Classical Civilisation Revision Notes 

Topics

i)   Athenian Society 

ii)  Greek Athletics and Theatre

iii) Ovid Metamorphosis - books seven and eight

iv)  Pliny letters 1 - 19

i)

Class. Civ. Athenian society revision Summary

The city was an amazing place, the largest in Greece . Athens controlled the land around it, a large region called Attika. Between the many mountains were fertile valleys, where farmers grew olives, grain, fruit and grapes. Athens became rich and powerful, helped by Attika’s valuable sources of silver, lead and marble. In 510BC a new way of government was invented in Athens . ‘Demokratia’, from which we get our word ‘democracy’, means ‘rule by the people’. Any man with full citizen rights could go to the assembly, where they could speak and vote freely.  

Public debates like this decided how the city was run. Athens had law courts with trial by jury. Juries were much larger than today, with several hundred members. After listening to the evidence jurors voted by placing metal discs into one of two jars - one for guilty, one for not guilty. Punishments were decided by the court, and included the death penalty. We still have surviving records of ancient court cases. Women did not have citizen rights. They could not take part in the assembly, or vote, or serve on juries.  

In wealthy families girls were educated to run the household of servants and slaves, and were usually married by the age of 13. In poorer families women worked alongside men, farming in the fields or running the family business. Between a quarter and a third of Athens 300,000 population were slaves. These were men and women captured in wars or born into slavery.

Many slaves had special skills, such as nurses and teachers, while others had the hardest and most unpleasant work to do. It was common for a rich household to have many slaves. Some slaves were owned by the state. For example archers from Scythia were used as a kind of police force by the Athenian government.  

Status

-          There were freeborn and slave women; citizens and metics; upper class and lower class

-          Whichever group they belonged to, they were all under the control of the men

-          Freeborn Greek women began their lives as daughters under the control of the kyrios or head of the household, usually the father. The kyrios had the power of life and death of the child and if they were too deformed or just one too many mouths to feed, he could decided to let it die.

-          Sons were expected to work at occupations that would bring profit to the household. Daughters on the other hand, were taught by their mothers how to become desirable brides for her husband-to-be. In her teens she was married off by her father in an arranged marriage by a much older man who was attracted not only by her youthfulness but also the dowry that went with her. The daughter had no say in this or any other matters in her life. She was regarded as property of her father then her husband until she died.

-            Not getting married was seen as failure as it brought dishonour to the family and incurred continued expense to her father.

-          Women had no political or social rights and their husbands were very paternalistic towards their wives.

-          Woman's status was determined by her class and in 5th century seclusion in the home was an indicator of an upper class female.

-          Priestesses were held in the greatest respect while the hetairai had the greatest social freedom and influence with men.

-          The hetairai were not just prostitutes but intelligent, educated women (and seem to have been mainly foreign) who mixed freely with men discussing philosophy, drama and politics.

-          Upper class women would lose status if she was captured in war and became a slave.

Duties of Athenian Women

-          One of the most important duties of a wife was to provide healthy male children and be faithful to the husband. Passiveness was desirable in a woman.

-          Household duties included managing the home by providing meals and clothing for the family, experienced in the arts of spinning, weaving, making clothes, cooking, preserving food, supervising children, servants, and slaves.

-          Athenian women were barred from public life and not allowed to attend athletic games.

-          They were Athenian citizens but had few political rights & legally were under the control of men (kyrios a guardian) all their lives.

-          Athenian women could not own land & property except their personal possessions of clothes, jewellery and slaves. Some evidence suggests than working class women could own & operate small businesses but could take part only in legal transactions that involved less than the value of one medimnos of barley. In legal disputes men would act for them.

Property right

-          The Athenian property law was that women never had property to manage, inherit, or pass down; it was considered inappropriate.  

-          In Sparta, women could own land and daughters could inherit. 

-          In other parts of the Greek world, women are known to have owned land, houses, slaves and even negotiated loans and mortgages. They act with a kyrios (husband, son, father) in this transaction

-          As women grew older, sons became very important to them.  Adult sons of widows acted as their mother's kyrios and managed their dowries, which they would eventually inherit.  A son provided his mother with a public voice for the protection of her property and rights.  A son was also required to protect his widowed mother.

Symposium

-          In the evening the richer men would meet for a drinking party known as a symposium. There would be between 7 and 15 guests. They would lie down on couches. Often they decorated their heads with flowers.

-          For food there might be fish and meat, vegetables, and bread made from wheat. This was much better than the normal diet of barley bread and olive oil. Wine was always drunk mixed with water. The finest Greek pottery was used at the symposium.

-          Later in the evening there would be music and dancing. The guests would compete with each other in singing or playing the lyre. They might also recite poetry. One game, called kottabos, involved flicking wine from a cup at a target.

