Ancient Greece Daily Life
Childhood
Children lived with their mothers in the women's quarter until they were 7 years old. They slept in wicker baskets or wooden cradles.
The children played with balls, miniature chariots, rattles, yo-yos, rocking horses, and dolls and animals made from clay. Many had pets. They especially liked dogs. Other pets included ducks, quail, birds, goats, tortoises, mice, weasels, and grasshoppers. At age 7 the boys went to school.
Schools
The schools varied from one city-state to the next. The Spartans were the most envied by the Greeks. They were taught to be tough from an early age.
Spartan Schools
When babies were born in Sparta, Spartan elders would examine them. If the baby did not look healthy, it was taken away and left to die or trained as a slave. If the baby was healthy, it was assigned membership in a brotherhood or sisterhood.
The boys in Sparta were sent to military camps of their brotherhood when they turned 7. They learned how to read and write until they were about 14. The Spartan government wanted to make the boys tough. To do this they were given little clothing and no shoes. They slept on hard beds made of reeds and were not given any covers. They were not given enough food. They were trained in survival skills and how to be a good soldier. Reading and writing were taught as secondary skills.
Between ages 18 to 20 each boy had to pass a fitness test. If he did not pass the test, he lost his rights as a full Spartan citizen. He had no political rights and was no longer considered a citizen. If the boy passed he served in the military and continued to train as a soldier. Military service lasted until the boy reached age 60.
The girls were trained in the school of their sisterhood. They were taught physical education. Classes included wrestling, gymnastics, and combat training. The Spartans wanted girls to be strong so that they would have healthy children. At age 18 the Spartan girl had to pass a fitness test. She was then assigned a husband and allowed to return home. If she failed the test, she lost her rights as a Spartan citizen.
Athenian Schools
Boys were taught at home by their mothers until they were 6 or 7 years old. In Athens the education was left up to the father. Students were taught by private schoolmasters. The boys from wealthy families were taken to school by a trusted slave. The students learned to write on wax-covered tablets with a stylus. Books were very expensive, so they were rare. The students in Athens learned to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. They also learned about fractions. Students learned the words of Homer and how to play the lyre. Boys were trained in sports. Wealthy children learned to ride horseback. Other sports included wrestling, using a bow and a sling, and swimming. At age 14 boys attended a higher school for four more years. At age 18 boys went to military school. They graduated at age 20.
Roles of the Men and Women
Men
Campanian Red Figure
Bell Krater
Late 5th century BC
In Greece the men ran the government. They spent a lot of their time out of the house while involved in politics. Men also spent time in the fields overseeing the crops. They sailed, hunted, and traded. All of these activities took the men away from home. Men enjoyed wrestling, horseback riding, and the Olympic Games. Men had parties in which the women were not allowed to attend.
Women
Marriage
Athenian Marriage
The day before the wedding the girl took a bath from a sacred spring. The water was poured from a vase called a loutrophorus. The girl then worshipped the goddess Artemis. She offered the goddess symbols of her childhood such as toys and a lock of her hair.
Marriages usually took place in January. Wedding ceremonies started after dark. The bride traveled from her home to the home of her groom in a chariot, or a wagon if she was poor. Friends of the bride and groom lit the way with torches. They played music to scare away the evil spirits. The bride would eat a piece of fruit at the ceremony to show that food and other basic needs would come from the husband. Marriages were arranged by the father of the bride. The bride did not even meet her future husband until the day of the wedding. Girls married at about age 15 and her groom would be about twice her age. Grooms were given a dowry. If the husband died, the dowry and girl would return to her father.
Spartan Marriage
Spartan women were not given a special celebration on their wedding day. The ceremony was brief and private. Afterwards the husband and wife would meet in secret until the husband reached the age of thirty. At that time he was allowed to live in the same house as his wife.
Divorce
Divorce was quite common and allowed. The women would frequently remarry.
Clothing
Greeks wore simple free-flowing clothing. Most clothes were made of wool or linen. The wool was woven into a lightweight material. The wool was often dyed using natural dyes from plants. In the fifth century B. C. cotton was imported from India. Only the rich could afford to buy it. Most families made their own clothes. They were made by the women in the family or by female slaves. They were decorated to represent the city-state in which they lived.
Until the sixth century most garments were plain. Beginning with the sixth century the clothes were decorated with a wide range of colors. Later the tunic was replaced by thin linen or occasionally silk. At this time the fabric was much wider and could measure up to 10 feet wide. The length was measured from the wearer's shoulder to the ankle with no extra. The tunic was fastened on both sides of the neck with two long pins or metal brooches called fibulae. The fabric was pulled in at the waist with a belt. At this time the chiton sleeves were popular with the ladies. These were made by fastening the ends of the two pieces of fabric many times from the shoulder to the wrist. The fabric pulled away from each clasp making oval shaped openings all along the arm. The men's tunics were worn at knee-length. The women wore their tunics to the ankles.
Both men and women wore cloaks called himation. These were also made from a rectangular piece of fabric. The men's were usually knee-length while the women's were long.
Greeks wore shoes when they went outside. Everyone had strapped sandals. Boots were made of leather. The women wore ankle length boots while the men wore heavy boots with laces.
The Greeks wore a wide hat called a petasos when traveling. The hat had a chin strap to hold it on.
Hair
Italic Low-Footed Red Figure Bowl
with High Handles 4th century B.C.
Men kept their hair short. Most men wore beards until the time of Alexander the Great, when shaving became popular.
