A Smaller History of Greece | Page 8

any positive laws, his
authority was practically limited by the BOULE; or council of chiefs,
and the Agora, or general assembly of freemen. These two bodies, of
little account in the Heroic age, became in the Republican age the sole
depositories of political power.
The Greeks in the Heroic age were divided into the three classes of
nobles, common freemen, and slaves. The nobles were raised far above
the rest of the community in honour, power, and wealth. They were
distinguished by their warlike prowess, their large estates, and their
numerous slaves. The condition of the general mass of freemen is
rarely mentioned. They possessed portions of land as their own
property, which they cultivated themselves; but there was another class
of poor freemen, called Thetes, who had no land of their own, and who
worked for hire on the estates of others. Slavery was not so prevalent in
the Heroic age as at a later time, and appears in a less odious aspect.
The nobles alone possessed slaves, and they treated them with a degree
of kindness which frequently secured for the masters their affectionate
attachment.
Society was marked by simplicity of manners. The kings and nobles
did not consider it derogatory to their dignity to acquire skill in the
manual arts. Ulysses is represented as building his own bed-chamber
and constructing his own raft, and he boasts of being an excellent
mower and ploughman. Like Esau, who made savoury meat for his
father Isaac, the Heroic chiefs prepared their own meals and prided
themselves on their skill in cookery. Kings and private persons partook
of the same food, which was of the simplest kind. Beef, mutton, and
goat's flesh were the ordinary meats, and cheese, flour, and sometimes
fruits, also formed part of the banquet; wine was drunk diluted with
water, and the entertainments were never disgraced by intemperance,
like those of our northern ancestors. The enjoyment of the banquet was
heightened by the song and the dance, and the chiefs took more delight
in the lays of the minstrel than in the exciting influence of the wine.

The wives and daughters of the chiefs, in like manner, did not deem it
beneath them to discharge various duties which were afterwards
regarded as menial. Not only do we find them constantly employed in
weaving, spinning and embroidery, but like the daughters of the
patriarchs they fetch water from the well and assist their slaves in
washing garments in the river.
Even at this early age the Greeks had made considerable advances in
civilization. They were collected in fortified towns, which were
surrounded by walls and adorned with palaces and temples. The
massive ruins of Mycenae and the sculptured lions on the gate of this
city belong to the Heroic age, and still excite the wonder of the
beholder. Commerce, however, was little cultivated, and was not much
esteemed. It was deemed more honourable for a man to enrich himself
by robbery and piracy than by the arts of peace. Coined money is not
mentioned in the poems of Homer. Whether the Greeks were
acquainted at this early period with the art of writing is a question
which has given rise to much dispute, and must remain undetermined;
but poetry was cultivated with success, though yet confined to epic
strains, or the narration of the exploits and adventures of the Heroic
chiefs. The bard sung his own song, and was always received with
welcome and honour in the palaces of the nobles.
In the battle, as depicted by Homer, the chiefs are the only important
combatants, while the people are an almost useless mass, frequently put
to rout by the prowess of a single hero. The chief is mounted in a war
chariot, and stands by the side of his charioteer, who is frequently a
friend.



CHAPTER III
.
GENERAL SURVEY OF THE GREEK PEOPLE--NATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS.
The Greeks, as we have already seen, were divided into many

independent communities, but several causes bound them together as
one people. Of these the most important were community of blood and
language--community of religious rites and festivals-- and community
of manners and character.
All the Greeks were descended from the same ancestor and spoke the
same language. They all described men and cities which were not
Grecian by the term BARBARIAN. This word has passed into our own
language, but with a very different idea; for the Greeks applied it
indiscriminately to every foreigner, to the civilized inhabitants of Egypt
and Persia, as well as to the rude tribes of Scythia and Gaul.
The second bond of union was a community of religious rites and
festivals. From the earliest times the Greeks appear to have worshipped
the same gods; but originally there were no religious meetings common
to the whole nation.