Daily Life: Ancient Greece
A ten‑minute portrait of how ordinary Greeks lived, ate, worked, and dressed.
Chapters
On-screen text
- 0:07 The Greek Home
- 0:14 The Greek Home
- 0:31 Greek houses centered on an atrium. Historical record · Athenian Agora Excavations, Volume 3 (1970)
- 0:49 Clay couches used for meals. Historical record · Hellenistic Domestic Pottery, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1998)
- 1:07 Frescoes adorned wealthy homes. The Institute's interpretation · John Boardman, *Greek Art* (1991)
- 1:25 Public cisterns supplied household water. Historical record · Inscription IG I³ 284 (Athenian water‑tax register)
- 1:43 Oikos led by male head. Historical record · Hesiod, *Works and Days* (c. 700 BCE)
- 1:52 Food and Drink
- 1:59 Food and Drink
- 2:16 Barley, olives, figs were staples. Historical record · Linear B tablets, Knossos (c. 1400 BCE)
- 2:34 Bronze cauldrons for stews. Historical record · Greek Cooking Pots, National Archaeological Museum, Athens (2005)
- 2:52 Stalls sold grain, oil, wine. Historical record · Agora Market Stalls, Athens (Excavations 1975)
- 3:10 Sealed amphorae stored wine. Historical record · Amphorae with wine residues, Museum of Cycladic Art (2010)
- 3:28 Feasts with meat, bread, wine. Tradition / scripture · Homer, *Odyssey* (Book 9)
- 3:37 Work and Marketplace
- 3:44 Work and Marketplace
- 4:01 Potters' guild set standards. Historical record · Inscription IG I² 76 (Athenian guild of potters)
- 4:19 Agora: covered market hub. The Institute's interpretation · M. Wallace‑Hadrill, *The Classical Agora* (1992)
- 4:37 Kilns fired red‑figure pottery. Historical record · Kiln remains at the Kerameikos, Athens (Excavation 1983)
- 4:55 Women spun wool on spindles. Historical record · Spindle whorls, Museum of the Ancient Agora (2002)
- 5:13 Slaves did household tasks. Historical record · Aristotle, *Politics* 1.125
- 5:22 Family, Clothing, and Adornment
- 5:36 Linen was common fabric Historical record · Linen garment fragments, Museum of Archaeology, Thessaloniki (2015)
- 5:50 Red ochre used as facial pigment Historical record · Theophrastus, *Enquiry into Plants* 2.5
- 6:05 Simple leather sandals were standard Historical record · Leather sandals, National Museum of Athens (2020)
- 6:24 Dowry recorded on IG I³ 123 Historical record · Inscription IG I³ 123 (Athenian marriage dowry record)
Sources
Historical record: Athenian Agora Excavations, Volume 3 (1970) · Hellenistic Domestic Pottery, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1998) · Inscription IG I³ 284 (Athenian water‑tax register) · Hesiod, *Works and Days* (c. 700 BCE) · Linear B tablets, Knossos (c. 1400 BCE) · Greek Cooking Pots, National Archaeological Museum, Athens (2005) · Agora Market Stalls, Athens (Excavations 1975) · Amphorae with wine residues, Museum of Cycladic Art (2010) · Inscription IG I² 76 (Athenian guild of potters) · Kiln remains at the Kerameikos, Athens (Excavation 1983) · Spindle whorls, Museum of the Ancient Agora (2002) · Aristotle, *Politics* 1.125 · Linen garment fragments, Museum of Archaeology, Thessaloniki (2015) · Theophrastus, *Enquiry into Plants* 2.5 · Leather sandals, National Museum of Athens (2020) · Inscription IG I³ 123 (Athenian marriage dowry record)
Tradition / scripture: Homer, *Odyssey* (Book 9)
The Institute's interpretation: John Boardman, *Greek Art* (1991) · M. Wallace‑Hadrill, *The Classical Agora* (1992)
Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 140 s of CPU.
Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (15) — the next things to make
- A low clay couch with cushions placed in a dining area, a ceramic bowl on a small table.
- A low clay couch with cushions placed in a dining area, a ceramic bowl on a small table.
- Stone cistern with water flowing into a basin inside a courtyard house.
- A multigenerational family gathered around a hearth.
- A simple table with barley porridge, a bowl of olives, and fresh figs.
- A simple table with barley porridge, a bowl of olives, and fresh figs.
- A simple table with barley porridge, a bowl of olives, and fresh figs.
- Bustling agora with merchants behind tables laden with amphorae.
- Stacks of dark‑clay amphorae capped with waxed lids.
- Potters shaping vessels on wheels in a workshop, a stone tablet on the wall.
- A woman at a simple loom, spindle whorls on a nearby shelf.
- A slave carrying water jars through a courtyard.
- A slave carrying water jars through a courtyard.
- A stone slab listing silver, cloth, and livestock as dowry.
- A close‑up of a woven woolen blanket draped over a sleeping child, the tight weave and soft texture evident in the light.