The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1869-11-12
GreGian Wives.

| 4hc wives OF the Greeks lived in
almost absolute scclusion. They
were c':sspall7 ':s married when very
yoEng. Their occupations were to
weave, to spin, to ehbroiaer, to su-
perln!cnd the household, to care for
their l':.! sick slaves. They lived in a a
specc;;a} ans! and rcti;rged Part of the house.
the t,s MSro S!i5ro wealthy seldom went
| ABROAD, ;!!'r.!t and never except when nc.
c'ompanied by q female slave; never
attended this public spcotaclss; re-
celved no male visitors except in the
presence of their husbands, and had
not even q scat at their own tables
when male guests were there. Their
pre.em'nent virtue was fidelity, and
1t IS probable that this was very
strictly and very generally observed.
Their remarkable freedom FROM temp.
tatlons, the public feelings which
strongly discouraged any attempt to
seduce them, and the ample sphere
lor illicit pleasures that was accorded
to the other sex, all contributed to
protect it. Oh the other hand, liv-
ing as they did, almost exclusive
among their female slaves, deprived
OF all the educating influence OF
male society, and having no place :,
those public apectaces which were
the chef means Of Athenian culture,
their minds must necessarily have
been exceedingly contra ted. Thu
cydIdes doubtless expressed the pre-
va'llng sentiment of his countrylnen
when he said that the highest merit
|ol woman is not to be spoken of
either for good o. for evil. and Phi
dlas Illustrated the same theory when
ne represented the heavenly Aprodite
standing on tortoise, typifying
thereby the secluded life Of a virtu.
GUS woman. -,
! n their own restricted sphere
their lives were probably not unhap.
| py. Education and custom rendered
the purely domestic life that was as
signed to them a. second nature, and
It must, in most instances, have rec
onciled them to the extra matrimon,
al connections in which Their hus-
bands too frequently indulged. Th,
p'e'ai'ihg maur'eIs wore verv oontle
domestic oppressisse IS bar1,,s a,'s
spoken Of; the husband lived chief,
in in. the public place; causes of iea.~
ousy and Of disseqtion could, seldom
occur, and a feclingof warm Affection
though not a feeling of equality
must doubtless haye IN most case.
spontaneously arisen. In the writ
'ngs Of Acnophon we have a charm
ing picture Of husband who had
received into his arms his young wifi
OF fifteen, absolutely ignorant Of the
world and it's ways. lie speaks t,
her with extreme kind,ess, but il
tae language that would be used to :
little child. Her task, he tells her !:
to be like n queen bee, dwelling con
tlnually at home and experimenting
the work Of her slaves. She mus
distribute to each their tasks, mus,
economize the family income and mus
take especial care that the house is
strictly o'derly-the, shoes the pots
and the clothes, always III tleirr places
It's also, he tel!5. her, part of he,
duty to tcnd her sick slaves; bnl,
here his wife interrupted him, ex-
claiming, ''Nay but shat will indeed
be the most agreeable Of my offices
if such as I treat for my kindness are
likely to be egra,eful, and to love me
more than: before. With q very
tender and, delicate care to avoi,!
everything resembling reproach
the husband peFsuades his wife to
give up tue habit of wearing high.
heeled boots. in order to- appear tall,
and of coloring her face with YER.
million and white lead. He promises
her that, if she faithfully performs
her duties, he will himself be tho
hTst a"d most devoted of her slaves
He assured Socrates that, when any
domestic dispute arose, he could extrl,
cate himself admirably, if he WIS in
the right; but that whenever l.e was
IN the wrong, he found it impossible
to convince his wife that it was other.
wlse.-Appleton's Journal.