• Rise with the Sun: Men typically rose at dawn. They would wash up quickly, often using cold water, as hot water was a luxury.
• Breakfast: A simple breakfast, known as "akratisma," consisted of barley bread dipped in wine, sometimes accompanied by figs or olives.
• Work & Public Affairs: For many men, the morning was a time for work. Farmers would head to their fields to tend to crops like olives, grapes, and grains. Craftsmen and artisans would open their workshops to work on pottery, textiles, or metal goods. Merchants might head to the agora, the bustling marketplace, to trade goods.
• Politics and Philosophy: In cities like Athens, men often engaged in political discussions or attended meetings at the assembly. Philosophers and students might gather at the gymnasium or in private homes to discuss ideas and theories.

Women:

• Household Chores: Women usually woke up early to manage household tasks. They were responsible for preparing meals, spinning and weaving cloth, and caring for children.
• Breakfast: Similar to men, women also had a simple breakfast. They might eat with their children before the day’s chores began.
• Domestic Work: Women spent much of the morning engaged in domestic duties, which included cleaning, fetching water, and making clothes.

Midday: The Heart of Daily Activities

Men:

• Continued Work: Farmers would continue their labor in the fields, while artisans and craftsmen worked on their trades. The marketplace remained lively with merchants and buyers haggling over goods.
• Meals: The midday meal, known as "ariston," was light, often consisting of bread, cheese, fruits, and perhaps some fish.
• Leisure and Socializing: Men might take a break to socialize at the agora, discussing politics, philosophy, or daily news. Public baths were also a popular place to relax and converse

• Household Management: Women continued with their household responsibilities. Wealthier women might have slaves to assist with chores, allowing them more time for weaving or managing household finances.
• Midday Meal: Women and children would have their ariston together, similar to what the men ate.
• Religious Duties: Women often participated in religious rituals and household worship, paying homage to gods and goddesses to ensure the family’s well-being.

Afternoon: Winding Down the Day

Men:

• Return Home: Farmers and workers would return home as the sun began to set. Before dinner, men might visit the public baths to cleanse and relax.
• Symposia and Social Gatherings: Wealthier men might attend symposia, which were social gatherings involving drinking, music, and philosophical discussions. These events were important for networking and entertainment.
• Dinner: The main meal of the day, "deipnon," was consumed in the evening. It included more substantial fare such as fish, legumes, vegetables, and occasionally meat. Wine, diluted with water, was a common accompaniment.

Women:

• Evening Chores: As the day wound down, women would finish any remaining chores, prepare for the evening meal, and ensure the household was in order.
• Dinner: Women and children would have their deipnon separately from the men. This meal was more substantial than the midday meal, featuring stews, bread, vegetables, and fruits.
• Evening Activities: After dinner, women might engage in spinning, weaving, or other crafts. They also participated in evening prayers and rituals.

• Family Time: After dinner, families might spend some time together before bed. Stories and myths were shared, often teaching moral lessons or entertaining the children.
• Rest: With the day's work done, the household would retire for the night, ready to begin the routine anew with the dawn.

So on we go to warm breezes and cool evenings – and still that wonderful sun.

This week has been a quiet one. Feels like the ‘seasonal transition’ has started – summer is on its way out, and autumn is on its way in. I love this. It’s an important part of life, and helps us to shift gears and move forward in many ways. What’s often unclear is ‘what’s next’ – and I mean that both personally and for the country in general. I remember that ‘back to school’ feeling of childhood – when we would put on our new pair of pants and head off for the great unknown of a new school year.

I hope that autumn brings positive movement, or at least a feeling that things are moving in the right general direction!

Maybe that new pair of pants is a good idea. Or maybe what we need right now is just a good night out ;)

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

The team says that this is the first definitive evidence that the two-metre-high sculptures were not pristine white, as they appear today, but were precisely painted, as most sculptures from antiquity once were.

The pigment, which was widely used until 800 AD, was identified on sculptures that formed parts of the decorated east and west ends of the Parthenon temple.

It has been known for more than two centuries that the Ancient Greeks and Romans painted their statues.

That paint has almost completely disappeared over time, although tiny flecks can be found on most statues on close inspection.

Unusually, no trace of paint has ever been found on the Parthenon sculptures, despite thorough analysis, including a full investigation by the renowned British physicist Michael Faraday in the 1830s.

Giovanni Verri, a physicist in the museum's department of conservation and scientific research, developed a technique to exploit the fact that Egyptian blue emits near-infrared radiation when excited by visible light.

His portable detector comprises a light-emitting diode that beams red light onto the surface being examined, and a camera that can detect the infrared light emitted by the pigment particles.

"The distribution of the pigment is also a key issue in proving that the sculptures were painted," said Verri.

For example, the pigment found on the winged messenger goddess Iris traces just the belt restraining her billowing tunic, and nowhere else on the figure.

Greek conservators have recently observed greenish flecks on remnants of the Parthenon frieze that are in Athens, but have not reported analyses of them.

"We informed our Greek colleagues of what we found and they responded warmly, saying they are interested to examine these flecks themselves," said Verri.

"I always believed the frieze must have been painted," said Ian Jenkins, senior curator in the British Museum's Department of Greece and Rome. "This new method leaves no room for doubt," he added.

According to Verri, these frieze flecks could also be Egyptian blue, and is keen to examine them with his portable detector.