(A) CONVERSATION

Greeks enjoyed good conversation. The symposium was a good place to meet new and interesting people or keep up with old friends.

(B) DANCER

Dancers were usually foreigners or slaves. No Athenian woman would be allowed to appear in public like this.

(C) SERVING SLAVES

Slaves served the food and wine. Slaves also provided music on pipes.

Family House

Greek houses, in the 6th and 5th century B.C., were made up of two or three rooms, built around an open air courtyard, built of stone, wood, or clay bricks. Larger homes might also have a kitchen, a room for bathing, a men's dining room, and perhaps a woman's sitting area. Although the Greek women were allowed to leave their homes for only short periods of time, they could enjoy the open air, in the privacy of their courtyard. Much of ancient Greek family life centred around the courtyard. 

The ancient Greeks loved stories and fables. One favourite family activity was to gather in the courtyard to hear these stories, told by the mother or father. In their courtyard, Greek women might relax, chat, and sew. Most meals were enjoyed in the courtyard. Greek cooking equipment was small and light and could easily be set up there. On bright, sunny days, the woman probably sheltered under a covered area of their courtyard, as the ancient Greeks believed a pale complexion was a sign of beauty.

This is the house of a rich Greek family. It was built of mud bricks with small windows and a tiled roof. There was only one door. The furniture was very simple although some floors might have mosaics. Grain, oil, and wine from the owner’s farm were stored in the house.

In Athens , the women spent most of their lives in the home. There would be an open courtyard in the centre where they would work at their spinning and carry out other household jobs. They would also cook with the help of slave girls.

Men spent most of their time outside the house. In the evenings they might bring men friends home for a meal but their wives and daughters were not allowed to join them.

(A) FAMILY ROOM

Hestia, the goddess of the home and family, watched over this room. Here mothers would play with their children around a fire lit in Hestias honour.

(B) KITCHEN

Cooking was done over an open fire in earthenware pots, often by slaves.

(C) ALTAR AND COURTYARD

Every house would have its own altar in the courtyard. Sacrifices were made to favourite gods.

(D) BEDROOM

Beds were covered with brightly coloured blankets. Clothes were stored in chests.

(E) MEN EATING

Men would lie on couches to eat. Their food would be served by slave girls.

(F) BOARD GAMES

The ancient Greeks built their houses out of mud bricks.  The bricks were made from a mixture of mud and straw, which was shaped into bricks and left in the sun to dry.

    Most of the rooms opened onto an open courtyard, which was designed so that it was not seen from the street.  Even small houses had a courtyard, larger homes had two.  The houses had small windows on the outside.  Most of the air and sunlight came in through the courtyard. 

    The biggest room in the house was called the andron.  This was where the men ate and had parties.  Next to the andron was the kitchen, which had a large fire in the middle of the room for cooking.

Slaves

·         Slaves were seen as a kitchen appliance and were bought to show off.

·         Slaves didn’t have any identity but were vital for the functioning of the economy.

·         A faithful slave Black slaves (usually from Africa ) were seen as different and unusual as well as being skilled in crafts etc.

·         They could cost from £4,000 to £10,000.

·         If a slave was good at their job, they could be ‘promoted’ They could also save some money either to free themselves or buy a woman and start up his own family.

·         Slaves were trained by women to do domestic work or pursued their interest in their specialised field.

·         An unusual job of slaves was they were used as police and were owned by the state.  

·         They were mostly treated in a benign manner.

·         Misbehaving slaves were severely punished or sent to the mines to work.

·         Pasion was an exceptionally clever and highly regarded slave who was eventually granted citizenship.

·         A slave might have been born a Tracian prince, a third generation slave from some Syrian metropolis or he may have been an unfortunate POW whose family was unable to raise a ransom.

·         A faithful slave was often shown to be more loyal than members of his owner’s family are. They were also dressed in better clothing than many citizens were.

·         When they became old it was custom that the family they served looks after them for the rest of their lives.

·         However they were still regarded as a piece of property.

Death

People in the ancient world, including Greece , usually died at a young age. War often took the lives of young men, while many young women died at home giving birth to their children. Our life expectancy today is much longer. Do you have any idea why? The ancient Greeks believed in some kind of life after death. Elaborate funerals were held to help the deceased person's soul find its way to the afterlife. According to Greek mythology, the god Hermes led the soul to the River Styx, which separated the world of the living from the Underworld, sometimes called Hades after the god of the Underworld.

 A ferryman named Charon waited to take souls across the river to Hades. The trip cost one Greek coin, which the dead person's family usually placed on the corpse so that he or she would be able to pay for their journey.

In Hades the dead joined a community of souls who could be reborn in a new body. While waiting for rebirth, they depended on their living relatives to tend them in certain ways, such as offering them food and drink at special times of the year.

These responsibilities were gladly carried out by the family, who wanted to do their part in making sure that the deceased rested comfortably.