The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-10-28
T..

We pass to what the author has TO say touch
ing another qu~estion-namely. what degree of
civilization had the Greeks reached when they
first settled in Greecer 1t is pointed out that
philology proves them to have been by no means
n rude people. II tho Greeks say droj and
drotrOn and tho Romans drO and %drdtrtn for
" to plough and "a plough" it Ia clear that
they were beth acquainted with agriculture be-
fore they separated. This agriculture would
naturally not be particularly advanced and Holm
concurs In the protest recently raised by Helm
against exaggerated statements as to the high
development OF the earliest Greek civilization.
No one will deny that the primitive Greeks must
have possessed n certain amount OF OF
the science and practice OF agriculture. They
were not always on the move. They tarried here
and there. and sowed fruit seed and millet and
barley. The earliest inhabitantso Of Thera were ac-
quainted with agriculture. as the remains show.
On the other hand. we are reminded that the
cultivation of the vine is a different matter. II
the progenitors of the Greeks and the Italians
carried grain with them on their travels. II does
not follow that they took vine shoots as we'll,
which require more than a short summer
TO grow up and bear fruit. Besides. wine
Is not, like bread. a necessary OF life.
There Is, therefore, no necessity for the
assumption that the earliest Greeks brought
the vine with them when they settled in Greece;
indeed. 1t seems more likely. when one considers
the myths concerning the arrival OF Dionysius,
that. mt first, they did without wine. At the
same time. it may very we'll have been known
to the earliest Greeks. II is certain that cattle
breeding provided the means OF subsistence
even moro than Agriculture. However different
the surface Of the soil might be in particular
tracts, life In the various cantons OF primeval
Greece must, roughly speaking. have had much
the same aspect. In the valleys corn was sown
and cattle p~astured. Bees supplied wax and
honey. and wild trees sour fruit. The best meat
was procured by the chase, while the products
OF the animal kingdom served a variety Of pur-
poses, such as clothing, vessels for eating and
drinking. and bowstrings. Boats were covered
with leather. and draught cattle were har-
messed with leather thongs. From the wool of
sheep was made the felt used for a head cover
Ing Greek plOs, Latin pttets). Cloth was manu-
featured from bark and the fbres of plants, at
first plated and afterward woven. The ordi-
nary crockery was of clay. baked in the sun.
The weaker members Of the tribe were carried
on wagons when it was necessary TO pass from
one place to another. Their dwellings were
either natural or artificial caverns. or huts built
Of wood, wicker work, mud, or stone. The prac-
tice In lake countries OF driving piles into the
bottom of a lake and building upon them no
doubt obtained In Greece; Herodotus relates
this custom OF the Paonians In Thrace. That
the earliest Greeks were acquainted with metals
Is rendered probable by the word for copper"
being common to Sanscrlt, German, and Latin;
but, as the Greeks happened to have had another
word for It, We may assume that they did not
use copper so much as stone implements in the
earliest ines
On the religion of the early Greeks. much light
has been thrown by philologists. An original
connection between the Greek and Indian re-
ligions has been demonstrated. thus bringing
the origin OF Greek mythology into clearer re-
lief. The mythology OF the Aryans proves 10 he
simply their poetic expression OF their mode Of
regarding nature. The variety OF mytholoCical
imagery, however, in the different ethnic on
shoots arose from the popularity of the early
languages, which. on the one hand. SUNNY a
number OF expressions for the same object, and.
on the other hand, give the same general name
TO different objects. The consequence Is that
when different words are used for the .ama
thing one thing is represented I'm a variety
Of ways. In Greek, German, and Indian mythol-
ogy, COW, horse, sheep, and ship all signify cloud.
Inversely, the same symbol can express differ
emit objects; for example, horse can stand for
cloud, light, sunbeam, spring, or wave. This
multiplIcIty OF terms erpIaIns tha otbar,vi. ~
zling fact that only a few gods hear the Am.
name among kindred peoples. There were AZ
many ways OF expressing the same idea that ~
erent races easily adopted different names for the
same deity. In spite OF this, the Greeks had
some names Of gods in common with kindrsd
races. The name OF the chief god Zeus. eenitIva
DIos, corresponds TO that OF the Indian GOD a,
the heaven Dyaus, genitiye DIyas. both signify.
ing the clear sky. Another Greek name To- -.
heavens dates from earliest times, Uranus COR
responding TO the sanscrit VarunAs, which