The Greeks learned the division of the day into twelve hours from
Babylon, and Plato is said to have invented a water clock marking the
hours of the night in the same way. But in ordinary life, according to
the old fashion, a night and the following day were regarded as one whole
and divided into seven parts. There were three for the night, one when
the lamps were lit, the next the dead hours of the night, and then the
dawn, when the cocks begin to crow. The day was divided into four: early
morning, the forenoon, when the market place began to fill, the midday
heat, and the late afternoon. As in all southern countries now-a-days,
where midday is a time of sleep or idleness, so in old times the Greek
rose very early, generally at the dawn of day. His ablutions were but
scanty, and there is no trace of any bath in the morning. Indeed the
general cleanliness of the Greeks must rather be compared with that of
other modern nations than with ours. In older days the hair was worn
long, and elaborately dressed, as we can see from coins, so that this
must have cost some trouble. But shaving the beard did not come in as a
general fashion till Alexander’s time, and even then shaving often and
having very white teeth are mentioned as rather foppish.
When dressed, the Greek took a very slight meal, corresponding to the
coffee now taken in Greece and elsewhere upon getting up, and merely
intended to stave off hunger till late breakfast. It is said to have
consisted of bread and wine. He then went to call on such friends as
he wished to see on business, before they left their houses. The same
fashion prevailed at Rome. When this was done, he went for a morning
walk or ride, and if a townsman, to see his farms and crops, and give
directions to his country steward. But if he lived in the country, he
must start early to be in the city when the market place filled. For if
there was important public business the assembly met very early, and in
any case he there met all his friends, visited the markets and shops, and
if a merchant, was practically on ’Change at this hour.
At noon all business stopped, and the public places were deserted, when
he returned to his breakfast. The modern Greeks, in country parts, still
spend half the day in this way before they breakfast. The poorer classes
who dined early in the afternoon, and who probably had eaten something
more at early breakfast, spent their midday hours, without going home,
in barber’s shops, in porticoes, and other places of meeting, where
they either slept or gossiped, as their fancy led them. Law-suits, at
which speeches were made and evidence taken, must have been carried on
during this part of the day also. The breakfast of the better classes
was a substantial meal, probably serving as dinner for the children, and
consisted, like the modern Greek breakfast, of hot dishes and wine. It
was, however, thought luxurious to eat two heavy meals in the day, and
much wine drinking before dinner was regarded with the same aversion as
tippling is now-a-days. When the day became cooler, men went out again,
partly to practice gymnastics, which ended in later times with a warm
bath, partly to see others so occupied and talk to their friends. Toward
sunset they returned home to their dinner, the principal meal of the
day, and the only one at which the Greek entertained his friends. If not
a very studious man, or a leading politician, he devoted the evening
to conversation and music, either in his family circle, or among his
friends. In the former case, he went to bed early; in the latter he was
often up all night, and sometimes went from his first feast in company
with his noisy friends to knock up other banqueters and enjoy their
hospitality unasked. There were no clubs or public houses open at night
in the old Greek towns. It should be added that the hours of meals got
gradually later, as luxury advanced.
The dress of a Greek gentleman was simple both in form and color. He
wore a shirt or under garment of wool called chiton, without sleeves,
and drawn tight with a girdle round the waist. As luxury increased, the
Athenians adopted linen instead of wool, the Ionians wore the chiton
down to the feet, and sleeves were frequently added. Trousers were also
considered a foreign dress. Over the chiton was thrown a large cloak
shaped something like a Scotch shawl, but squarer, which was wrapped
about the figure so as to have only the right shoulder and head free.
This was regarded as the principal garment, for while it was not thought
polite to throw it open, and a man without it, though in his chiton, was
called stripped, on the other hand a man wrapped in his cloak without any
under garment was thought perfectly dressed. Most of the portrait statues
of celebrated men which have reached us are indeed represented in this
very way. White was the full dress color for both garments, but other
colors, especially various shades of red, dark blue, and green, were not
unfrequently worn.
The cloak was also doubled, when men were actively employed, and fastened
on the shoulder with a clasp or pin. This was done in imitation of the
smaller but thicker cloaks, some of which were of semicircular shape,
and borrowed from Macedonia. These were worn in war and on journeys. As
to head dress, the Greeks seem to have usually gone about their cities
bareheaded. In case of bad weather, they put on a fur or leather cap
fitting closely to the head, and this was commonly worn by slaves. They
also used in traveling, to keep off the sun’s heat, broad-brimmed felt
hats, very like our “wide-awakes” in form. They were often barefooted,
but also wore ornamented slippers at home, and in the streets sandals
strapped with elegant thongs. In hunting or war, buskins of various
kinds, reaching high on the leg, were adopted. If we add a walking stick,
which up to the time of Demosthenes was even obligatory at Athens, and
was always carried at Sparta, and a seal ring, we complete our picture of
the Greek gentleman’s dress. In Socrates’ day a tunic cost ten drachmæ,
a cloak sixteen to twenty, a pair of shoes eight. Lower class people,
such as farm laborers and slaves, wore the inner garment alone, but with
sleeves, or (in the country) clothed themselves in tanned skins. The
general colors of a Greek crowd must have been a dull woollen white,
relieved with patches of crimson and dark greens and blues.