Summary
The home of a Greek prince in early times was almost like a fortified village. The house contained many beautiful and costly articles and also weapons.
The feasts were simple, and the bard was ever a welcome guest.
Children were taught to do what their parents did.
The Greeks expected to live forever, but did not expect happiness in the after life. They worshiped the gods in order to win favors for themselves. The oracles were believed to reveal the will of the gods. The most famous was at Delphi. The temples at the oracles were very rich.
Three bonds uniting the Greeks were, (1) the amphictyonies; (2) the language; and (3) the games.
Suggestions For Written Work
Describe a visit to a Greek prince.
Write a story of a child's offering a sacrifice to Zeus.
Describe (from a picture) a Greek vase or cup.
How the Spartans Became Powerful
If the geography of Greece had been different, the story of the Greeks might have been quite unlike what it was. The land was made up of mountain ranges and fertile valleys. It was not easy to cross these mountains, and therefore there were almost as many tiny kingdoms as there were valleys. The people of each loved their own valley and their own customs, and the Greeks might have been contented to stay at home if it had not been for the sea; but the sea was on three sides of them, pushing its way into the land in sharp, narrow bays. Go where they would, so long as the Greeks did not leave Greece, they could never be more than forty miles from the ocean. The valleys said, "Stay," but the ocean was ever tempting them to go.
ISLANDS NEAR GREECE.
There were not many good harbors on the western coast of Greece, but there were plenty of them on the eastern. Moreover, when the Greeks stood on the eastern shore and looked over the water, they could see islands far and near, every one inviting them to visit it. When they came to one there were always others a little farther on; therefore it was easy to make their way across the Ægean Sea to Asia Minor. There was reason, then, why the Greeks should have loved, not the whole country, but each tribe its own little corner; and also why they should have liked to make voyages and found settlements in other lands, especially to the eastward.
Greece was a very beautiful country. The sea was blue and sparkling; the mountains were not always covered with green forests, but the hard rock of their summits made sharp, clear outlines of red and gray against the sky. The rivers flowed swiftly, and often they sank out of sight in a chasm or under-ground passage, and came bubbling up again in some other place. It is little wonder that the Greeks fancied they were alive, and used to offer sacrifices at the building of a bridge, that the god of the stream might not be angry. In some parts of the land there were fine old forests of oak and beech and chestnut; there were olives and fig trees; there were flowers of many kinds,—roses, violets, crocuses, geraniums, daffodils, heliotropes, and anemones. Along the rivers grew oleanders; not little shrubs, but real trees with their rose-colored blossoms reflected in the water. It was all so beautiful that the Greeks could hardly have helped loving beauty. In Attica a range of mountains kept off the chill of the northern winds, while the sea-breezes from the south and east made the country cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Much of Greece was like Attica in having a bright, clear sky, and being warm enough for people to spend the greater part of their time out of doors.
TYPICAL GRECIAN SCENERY.
It is little wonder that when the Dorians, who lived far to the north, heard of this beautiful country, they were eager to dwell in it, and journeyed southward to take it away from the people who already held it, the Achæans and the Ionians. This is the meaning of the story of the return of the Heraclidæ. The Achæans and the Ionians were not strong enough to drive away the Dorians, and therefore many of them left the country and made colonies on the coast of Asia Minor and the islands near it. This was not done all at once; the emigration was probably going on for many years. At length, reports came back to Greece that the lands to which the colonists had gone were more fertile than even the Peloponnesus; and then some of the Dorians themselves began to found colonies on the coast of Asia Minor and in Crete.
SPARTA.
When the Dorians came to the Peloponnesus, they found themselves in a rather difficult position. They were hardy and warlike, and they succeeded in founding a number of settlements; but there were ten times as many of the earlier settlers as of themselves. The chief town of the Dorians was Sparta, in Laconia; but even after they had conquered the country, they were in constant danger from the old inhabitants. Of these there were two classes: the Periœki, who were allowed to keep their property, but could have nothing to say about making the laws; and the Helots, or slaves. It is said that the Helots had belonged to the town that had held out longest against the Spartans, and that the conquerors had declared in their anger that the Helots should be their slaves forever. These Helots so hated their masters that people used to say, "A Helot will gladly eat a Spartan raw." The Spartans, on their part, were glad to have slaves to do their work; but they were always a little afraid the Helots would unite against them, and they did not hesitate to put to death any that seemed likely to become leaders of their people.
Laconia was an easy country to defend, for there were mountains on the east, north, and west. On the east and north there were only two or three passes through which an army could be led without great difficulty, and on the west was the conquered land of Messenia. Sparta, then, was a natural fortress. Still, the Spartans were but a small tribe in the midst of enemies, and the question was how they should make sure of never being overcome by their neighbors. They concluded that the only way to do this was to make their whole tribe into an army.
LYCURGUS OFFERING TO GO INTO EXILE.
Of course the imaginative Greeks had a story about how this was done. They said that early in their history a man named Lycurgus was made guardian of their baby king. The people paid him so much honor that his enemies were jealous and spread the rumor that he intended to seize the crown. He was indignant, and said to the people, "I will leave the land, and stay away until the king is grown up." He loved his country, however, and in all the years that he was in exile he was visiting different kingdoms to see what had given them power and what had weakened them. Every little while the Spartans sent to urge him to return; and at last he came, his mind full of plans for making his country powerful. He had been to Delphi on his way, and had asked Apollo if he would be able to make wise laws for his people. The answer was, "The laws that you are about to make will be the best in the world." Of course he did not keep this a secret, and when he reached Sparta he found a large number of the people ready to agree with whatever he proposed. The baby king had become a man and held the throne, or, rather, held half of it, for it was the custom of the Spartans to have two kings. This plan does not seem to have been very successful, in this case at least, for one of them was too gentle and yielding to punish wrong-doing; and so the two never agreed, and their power was every day becoming less. They hoped that Lycurgus would strengthen it, and therefore they gave him a warm welcome. Then the whole little state watched to see what this wise man would do.
First of all, he had a senate of thirty members elected. These were chosen from among the older men, and were to remain senators as long as they lived. Five ephors, or overseers, were also chosen, and they held office for but one year. The real government was in their hands, for they could call even the kings to account if they thought it necessary; in important cases they acted as judges; and they decided whether there should be war or peace. The kings were members of the senate, and in war times they commanded the army. They had little more power than the other senators, but they must have been far more comfortable than before the return of Lycurgus, for now they understood exactly what they could do, and knew that they would be supported in doing it.