Periclean Athens

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Periclean Athens
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• Simplicity of life
• Few material goods to own
• Alcibiades inventory in his home consisted of
  chests, beds, couches, tables, screens, stools,
  baskets, and mats.
• Most items were either bought from craftsmen or
  produced at home.

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• Typical homes
• A number of rooms around a courtyard with doors
  opening to the courtyard
• Artisans had a room as a shop area
• Many rooms upstairs were used as bedrooms
• Men's dining room and womens work room were
  important
• Also kitchen and bathroom

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• Courtyards
• Included a well, an altar and a washbasin
• Countrymen had cattle for plowing, pigs for
  slaughtering, sheep for wool, goats for cheese,
  and donkeys and mules for transportation
• In cities cats and dogs ran loose and maybe a
  chicken or goat

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• Cooking was important
• Food cooked over hearth.
• Baking was done in ovens
• Food was mainly grains (wheat, barley), olives,
  figs, lentils and sometimes grapes
• Garlic and onions were their toppings
• They loved wine
• Sometimes fish, chicken, and vegetables were
  eaten as well.
• Women made sesame cakes or honey cakes as treats
• Cooking was also done with olive oil

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• Most Greeks didnt eat much meat except for
  festivals and such
• Only the Spartans ate meat regularly
• They ate it with a black broth made of pork
  cooked in blood vinegar and salt

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• City Livelihoods
• In cities men might be either a potter, a
  sailmaker, a craftsman or a tanner.
• They could also work on the buildings like the
  Parthenon or Erechtheum
• Men who did not have such skills worked almost as
  slaves, they worked as paid laborers with almost
  the same wage as slaves

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• Slavery
• Greek slavery resembled Mesopotamian slavery
• They got some protection from the law and could
  buy freedom, but masters could beat them
• Slaves could be nurses, teachers, or guardians
• Some worked in public buildings or workshops

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• Agriculture
• Most Athenians supported themselves by farming
• Most didnt have very fertile soil
• Those who did were lucky
• Farmers normally collected 5 bushels of wheat and
  10 of barley per acre for every bushel of seed
  sown
• Farmers also planted olive trees

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• Hunting
• Some hunted for rabbits deer or wild boar
• Their success helped the familys diet
• Some hunted on horse, while some hunted on foot
  with their hunting hounds
• Also some men used hunting to show courage
  because they could be hurt in a chase with
  vicious animals

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• Womens Social Condition
• Women were often idealized, and put into art but
  never really in the histories
• Greek women lacked power but played an important
  part in the civilization
• A woman citizen could have citizen children
• A woman was in charge of the household and
  possessions.

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• After marriage the brides father gave a gift of
  land or money to the couple if divorced it
  returns to the woman
• The only men respectable married women could see
  were their relatives
• Athenian women were not always respectable
• They attended festivals, funerals, and sacrifices

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• Courtesans
• Courtesans lived the freest lives of Athenian
  women.
• Some were smart and had other accomplishments
  besides being prostitutes
• Pericles had a mistress who was a courtesan, who
  was also a friend of Socrates
• She participated in the discussions of Pericles

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• Womens Functions
• The main things women were meant to do were to
  raise the children, look over the domestic
  slaves, and help her maids work wool into cloth.
• Women made beautiful cloth, with colors and
  designs
• Poor women could do manual labor and sell goods

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• Homosexuality
• Greeks accepted homosexuality very easily
• It was not thought weird or disgusting as it is
  now, it was very normal
• Homosexuality was even more common in the higher
  classes than the lower