A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Z

Outline of Universal History

G >> George Park Fisher >> Outline of Universal History




In the _Ionic_ style, the column has a distinct base, is more
tall and slender, and its capital has two _volutes_, or spiral
moldings. The capital of the _Corinthian_ column is peculiar,
representing flower calices and leaves, "pointing upwards, and curving
like natural plants." The _acanthus_, on account of its graceful
form, was generally copied. The most ancient Doric temples, of a date
prior to the Persian war, of which the ruined temple of Neptune at
Paestum is one, are, in comparison with later edifices, of a severe
and massive style. In the period extending from the Persian war to the
Macedonian rule, the stern simplicity of the Doric is modified by the
softer and more graceful character of the Ionic. The temple of
_Theseus_ at Athens is an example. The _Parthenon_ was the
most beautiful specimen of the Doric, which has appropriated the grace
of the Ionic column without losing its own distinctive character. In
the later period, after freedom was lost, there was much more
ornamentation. It was then that the more decorated Corinthian style
flourished.

SCULPTURE.--Before the Persian wars, in the earliest sculpture the
restraint of Egyptian and Oriental styles is perceptible in the
sculptors, of whom Daedalus is the mythical representative. The oldest
statues were of wood, which was subsequently covered with gold and
ivory, or painted. The lofty style of _Phidias_ (488-432 B.C.),
and of _Polycletus_ of Argos, became prevalent in the flourishing
period of Greek liberty. _Myron_, to whom we owe the
_Discobolus_ (Disk-Thrower), belongs to the school of
Aegina. Statues were now made in brass and marble. They were
everywhere to be seen. The pediments and friezes of the temples were
covered with exquisitely wrought sculptures. The most beautiful
sculptures that have come down from antiquity are the marbles of the
Parthenon. The Greeks appreciated to the full the beauty of
nature. They gave to their gods ideal human forms, in which were
blended every attribute of majesty and grace which are conceived to
belong to perfected humanity. Sculpture in Greece, as elsewhere, was
ally to religion; "but whilst the religion of the Egyptians was a
religion of the tomb, and their ideal world a gloomy spot peopled by
sleeping lions, dreamy sphinxes, or weird unearthly monsters, the
mythology of the Greeks, rightly understood, is an exquisite poem, the
joint creation of the master-minds of infant Greece; and their art is
a translation of that poem into visible forms of beauty." In the
_third period_, which may be made to terminate with the death of
_Alexander the Great_ (323 B.C.), there were masters in
sculpture, among whom _Praxiteles_ and _Scopas_ are at the
head. More and more, as we come down to the Roman period, while
extraordinary technical perfection is still manifested, the loftier
qualities of art tend to disappear.

PAINTING.--In Greece, painting first ceased to be subordinate to
architecture, and became independent. In early days, there was skill
in the ornamentation of vases and in mural painting. Yet, with much
spirit and feeling, there was a conventional treatment. The earliest
artist of whom we know much is _Polygnotus_ (about 420 B.C.),
whose groups of profile figures were described as remarkable for their
life-like character and fine coloring. _Apollodorus_ of Athens
was distinguished, but _Zeuxis_ of Heraclea is said to have been
the first to paint movable pictures. He is famed for his marvelous
power of imitation: the birds pecked at a bunch of grapes which he
painted. But even he was outdone by _Parrhasius_. Zeuxis,
however, had far higher qualities than those of a literal copyist. The
most successful of the Greek painters was _Apelles_. Among his
masterpieces was a painting of Venus rising from the waves, and a
portrait of Alexander the Great. We have not in painting, as in
sculpture, a store of monuments of Greek art; but the skill of the
Greeks in painting fell behind their unequaled genius in molding the
human form in bronze and marble.




CHAPTER III. THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.


I. TO THE PEACE OF NICIAS (421 B.C.).

TO THE DEATH OF PERICLES.--Wonderful as was the growth of Athens under
Pericles, it is obvious that she stood exposed to two principal
sources of danger. Her allies and dependants, the stay of that naval
power in which her strength lay, were discontented with her spirit of
domination and of extortion. The _Peloponnesian Alliance_, which
was led by _Sparta_, the bulwark of the aristocratic interest,
comprised, with the Dorian, most of the Aeolian states,--as Boeotia,
Phocis, Locris, etc. Its military strength lay mainly in its
heavy-armed infantry. Thus Sparta had the advantage of strong
allies. The motive at the bottom of this alliance was what Thucydides
tells was the real cause of the Peloponnesian war,--the jealousy which
the growth of Athens excited in other states. This feeling really
involved a conviction of the need of maintaining in Greece that which
in modern times is called a "balance of power." When Greece was no
longer one, as in the best days of the wars with Persia, but was
divided into two opposite camps, watchful and jealous of one another,
an occasion of conflict could not fail to arise. It was complained
that Athens gave help to _Corcyra_ in a war with _Corinth_,
its mother city, made war upon _Potidaea_ in Macedonia, a
Corinthian colony, and also shut out _Megara_ from the harbors of
Attica.

