideas as to the feelings, manners, arts, and religious usages of that remarkable portion of humanity. Schlegel holds that the best, if not the only, mode is by the study of the an- tiques, which, if not the originals, at least in the casts are now generally accessible, for "the architypes of the human form need no commentator." Much had been done previously in this direction by Winkelman in his excellent History of Art, and Professor Bliimner has very ably elicited from this and many other sources a mass of information regarding the private life of the Greeks of old in the heroic and historic times, interesting to the general reader, and to the scholar indispensable. It is obvious also that the examination of the remains of Greek art cannot fail to be eminently useful to the painter, the sculptor, the statuary, and the architect. But, to speak of this pursuit in its most ennobling aspects, when we read, be it in the simple and 'unaffected narrative of Herodotus or in the dryest school-book, the thrilling story of the death-struggle at Thermopyhe or the charge for freedom at Marathon, we naturally feel curious to know what sort of men Leonidas and Miltiados were in private life, how they had been brought up and educated, how they employed themselves in time of peace, what sort of women.the mothers and wives of heroes and statesmen were, and perhaps, too, how they were bloused, clothed, and fed ; and it is to these topics that Professor Bliimner has addressed himself. He has com- menced with a learned and lucid account of the dress of the ancient Greeks, which in the main seems to have been well suited to their occupations, to their climate, and to just sanitary principles. The men wore only two garments, the inner one, called " chiton," stitched and very probably wrought with some regard to the size and shape of the wearer; the outer, or " himation," merely draped. The women, however, wore generally three and sometimes four such robes, but of greater length and amplitude. In time of war the " chiton." was worn short and tightly girded, and in actual combat the " himation " was most probably flung down, as the Scottish Highlanders used to cast aside their plaids. In peace the longer " chiton " was more favoured by the Athenians, at least for youths, men advanced in years, and public officials, especially on religious or other solemn occasions. The materials were for a long time linen; at a later period woollen stuffs were more in favour, especially after the in- troduction of Milesian and Tyrian purples. Strange to say, it was at monarchical and aristocratic Sparta that a uni- formity of dress was imposed on the whole population; while in democratic Athens the rich wore the long linen robe, the poor adopted the shorter woollen. Tight-lacing was unknown to the women of Greece,—fortunately for them as well as for the painters and statuaries. Though long hair, carefully curled, was considered a mark of rank and high descent, yet we have no ground for supposiag that the Athenian ladies, like their sisters at Rome, purchased their ringlets, though, to judge from the unanimity of the poets in their praises of red-gold hair, we might consider such commerce excusable.
Though the education of youth bad attracted the serious attention of the Greek legislators at an early period, yet both the Attic and Spartan systems exhibit some very weak points. At Sparta, the bey from the age of seven ceased to belong to his parents, and became the bond. servant of the State ; while at Athens, though certain magistrates were appointed to superintend the conduct of the youths, this duty was but carelessly performed, and the young citizen was left in a great measure to take care of himself, at least until, by the opera..
* The Ettone-Life the Ancient Greek. TransintAl from the Gorman of Pro- fessor IC BlUmuer by Alio° Ziramern. London ()a >aell and Co.
tion of the compulsory eystem, he was enrolled in the rural patrol, in which he served from his sixteenth to his twentieth year, and where he was subject to some species of discipline. In both States an excessive amount of attention was paid to to music and gymnastics,—subjects for which many must have been found constitutionally incapable. We think, however, that Professor Bliimner has taken the word 1.60eaot in too restricted a sense, as it was often used to express litera- ture in general, which, he informs us, was cultivated by the study of Homer, Hesiod, and Theognis. We doubt if the last-named poet, though well worthy of study, could ever have been popular at Athens, owing to his aristo- cratic sentiments and his Megarian nationality. It is true that a young Athenian on attaining his majority could attend the lectures of the philosophers on rhetoric, geometry, meta- physics, or morals ; but this was quite optional, depending much on the popularity of the teacher, and it seems to have been profitless to very many. Even this slight advantage was prohibited to the Spartan citizen.
Beyond the skill required for managing the household and the singing of hymns on festal occasions, no provi- -sion was made at Athens or Sparta for female educa- tion, save that in the latter State the girls were compelled to cultivate gymnastics, apparently on sanitary grounds. This want of culture, if we may trust Aristophanes, led the women of Athens into habits of frivolity, intoxication, and even worse vices, but we agree with our author that the reputation of Sparta's maids and matrons is unstained. K. 0. Muller, however, holds that at Lesbos, Sappho taught a number of female disciples the art of poetic composition, some of whom did honour to their teacher and country, and it -is thought that the Theban Corinna who overcame Pinder in -song, did likewise. An Athenian citizen then could not hope for an intellectual wife, and was too often driven to seek much worse society, butt he was not beset with clamours for " Womens' Rights," or" talked dead by a female atheist." The secluded lives which Athenian women were expected to lead rendered marriage a mere matter of contract between the ;parents, and very frequently the bride and bridegroom had never seen each other until the day of the ceremony which, though accompanied by sacrifices and hymns, did not require the intervention of priest or magistrate. This state of things necessarily led to a facility and frequency of divorce. At ;Sparta, the reverse was the case, for there women enjoyed as much liberty as they now possess in England or Germany, though not quite as much as they claim and obtain in the United States, There were, besides, two modes by which the men of Greece could obtain mu eh useful information, namely, the public games, which were celebrated at fixed times and places, and were attended by all Greeks of every tribe or abode, and during whose duration there was a cessation from the most inveterate wars ; and the dramatic representations, which, however, as far as we know, existed only at Athens during the historic period, though their origin may be traced in other localities. At the games not only could information from foreign lands be circu- lated, but compositions in prose and poetry were recited ; ;while Attic tragedy may be truly said to have well schooled the audience in mythological and legendary lore. Comedy, too, -during the times of freedom, served many of the purposes of the modern newspaper, particularly of the leading articles.
The chapters on war and seafaring can hardly be said to appertain to home-life ; and our limits forbid our giving them the favourable notice which they well deserve. The chapter -on slavery is remarkably well digested and suggestive, and should be carefully studied, not only by those who may be -curious regarding this "domestic institution," but by all who -are interested (and who is not, directly or indirectly ?) in clues- tione regarding employment and labour, We trust, and indeed have no doubt, that Professor Bliimner's work will meet with the popularity it so well merits ; and we congratulate Miss 2immern on the excellent style of her translation, which is .highly creditable to herself as well as to Girton College.
Previous page
