The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-09-02
HOMES IN ATHENS
As a Rule They Are Clean, but
Bare and comfortless.
PEOPLE LIVE IN THE CAFES.

When They % Get into Their hsusss
Their Principal Occupation 10 leok.
ing Out Of the Windews-Ths Mar.
rage Customs Of Greece.
Home life in Greece. particularly In
Athens. Is peculiar. It might almost
be said that there Is no such thing.
In Mr.. Duckett Ferriman's book on
Greece and the Greeks the manners
and customs of the picturesque Hci.
lenes. which arc little known to the
average English reader, nre described
at length. Mr. Fcrriman states that
the Greeks do not know anything
about the art Of making home.
zone may meet with exquisite clean.
liness." he writes. with beautifully
embroidered bed linen scented with
rosemary. but never with what VIC
mean by coziness The Greeks are far
less In their houses than VIC are. ana
when they are ut home they appear to
out Of the window. They are not given
to inviting their friends to their
houses. 1t Is not that they are nlg-
gardly, for they will gladly entertain
you at q restaurant at far greater cost
to themselves. But 1t does not enter
into their ideas to ask you homo to
dinner. even after an acquaintance Of
many years.
They do not ask each other, 90 Il
can hardly be expected that they
should make an exception In the case
Of foreigners. The cafe Is second
home to them. There they meet
friends and gossip. That 10 one reason
perhaps why they dislike country life.
ut offers no alternative to the home:
there the hearth IL the social center.
while In town It is the cafe. In Athens
those who do not own the house they
dwell in seldom remain long In the
same abode. Two or three years y
quite Z long tenure. Many pAople
make q point Of moving every year.
Tho imposing facades Of Athenian
houses conceal. for the most part,
bare and comfortless interior, and Z
we'll kept garden IS rare. A garden -
not made in q year. and q person who
changes his residence every twelve
months does not want to be troubled
with much furniture. nor 10 he par
ticular as to its arrangement. seeing
that 1t will be carted away in . few
months.
Home life has no resources for the
Greeks. as It has for us. 1t affords
them little occupation and no amuse-
ment. They like to eat and drink 10
crowds. where there Is noise and move
ment. Their instincts are too gregari-
Gus to allow them to appreciate the
domestic intimacy which we prize.
''The day chosen for marriage In
Greece is usually Sunday. but the day
Of all days in the year Is the Sunday
preceding the Christmas feast. 1t -
not fashionable now 10 be married In
church. In Athens the ceremony takes
place In the house or the brides par
ents. A temporary altar Is set up In
the middle Of the room.
AT the conclusion OF the ceremony
the priest and the couple join hands
and walk three times round the altar.
the guests pelting them with comflts.
The most important part Of the cere-
mony Is the crowning of the bride md
bridegroom with wreaths Of orange
blossom: hence wedding IL popular
~ called the crowning'
"Love marriages are rare exceptions.
The match n made by the parents and
relatives rather than by the parties
principally concerned. There are GER
tain established usages which. though
not legally binding. nre not to be con-
travened with impunity.
''Then 1t Is considered wrong for
brothers to marry until their sisters
have been wed Again. girls must
marry in order Of seniority 1t would
not be right for a girl TO be married
while she had an elder sister who re-
NAMED single. The men Of family
nre thus naturally anxious 10 zee their
sisters settled. and a. dowry II In
dispensable its provision Is often a
matter Of serious anxiety and the fruit
OF great self denial on the part Of tho
brothers II the parents are dead
There are cases In which brotheTu
have remained unmarried for years
and have devoted all their hard earned
savings to the dowries Of their sisters.
Among the poorer classes emigration
Is resorted to. not infrequently solely
with this object. and many . d0wfy
comes to Greek maiden from acfuso
the Atlantic