The demands made by Sparta, which included the granting of
independence to _Aegina_, were rejected. Attica was ravaged by
Spartan troops, and the coast of Peloponnesus by the Athenian fleet
(431 B.C.). This desolating warfare was kept up until a frightful
pestilence broke out at Athens,--a plague having its origin in Egypt,
and passing thence over Asia and the Greek islands. Two of the sons of
Pericles died, and an accumulation of public burdens and private
sorrows brought on his own death (Sept., 429).

THE PESTILENCE.--The horrors of the pestilence are thus described in
a celebrated passage of the best of the Greek historians,
_Thucydides:_ "The crowding of the people out of the country
into the city aggravated the misery, and the newly arrived suffered
most. For, haying no houses of their own, but inhabiting, in the
height of summer, stifling huts, the mortality among them was
dreadful, and they perished in wild disorder. The dead lay as they
had died, one upon another; while others, hardly alive, wallowed in
the streets, and crawled about every fountain, craving for
water. The temples in which they lodged were full of the corpses of
those who died in them; for the violence of the calamity was such
that men, not knowing where to turn, grew reckless of all law, human
and divine. The customs which had hitherto been observed at funerals
were universally violated, and they buried their dead, each one as
best he could. Many, having no proper appliances, because the deaths
in their household had been so frequent, made no scruple of using
the burial-place of others. When one man had raised a funeral-pile,
others would come, and, throwing on their dead first, set fire to
it; or, when some other corpse was already burning, before they
could be stopped, would throw their own dead upon it, and depart.

"There were other and worse forms of lawlessness which the plague
introduced at Athens. Men who had hitherto concealed their
indulgence in pleasure, now grew bolder. For, seeing the sudden
change,--how the rich died in a moment, and those who had nothing,
immediately inherited their property,--they reflected that life and
riches were alike transitory, and they resolved to enjoy themselves
while they could, and to think only of pleasure. Who would be
willing to sacrifice himself to the law of honor when he knew not
whether he would ever live to be held in honor? The pleasure of the
moment, and any sort of thing which conduced to it, took the place
both of honor and of expediency: no fear of God or law of man
deterred a criminal. Those who saw all perishing alike, thought that
the worship or neglect of the gods made no difference. For offenses
against human law, no punishment was to be feared: no one would live
long enough to be called to account. Already a far heavier sentence
had been passed, and was hanging over a man's head: before that
fell, why should he not take a little pleasure?"

TO THE TRUCE WITH SPARTA.--The loss of Pericles, coupled with the
terrible calamities which had befallen Athens, let loose the winds of
party passion. New leaders of the democracy, of whom _Cleon_ was
the most noted, who lacked the refinement and self-restraint of
Pericles, took his place. The Athenians were not able to save
_Plataea_, to which they owed so much, from destruction at the
hands of the _Spartans_ and _Boeotians_ (427 B.C.); but
_Lesbos_ they recovered, and captured _Mytilene_, the bulk
of whose citizens, against the will of Cleon, they spared. To the
cruelties of war, which the revengeful temper of the Spartans
promoted, there was added another plague at Athens, besides an
earthquake, and tremendous rain-storms, alternating with drought.

_Demosthenes_, a brave and enterprising Athenian general, took
possession of Pylos in Messenia. The Spartans, under _Brasidas_,
were on the island of _Sphacteria_ opposite; and their retreat
was cut off by the fleet under _Nicias_, who was the leader of
the more aristocratic faction at Athens. _Cleon_, made strategus
in the room of Nicias, took Sphacteria by storm, contrary to general
expectation, and brought home nearly three hundred Spartan
prisoners. Athens had other successes; but when her forces had been
defeated by the Boeotians at _Delium_, and Brasidas had captured
_Amphipolis_, and when in a battle there (422 B.C.) Brasidas was
victorious over _Cleon_, who fell during the flight, the
aristocratic party, which was desirous of peace, gained the upper
hand. _Nicias_ concluded a truce with Sparta for fifty
years. Each party was to restore its conquests and prisoners.


