Don Nardo, the author of the book Life in Ancient Greece, described Greece as a warm, dry, and mountainous region about the size of New York State (10). The weather and topography of the region greatly affected the style of homes in Ancient Greece. Michael Poulton described these styles homes in his book Life in the Time of Pericles and the Ancient Greeks. Conditions were cramped in the cities and towns. Nearly all rooms opened into the central courtyard. Solid walls on the street side of the home provided security. A single door to the home was locked and bolted. Since the Greeks spent most of their time outdoors, most homes had little luxury (Poulton 53).

All homes contained little furniture. The master of a wealthy house may have a chair and a footstool while the women and children only used stools. T

Slaves were a very vital component to the ancient Greek lifestyle. Slaves were often prisoners of war, orphans, pirate's captives, or children of slaves and often well educated. The city employed slaves as policemen, junior civil servants, and silver miners. Contractors, businesses, and households also employed slaves (Poulton 59). Most household slaves were treated well and could even save their small wages to buy their freedom. However, the slaves working in silver mines suffered under terrible conditions (Schofield 31).

Women were not held in high regard in Ancient Greece. Women were not allowed to vote or take part in public affairs (Purves 7). Women's power was limited to day-to-day household matters. They spent most of their time in the women's quarters at home managing the household slaves, making and mending clothes, weaving and spinning wool, supervising the children, and overseeing the preparations for banquets and parties (Nardo 17). Women were allowed to go to the market or agora, the theater, and religious festivals accompanied by a male relative or family servant (Nardo 17). Spartan women and hetairai, high-class prostitutes, were the only exceptions to the subservient role of women in ancient Greek society. They had more freedoms, spoke their mind, and were better educated than most women (Nardo 18).

The high standard of living of Ancient Greece is even more impressive when one considers that the civilization existed in fifth century BC. Although the society had its faults, such as slavery, one cannot help but notice the many strengths of the society. The Greeks managed to form stable governments, an education system, housing, and food for the people. An intelligent person cannot help but admire the Greek mind and its ability to stretch and create.

The rich men of the city-states had many popular pastimes. Many chatted, argued, drank, raced horses, and spent time at the sports center exercising and showing off (Poulton 58). Some men also enjoyed participating in and watching boxing and wrestling matches (Purves 70). The Olympic Games was another popular event with the men of the Greek city-states. Because the athletes competed naked, the women and children could not attend the games (Purves 72). Dinner parties were another popular pastime that involved only men. Men would eat and drink, discuss politics and philosophy, tell jokes, riddles, and stories, and would be entertained by hetairai, high-class prostitutes. The theater was a popular family pastime. The family would watch tragedies by Euripedes and Sophocles, and co

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Approximate Word count = 1739
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)