Story of the Greek and the Roman People

(IN THE CAPITOL AT ROME)

There were also two fine old historians who lived in the time of Pericles, Herodotus and Thucydides. It is Herodotus who tells us most of what we know about the Persian War. The world was a small place in those days when civilized men had seen so little of it, and Herodotus roamed over much of what was then known. Wherever he went, he kept his eyes open and he asked questions. Then he wrote what he had seen and heard. He writes as if he were telling a story. For instance, when he describes the passing of Xerxes over the Hellespont, he stops to tell what sort of caps or helmets the different nations had, and what kind of weapons they carried—all the little things that help to make a book interesting. He lingers over every point, as if he enjoyed telling the tale and was sure that his readers would like to hear it.

HERODOTUS AND THUCYDIDES.

There is a tradition—so good that it ought to be true—that he read his history at the Olympic games; that among the hearers was a boy of fifteen named Thucydides; and that when the boy heard the repeated shouts of applause, the tears came into his eyes and he said to himself, "I, too, will be a historian." Thucydides became a historian as famous as Herodotus. He does not make his readers feel as if in telling a story he found quite so much pleasure as Herodotus; but he is so clear and fair, and sees so well the reasons for the events that he narrates, and states them so plainly and interestingly, that many later writers have read his works over and over, trying to learn to write as he wrote.

Thus it was that the Athenians flourished in the days of Pericles. They had slaves who did the hard work, and so left their masters time to enjoy poetry and art and their beautiful city. There was little poverty, for to rear all these handsome new buildings there must be men who could work in wood, stone, brass, gold, and ivory, and who knew how to use dyes. There was plenty of work at good wages for the common laborers, and there was always need of embroiderers and painters and artists of all kinds. Then, too, the Athenians knew how to make all sorts of earthenware and lamps, and indeed metal-work of many varieties. Captains and sailors were needed for the vessels that carried these to foreign lands and brought back loads of wine, glass, skins, salt fish, spices, dates, papyrus, carpets, gold, and slaves. Athens received every year large sums of money from the members of the Delian League. The other states declared that it was not fair for Athens to use this money for her own purposes, and some of the Athenians were of the same opinion; they said that Pericles had disgraced the city by taking possession of the Delian treasury. Pericles and his party replied that the other members of the League had given the money that they might be protected from the Persians and from pirates, and that since Athens protected them, it was only right for her to have the money and adorn the city with buildings and statues that would be a glory to the state forever. The opponents of Pericles retorted that there was now small danger from pirates or Persians; but no money was returned, and the allies were still treated as subjects. The Athenians loved their city, and were so proud of her being the most beautiful city in Greece, that perhaps even those who differed from Pericles in this did not oppose him as they might otherwise have done.

A GRECIAN HOME.

Much as the Athenians liked magnificent temples, they were satisfied to live in plain, simple, flat-roofed houses. They spent so much time out of doors that a house was to them only a safe place for their family and their property and a shelter from storm. The side of the house that faced the street had some windows in the second story, but in the first there was only a small door. Here people knocked when they wished to go in; and they also knocked when they were ready to come out, for the doors swung outward, and were so heavy that a passer-by might easily be injured if struck by one of them. A slave sat in the narrow hall, ready to open the door. At the other end of the hall was a court with a colonnade around it. The rooms of the house opened into this court. They were not often large, and they did not contain expensive furniture. The chairs and couches and stools were all well-formed and pretty, but not costly. The beds were mattresses of wool stretched on straps or girths. There were many kinds of bowls and jars and cups, but all were of pleasing shapes; and the lamps especially were exceedingly graceful and elegant.

CHAIR, COUCH, AND STOOL.

The clothes of the Greeks were as simple as the houses. The Athenian gentleman wore a long shirt, or chiton, of woolen or linen, and over this was thrown a nearly square cloak. The cloak was generally white, but sometimes colors were worn. It must be draped in precisely the correct way, for a man who wore his cloak draped from right to left instead of from left to right was sure to be laughed at. The Greeks saw no need of hats or caps unless it rained or they were obliged to make a journey in the hot sunshine. The Greek gentleman wore sandals, or, if he preferred, he went barefooted, but he must be sure not to forget his walking stick and his seal ring. The Athenian lady wore a chiton with sleeves, and over it a long loose robe fastened with a girdle. She had rings, not only on her fingers, but often in her ears and on her ankles. Little girls wore long dresses, but small boys were not much troubled with clothes of any sort unless the weather was cold.