II. THE INFLUENCE OF ALCIBIADES.

THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION.--From this time, _Alcibiades_, a
relative of Pericles, but lacking his sobriety and disinterested
spirit, plays an active part. Beautiful in person, rich, a graceful
and effective orator, but restless and ambitious, he quickly acquired
great influence. Three years after the peace of Nicias, he persuaded
Athens to join a league of disaffected Peloponnesian allies of Sparta;
but in the battle of _Mantinea_ (418 B.C.) the Spartans regained
their supremacy. It was at the suggestion of Alcibiades that the
Athenians undertook the great _Sicilian Expedition_, which
resulted in the worst disasters they ever suffered. This expedition
was aimed at the Dorian city of _Syracuse_, and the hope was that
all Sicily might be conquered. It consisted of about forty thousand
men, besides the sailors. The commanders were _Alcibiades_,
_Nicias_, and _Lamachus_. Alcibiades was recalled to answer
a charge of sacrilege. At Thurii he managed to escape and went over to
the side of Sparta. _Gylippus_ went with a small Spartan fleet to
aid Syracuse. The Athenians were repulsed in their attack on the
city. Although re-inforced by land and naval forces under a gallant
and worthy general, _Demosthenes_, they fought under great
disadvantages, so that their fleet was destroyed in the Syracusan
harbor. Their retreating forces on land were cut to pieces or
captured. _Nicias_ and _Demosthenes_ died either at the
hands of the executioner or by a self-inflicted death.

NAVAL CONTESTS.--No such calamity had ever overtaken a Grecian
army. The news of it brought anguish into almost every family in
Athens. The Spartans had fortified the village of _Decelea_ in
Attica, and sought on the sea, with Persian help, to annihilate the
Athenian navy. The allies of Athens, _Chios_, _Miletus_,
etc., revolted. The oligarchs at Athens overthrew the democratic
constitution, and placed the Government in the hands of a _Council
of Four Hundred_. The popular assembly was limited to five thousand
members, and was never called together. The object was to make peace
with Sparta. But the army before Samos, of which _Thrasybulus_, a
patriotic man, was the leader, refused to accept this change of
government. _Alcibiades_, who had left the Spartans out of anger
on account of their treatment of him, was recalled, and assumed
command. The oligarchical rule was overturned in four months after its
establishment, and the democracy restored,--the assembly being still
limited, however, to five thousand citizens. Three brilliant naval
victories, the last at _Cyzicus_ (410 B.C.), were won over the
Spartans by Alcibiades who came back to Athens in triumph (408
B.C.). _Lysander_ was the commander of the Spartan fleet on the
coast of Asia Minor, and (407 B.C.) gained a victory over the Athenian
ships during a temporary absence of Alcibiades. Alcibiades was not
reëlected general. He now withdrew, and, three years later, died. The
new Spartan admiral, _Callicratidas_, surrounded the Athenian
fleet under _Conon_ at Mitylene. By very strenuous exertions of
the Athenians, a new fleet was dispatched to the help of Conon; and in
the battle of _Arginusæ_ (406 B.C.), the Peloponnesians were
completely vanquished. The public spirit of Athens and the resources
of a free people were never more impressively shown than in the
prodigious efforts made by the Athenians to rise from the effect of
the crushing disaster which befell the Sicilian expedition on which
their hopes were centered. But these exertions only availed to furnish
to coming generations an example of the heroic energy and love of
country which are possible under free government.


