Daily Life through World History in Primary Documents, Volumes 1-3

1172 Pages·2009·7.14 MB·English

by  Morris, Lawrence

Daily Life through World
History in Primary
Documents
Daily Life through World History in Primary Documents
Lawrence Morris, General Editor
Volume 1:The Ancient World
David Matz
Volume 2:The Middle Ages and Renaissance
Lawrence Morris
Volume 3:The Modern World
David M. Borgmeyer and Rebecca Ayako Bennette
1
THE ANCIENT WORLD
Daily Life through World
History in Primary
Documents
Lawrence Morris
General Editor
David Matz
VOLUME EDITOR
GREENWOOD PRESS
Westport, Connecticut • London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Daily life through world history in primary documents / Lawrence
Morris, general editor.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 978 – 0 –313–33898– 4 (set : alk. paper)
ISBN: 978 – 0 –313–33899–1 (v. 1 : alk. paper)
ISBN: 978 – 0 –313–33900 – 4 (v. 2 : alk. paper)
ISBN: 978 – 0 –313–33901–1 (v. 3 : alk. paper)
1. Civilization—History—Sources. 2. Manners and customs—
History—Sources. 3. Social history—Sources. I. Morris,
Lawrence, 1972–
CB69.D35 2009
909—dc22 2008008925
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2009 by Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2008008925
ISBN: 978–0–313–33898–4 (set)
978–0–313–33899–1 (vol. 1)
978–0–313–33900–4 (vol. 2)
978–0–313–33901–1 (vol. 3)
First published in 2009
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Every reasonable effort has been made to trace the owners of copyrighted materials in this book, but in
some instances this has proven impossible. The author and publisher will be glad to receive information
leading to more complete acknowledgments in subsequent printings of the book and in the meantime
extend their apologies for any omissions.
To my family
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CONTENTS
Set Introduction xxi
Set Acknowledgments xxv
Chronology xxvii
PART I HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
SUMERIA 1
CHINA 1
INDIA 3
EGYPT 4
ISRAEL 5
GREECE 6
ROME 9
PART II DOMESTIC LIFE
FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS 14
Sumeria 15
1. Selections from the Code of Hammurabi 15
Israel 16
2. Jewish Laws on Marriage and Families 16
China 18
3. Raising Families in Ancient China 18
India 19
4. Women, Men, and Marriage in Ancient India 19
Egypt 20
5. Vizier Ptah-hotep’s Advice on Family Life 20
6. Egyptian Marriage and Family Customs 21
vii
Contents
Greece 22
7. Solon Reforms the Domestic Laws of Athens 22
8. Socrates’s Version of Marital Bliss 23
9. Unusual Marriage Customs in Sparta 24
10. Why So Many Guests Are Invited to Wedding Receptions 25
Rome 26
11. Parenthood in Ancient Rome 26
12. A Good Father’s Responsibilities 27
13. A Comparison of Spartan and Roman Marriage and Family Customs 28
14. On Living With, and Without, Matrimony 29
OLD AGE AND RETIREMENT 30
India 31
15. Getting Old Is Not for the Faint-Hearted 31
Egypt 31
16. The Downside of Old Age 31
17. No Way to Treat One’s Father! 32
18. No Way to Treat an Old Man! 33
Greece 33
19. A Spry Old Gentleman 33
20. How to Grow Old Gracefully 34
21. A Nonagenarian Shows Off His Intellect to Win His Court Case 35
22. Another Spry Nonagenarian 35
23. Near-Sighted Old People 36
24. Rude Athenians, Courteous Spartans 37
25. The Old Men Strike Back 38
Rome 39
26. An Ideal Retirement 39
27. The Right Time for an Orator to Retire 40
28. Old Age Does Not Automatically Equate to a Loss of Vitality 41
TRAVEL 42
Egypt 43
29. A Roman Tourist Is Coming! 43
Greece 43
30. Plato Suggests Travel Restrictions 43
31. Watch Out for the Wagon-Rollers! 44
32. Making a Pilgrimage to Olympia 44
Rome 45
33. A Trip Down the Appian Way 45
viii
Contents
34. Pliny Reports to Trajan on His Journey to Bithynia 47
35. Trajan’s Reply to Pliny 48
36. Pliny’s Response to Trajan 48
37. You Should Let Them Take You on a Sea Cruise 48
MAKING A LIVING 48
Egypt 49
38. Be a Scribe! 49
39. Yes, by All Means Be a Scribe! 50
40. Farmers and Craft Workers in Ancient Egypt 53
Greece 54
41. The Farmer’s Long Day . . . and Year 54
42. An Unrivaled Public Works Program 56
Rome 56
43. Cicero on the Joys of Farming 56
44. Cicero on Other, Less Joyful Occupations 57
45. There’s Gold in Those Hills! 58
PART III ECONOMIC LIFE
URBAN LIFE 60
China 60
1. Life with the Tax Man 60
India 61
2. Indian Urban Life 61
3. Description of Indian Cities 62
Egypt 62
4. The Wonders of Alexandria 62
Greece 64
5. The Well-Planned City 64
6. Hippodamus: Planner of Cities 65
Rome 66
7. The Founding of Rome 66
8. Big-City Blues 66
9. A Mansion Fit for a . . . Human Being! 69
10. The Extent of Rome (Part I) 70
11. The Extent of Rome (Part II) 70
RURAL LIFE 71
India 72
12. The Success of Indian Agriculture 72
ix