Homes
Greek homes were plain. They were built of wood, mud brick, or stone. They had only two or three rooms built around an open courtyard. Windows were small and set high on the walls. They could be closed with shutters. They were whitewashed to a bright white. In poor homes, the cooking was done outside over a campfire. Few homes had chimneys. Instead they had small vents in the ceiling to allow smoke to go out. There was not much difference between the homes of the wealthy and the poor. The largest difference was where the home was located. The wealthy home would be located in a different district in the town. The wealthy spent their money on expensive clothes, jewelry, and slaves.
Expensive homes had one foot thick walls. This kept thieves from stealing. The lower part of the wall was stone and the upper part was brick. These homes included:
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pastas - a covered porch with columns along one side of the courtyard
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aule - the open courtyard
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andron - room where the men ate and entertained (This room usually opened into the courtyard.)
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oikos - family dining room (Next to the kitchen and bathroom so they could be heated at the same time.)
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gynaeceum - the women's rooms
The view from Delphi down over the plain of olive trees towards Itea
Food
Old Market Woman
(New York, Metropolitan Museum)
The Greeks ate three meals and a snack each day. Breakfast was eaten at sunrise. They ate a small midday meal and a late afternoon snack. The main meal was eaten at the end of the day.
The soil was poor along the coast. With irrigation and crop rotation the Greeks were able to raise some crops. The soil was richer in the plains. In the plain regions the Greeks were able to raise wheat and barley. Greeks made a large variety of breads including milk bread, rye bread, wheaten bread, farmhouse bread, brown bread, braided bread, and square bread. Because wheat could only be raised on the plains, there was not enough to feed all the people in Greece.
Greeks grew olives, grapes, and figs. Other fruits that were eaten were apples, pears, plums, pomegranates, and dates. These fruits were often baked into cakes and pies which were sweetened with honey. In their gardens they raised peas, fava beans, and lentils. Green vegetables were rare and very expensive. The Greeks cultivated mushrooms beginning in the fifth century B. C. They kept goats for milk and cheese. Some kept chickens for their eggs. Many foods were cooked in olive oil.
Greeks usually drank water. Some drank goats' milk. Another drink was made with fermented honey. Homemade wine was very popular with adults. It was thick and heavy and had to be diluted with water.
Meat was rarely eaten. It was mostly used for religious sacrifices. Greece had a lot of wild game to hunt. Hunters found pheasant, partridge, quail, and wild guinea hens. They also hunted wild boars, bear, deer, foxes, weasels, hares, moles, cats, porcupines, and hedgehogs. Greeks ate a lot of fish and seafood. Fishermen caught gilt-heads, mullets, turbot, and tuna.
Ancient Greeks didn't use napkins. Instead they wiped their hands on pieces of bread which were given to the dogs. They ate stew and porridge with spoons. They cut their meat with knives. No forks were used. Meals were served on plates made from wood, clay, or metal.
Entertainment
Dance was very important to the Greeks. Some dances were for men, and others were for women. Over 200 dances were performed by the Greeks. Dancers were accompanied by lyres, flutes, and percussion instruments.
The Greeks created many stories. Aesop's Fables were told by an Ancient Greek.
The Greeks had many religious festivals.
Festivals
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Cronia - harvest festival
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Panathenaea - festival in honor of Athena
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Great mysteries of Eleusis - 11 days
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Apaturia - festival in honor of Athena and Zeus
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Pyanepsia - Apollo
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Thesmophoria - Demeter
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Oschophoria - Dionysus and Athena
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Chalkeia - Athena and Hephaestus
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Haloa - Demeter and Dionysus
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Rural Dionysian festival
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Lenaea - festival in honor of Dionysus
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Anthesteria - festival in honor of Dionysus and the dead
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Minor mysteries of Eleusis
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Diasia - festival in honor of Zeus
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Chloia - Demeter
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Procharisteria - Athena
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Great Dionysia - 6 days
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Thargelia - Apollo or Demeter
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Thalysia - Demeter and Kore
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Skira - Demeter and Kore
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Dipolieia (Bouphonia) - Zeus
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Arrephoria - Athena and Aphrodite
Additional Entertainment
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Agora (marketplace) The marketplace was for men. Young boys and women were not allowed to come until the afternoon. This large space of about 100 by 200 meters held barbershops, bathhouses, perfume vendors, and drinking establishments.
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Gymnasia (gym) The gymnasia was a large exercise yard surrounded by changing rooms, practice rooms, and baths. The Greeks wanted healthy bodies. Due to this they spent a good portion of each day exercising in the gym. Wrestling, boxing, and javelin and discus throwing were enjoyed sports. Athletes wore no clothes while exercising. They oiled or dusted their bodies before and after exercising.
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Theater - large open theaters were built in many cities.
The photo to the left is a statue fragment of a satyr from the Temple of Dionysus on the South Slope of the Acropolis, Athens.
Classes of People
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Freemen - divided into classes
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Lowest class were the thetes (urban craftsmen)
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Middle ranks - small farmers
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Top - aristocrats who owned large estates
Many occupations fell between these classes.
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Metics - free non-citizens - Metics were usually Greeks from other city-states. Many worked as craftsmen, traders, and merchants.
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Slaves -
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Highest Level - some worked as tutors and police officials
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Middle Level - domestic slaves - often considered one of the family
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Lowest slave worked in the mines
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Women - had few rights - often treated like a domestic slave
Grave relief of Dexileos, 394 BC
As displayed in the Keramikos Museum
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