III. THE FALL OF ATHENS.

_Lysander_ once more took command of the Spartan fleet. Shrewd in
diplomacy, as well as skillful in battle, he strengthened his naval
force by the aid of _Cyrus_ the Younger, the Persian governor in
Asia Minor. Watching his opportunity, he attacked the Athenians at
_Ægospotami_, opposite Lampsacus, when soldiers and sailors were
off their guard (405 B.C.). Three thousand of them, who had not been
slain in the assault, were slaughtered after they had been taken
captive. _Conon_ escaped to Cyprus with only eight ships. One
fast-sailing trireme carried the news of the overwhelming defeat to
Athens. Lysander followed up his success cautiously, but with
energy. Islands and seaports surrendered to him, and in them he
established the aristocratic rule. The Athenians were shut in by land
and by sea. A treacherous aristocratic faction within the walls was
working in the interest of the Spartans. Famine conspired with other
agencies to destroy the multitude of homeless and destitute people who
had crowded into the city. Starvation compelled a surrender to the
Spartan general. The long walls and fortifications were demolished by
the ruthless conqueror, the work of destruction being carried on to
the sound of the flute. All but twelve vessels were given up to the
captors. The democratic system was subverted, and thirty men--the
"_Thirty Tyrants_"--of the oligarchical party were established in
power, with _Critias_, a depraved and passionate, though able,
man, at their head (404-403 B.C.). They put a Spartan garrison in the
citadel, and sought to confirm their authority by murdering or
banishing all whom they suspected of opposition. _Thrasybulus_, a
patriot, collected the democratic fugitives at _Phyle_, defeated
the Thirty, and seized the _Piraeus_. Critias was slain. _Ten
oligarchs_ of a more moderate temper were installed in power. In
co-operation with the Spartan king, _Pausanias_, the two parties
at Athens were reconciled. An amnesty was proclaimed, and democracy in
a moderate form was restored, with a revision of the laws, under the
archonship of _Euclides_ (403 B.C.). It was shortly after this
change that the trial and death of _Socrates_ occurred, the
wisest and most virtuous man of ancient times (399 B.C.).

PHILOSOPHY: SOCRATES.--At the head of the Greek philosophers is the
illustrious name of _Socrates_. He was the son of Sophroniscus, a
sculptor, and was born 469 B.C., just as Pericles was assuming the
leadership at Athens. Socrates was the founder of moral philosophy. He
was original, being indebted for his ideas to no previous school. He
was as sound in body as in mind. His appearance was unique. His
forehead was massive, but his flat nose gave to his countenance an
aspect quite at variance with the Greek ideal of beauty. He looked, it
was said, like a satyr. He taught, in opposition to the
_Sophists_, a class of men (including _Gorgias, Protagoras_,
and others) who instructed young men in logic and grammar, taking
fees,--which was contrary to the custom of the Greek
philosophers,--and cultivating intellectual keenness and dexterity,
often at the expense of depth and sincerity. Their work as thinkers
was negative, being confined mainly to pointing out fallacies in
existing systems, but providing nothing positive in the room of
them. _Socrates_ had been called by the oracle at Delphi the
wisest of men. He could only account for this by the fact, that, in
contrast with others, he did not erroneously deem himself to be
knowing. "Know thyself" was his maxim. His daily occupation was to
converse with different classes, especially young men, on subjects of
highest moment to the individual and to the state. By a method of
quiet cross-examination, the "_Socratic irony_," he made them
aware of their lack of clear ideas and tenable, consistent opinions,
and endeavored to guide them aright. The _soul_ and its moral
improvement was his principal subject. He asserted _Theism_ and
the spiritual nature and obligations of religion, without calling in
question the existence of the various divinities. He taught the
doctrine of a universal _Providence_. Absolute loyalty to
conscience, the preference of virtue to any possible advantage without
it, he solemnly inculcated. He believed, perhaps not without a
mingling of doubt, in the immortality of the soul. Taking no part in
public affairs, he devoted his time to this kind of familiar
instruction,--to teaching by dialogue, in compliance with what he
believed to be an inward call of God. An impulse within him, which he
called a divine "voice," checked him when he was about to take a wrong
step. He was charged with corrupting the youth by his teaching, and
with heresy in religion. His rebukes of the shallow and the
self-seeking had stung them, and had made him many enemies. Such men
as _Alcibiades_ and _Critias_, who had been among his
hearers, but for whose misconduct he was really not in the least
responsible, added to his unpopularity. The _Apology_, as given
by Plato, contains the substance of his most impressive defense before
his judges. He took no pains to placate them or his accusers, or to
escape after he was convicted. Conversing with his disciples in the
same genial, tranquil tone which he had always maintained, he drank
the cup of hemlock, and expired (May, 399 B.C.). An account of his
teaching and of his method of life is given by his loving scholar,
_Xenophon_, in the _Memorabilia_. The dialogues of
_Plato_, in which Socrates is the principal interlocutor, mingle
with the master's doctrine the pupil's own thoughts and speculations.

