The Daily Life of the Greeks and Romans as Illustrated in the Classical Collections
9781465673404
213 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
This handbook is intended to serve as a guide to those objects in the Classical Collection which illustrate the daily life of the Greeks and Romans. Some of these have been brought together as a special exhibition in Cases 1 to 5 in the Fifth Room, while others which it has not been possible to move are referred to in their respective positions. Many of these antiquities are among the most valued possessions of the Museum, while others are entirely lacking in artistic qualities and would scarcely attract the visitor’s attention, yet placed in their proper relations they are found to be full of unsuspected interest. Investigations of the sites of ancient cities, settlements, and burial places, especially during the last fifty years, have brought to light objects of the most varied kinds which allow us to know, as was never before possible, the appearance and manner of life, the tools, utensils, weapons, and toys of the Greeks and Romans. Any one who will take up an old translation of an author such as the elder Pliny, Xenophon, or Martial, and compare it with a modern version will see at once the difference in this particular. The earlier translator was often at a loss when confronted with allusions to every-day life and consequently either did not express clearly the meaning of his original or even entirely misrepresented it. But quite apart from a correct interpretation of the works of ancient writers, the study of private antiquities enables us to form a mental picture of these people and their surroundings, the actors in the theatre, the citizens gathered in the assembly or at a religious festival, the houses from which they came, and the work they left behind; and as a result, to see the world with their eyes, to comprehend their aims and actions, and to compare them more intelligently with our own. The greater part of these objects were not very valuable at the time they were made; they were the ordinary possessions of ordinary persons. Yet one sees on all sides evidence of the skill, careful workmanship, and artistic feeling ungrudgingly spent in making simple, common articles for every-day use. In our own time the situation is very different; to the average person beauty and utility have little or no relation to each other, and he consequently provides for his home useful and necessary utensils which have no beauty, and so far as he is able adds “ornaments” which have no utility and very frequently, it must be said, no real beauty. Again, the period in which we are living has not produced any definite style, either in architecture or in the arts and crafts, though there has been much careful copying and adapting of earlier ideas; but the products of Greek and Roman artists and craftsmen have “style,” not as a result of striving for an effect, but because each workman received the traditional schooling in his craft and, having practised it with satisfaction in work well done, tried to add something to the store of knowledge before handing it on to the next generation. Such considerations alone would make the study of the every-day utensils of classical times a valuable one in the present day. No attempt has been made in this handbook to treat the subject exhaustively; it is intended merely to provide such explanation and commentary as will be helpful toward an understanding of the antiquities. In consequence the length of the sections has been determined by the amount of material available and does not necessarily correspond to the relative importance of the various subjects.