PLATO.--_Plato_ (427-347 B.C.), the foremost of the disciples of
Socrates, founded the philosophical school known as the _Academy_
from the place where his pupils were wont to meet him. One of his
prominent tenets was the doctrine of _ideas_ which he regarded as
spiritual realities, intermediate between God and the world, of which
all visible things are the manifestation. They are the shadow, so to
speak, of which ideas are the substance. He defined virtue in man to
be resemblance to God according to the measure of our ability. In the
_Republic_, he sets forth his political views, and sketches the
ideal state. More speculative than Socrates, Plato, from the wide
range of his discussions, from their poetic spirit as well as their
depth of thought, not less than their beauty of style, is one of the
most inspiring and instructive of all authors. No other heathen writer
presents so many points of affinity with Christian teaching.

ARISTOTLE.--Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) studied under Plato, but
elaborated a system of his own, which was on some points dissonant
from that of his instructor. His investigations extended over the
field of material nature, as well as over the field of mind and
morals. With less of poetry and of lofty sentiment than Plato, he has
never been excelled in intellectual clearness and grasp. He was
possessed of a wonderful power to observe facts, and an equally
wonderful talent for systemizing them, and reasoning upon them. He is
the founder of the science of _Logic_. His treatises on
_Rhetoric_ and on _Ethics_ have been hardly less important
in their influence. His _Politics_ is a masterly discussion of
political science, based on a diligent examination of the various
systems of government. In truth, in all departments of research he
exhibits the same capacity for scientific observation and
discussion. In religion he was a theist; but he is less spiritual in
his vein of thought, and more reserved in his utterances on this
theme, than Plato. The names of these two philosophers have been very
frequently coupled. Their influence, like their fame, is imperishable.

LATER SCHOOLS: THE CYNICS.--The impulse given by Socrates gave rise to
still other schools of philosophers. _Aristippus_ of Cyrene
(about 380 B.C.) founded a sect which held that happiness is the
chief end, the goal of rational effort. _Antisthenes_, who was
born 422 B.C., and especially _Diogenes_, went to the opposite
extreme, and founded the school of _Cynics_, who looked with
disdain, not only on luxuries, but on the ordinary comforts of life,
and inured themselves to do without them. Their manners were often as
savage as their mode of living.

HISTORICAL WRITINGS.--The three principal historical writers were
_Herodotus_ (c. 484-0.425 B.C.), the charming but uncritical
chronicler of what he heard and saw, by whom the interference of the
gods in human affairs is devoutly credited; _Thucydides_, who
himself took part in the Peloponnesian war, the history of which he
wrote with a candor, a profound perception of character, an insight
into the causes of events, a skill in arrangement, and a condensation
and eloquence of style, which are truly admirable; and
_Xenophon_, an author characterized by naturalness, simplicity,
and a religious spirit.

GREEK LIFE.--It will be convenient to bring together here some
features of Greek life, (1) _Public Buildings and
Dwellings_. The Greeks almost always preferred to live in
cities. These grew up about an _Acropolis_, which was a fort on
a hill, generally a steep crag. This was a place of refuge, and the
site of the oldest temple. It became often, therefore, a sacred
place from which private dwellings were excluded. At the nearest
harbor, there would be a seaport town. The _Piraeus_ was more
than four miles from Athens,--a mile farther than the nearest shore,
but was chosen as being an excellent harbor. Sparta, alone, had no
citadel,--the access from the plain being easily defended,--and no
walls. The attractive buildings in a Greek town were the public
edifices. Private houses, as to the exterior, were very plain, with
flat roofs, with few stories, and low. Towards the street "the house
looked like a dead wall with a strong door in it," It was built
round an open court: in the case of the best houses, round two
courts,--one bordered by apartments for the men, the other with the
rooms for women. Bedrooms and sitting-rooms were small, admitting
but little light. Fresco-painting on the walls and ceilings came to
be common. The furniture of the house was plain and simple, but
graceful and elegant in form. The poorer classes slept on skins; the
richer, on woolen mattresses laid on girths. The Greeks lived so
much in the open air that they took less pains with their
dwellings. The public buildings were costly and substantially
built. (2) _Meals, Gymnastics, etc._ The Greeks rose
early. There are no notices of a morning bath. The first meal was
light. It was succeeded, as was the custom at Rome, by calls on
friends. Business might follow until noon, the hour of the
_dèjeuner_, or breakfast, which, in the case of the rich, was a
substantial meal. Later in the day, males went to the practice of
gymnastics, which were followed, in later times, by a warm
bath. Towards sunset came the principal meal of the
day. Conversation and music, or the attending of a feast with
friends, took up the evening; if there was a festal company, often
the whole night. At the dinner-table, the Greeks reclined on
couches. Ladies, if allowed to be present, and children, were
required to sit. Spoons, sometimes knives, but never forks, were
used. (3) _Costume: Use of Wine._ The dress of the Greeks, both
of men and women, was simple and graceful. The men were generally
bareheaded in the streets. In bad weather they wore close-fitting
caps, and, in traveling, broad-brimmed hats. In Athens and Sparta
they always carried walking-sticks. The use of wine was
universal. It was always mixed with water. (4) _Slaves_. Slaves
were regarded as chattels. No one objected to slavery as
wrong. Slaves were better treated at Athens than elsewhere, but even
at Athens they were tortured when their testimony was required. They
were let out, sometimes by thousands, to work in pestiferous
mines. (5) _Women and Children_. In Athens, the wife had
seldom learned any thing but to spin and to cook. She lived in
seclusion in her dwelling, and was not present with her husband at
social entertainments, either at home or elsewhere. She had few if
any legal rights, although at Athens she might bring a suit against
her husband for ill-treatment. Concubinage was not condemned by
public opinion. There was no law against exposing infants whom the
parents did not wish to bring up,--that is, leaving them where they
would perish. When found and brought up, they were the slaves of the
person finding them. This cruelty was frequent in the case of
daughters, or of offspring weak or deformed. There were toys and
games for children. _Archytas_, a philosopher, was said to have
invented the child's rattle. Dolls, hoops, balls, etc., were common
playthings. Boys and girls played hide and seek, blind man's buff,
hunt the slipper, etc. Older people played ball, and gambled with
dice. (6) _Education_. The education of boys was careful; that
of girls was neglected. The boy went to or from school under the
care of a slave, called _pedagogue_, or leader. Teachers were
of different social grades, from the low class which taught small
children, to the professors of rhetoric and philosophy. It is
needless to say how much stress was laid on gymnastic and aesthetic
training. Boys read _Homer_ and other authors at an early age,
committing much of them to memory. They were taught to play on the
harp or the flute, and to sing. Lyric poems they learned by
heart. _Music_ held a very high place in the esteem of the
Greeks for its general influence on the mind. Running, wrestling,
throwing the dart, etc., the games practiced at the public contests,
were early taught. Boys at sixteen or eighteen came of age, and were
enrolled as citizens. (7) _Musical Instruments: the
Dance_. Instrumental music was common among the Greeks at games
and meals, and in battle. They used no bows on the stringed
instruments, but either the fingers or the _plectrum_,--a stick
of wood, ivory, or metal. There were three sorts of stringed
instruments, the lyre, the cithara (or zithern), and the harp. The
wind-instruments were the pipe, the clarionet, and the
trumpet. Besides these, there were clanging instruments which were
used chiefly in religious ceremonies: such were castanets, the
cymbal, and the tambourine. Dancing was originally connected with
religious worship. Mimetic dances were a favorite diversion at
feasts. There were warlike dances by men in armor, who went through
the movements of attack and defense. In mimetic dances the hands and
arms played a part. There were peaceful dances or choral dances,
marked by rhythmic grace. Sometimes these were slow and measured,
and sometimes more lively. Specially brisk were the dances at the
festivals of Dionysus (Bacchus). Symbolic dances of a religious
character, these Bacchic dances were the germ of the
drama. Recitations were first introduced between hymns that attended
the choric dances. Then, later, followed the dialogue. (8)
_Weddings and Funerals_. Marriage was attended by a religious
ceremonial. There was a solemn sacrifice and a wedding-feast. The
bride was conveyed to her husband's house, accompanied on the way
with music and song. When a person died, his body was laid out for
one day, during which the relatives and hired mourners uttered
laments round the bier. Burial was at the dawn of day. In later
times, a coin was put into the mouth of the corpse, with which to
pay his passage to the world below. There was a funeral procession,
and at the tomb a solemn farewell was addressed to the deceased by
name. There was then a funeral-feast. Mourning garments were worn
for a short period. The dead were buried in the suburbs of the
cities, generally on both sides of a highway. In the tomb many
little presents, as trinkets and vases, were deposited. (9)
_Courts of Law_. At law men pleaded their own causes, but might
take advice or have their speeches composed for them by others. In
some cases, friends were allowed to speak in behalf of a
litigant. Men like _Demosthenes_ received large fees for
services of this kind. There being no public prosecutor, informers
were more numerous. They became odious under the name of
_sycophants_, which is supposed to have been first applied to
those who informed against breakers of an old law forbidding the
exportation of figs from Athens.

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