The ancient Greek territory consisted of a chain of independent city-states. Each policy had its own laws and regulations, and the resident of the policy kept loyalty only to his own city. Some unity of the cities of Hellas was observed only in common places for the whole Greek world. For example, Olympia, where the Olympic Games were held since 776 BC. Or religious centers with the oracles of a particular god, where they came for wise advice. The rest of the time, the city-states, to put it mildly, did not like each other. The prosperity of one policy caused envy among the residents of the other. Sparta and Athens — the two largest cities — were constantly struggling for primacy in the ancient world. In turn, the aesthetic Athenians treated the Spartans as dumb-headed warriors who were only interested in strength.
The pioneer of ancient society was man: his role in the life of the city, his beauty, his ability to think. The concept of "kalos-agatos" appears, which means "valiant and beautiful". It was a time when gods were likened to people and people to gods. The glorious deeds of a man combined with beauty and courage, strength and a couple of legends is sufficient grounds to classify the hero as a demigod. Naturally, most often such a title was awarded to soldiers. Constant raids of foreigners and internecine wars did not allow Hellade to have a weak army. Nevertheless, the life of the ancient defender was incredibly simple. He was not allowed to surround himself with luxury goods. Salon — a politician of the time — said:
"From wealth will be born satiety, from satiety hives"
Even the warrior's clothes were the same as those of slaves and craftsmen, but of more expensive material and complemented by a cloak. The Greek warrior was confident in his strength and invincibility. It was honorable to die in battle, and each true Hellenist died with a smile, which always amazed the foreigners. In most cities of Hellas, except Sparta, there were so-called "lists of potential soldiers". A man who had reached the age of 20 was on the list and could have been drafted at any time.
As for women, they had their own lists. For example, in Athens it was "eoi". The names of free Hellenists were recorded here. Slaves and heterians were not mentioned in the lists. Representatives of these two strata were not allowed to come to the city holidays. In general, the role of the ancient woman in public life was quite conditional. Her status depended entirely on her husband and his relatives. Women did not inherit property and had no right to defend themselves in court. Moreover, the "weaker sex" could not buy things that exceeded a certain amount. It was a strange time, a time when the beauty and elegance of a woman was sung by poets and painters. Hellenks became goddesses only when they dissolved in elusive rhymes or frozen in stone.
Hellenok was married at the age of 15, and her husband was chosen by her father. As a rule, it was a man not younger than 30 years old. Early marriages were not popular with the strong sex, but it was also unacceptable to stay single for too long. Constant wars took away too many men, and the continuation of the family was the number one task. The newborn child was shown to the husband by the mother. If the father doubted that it was his son or daughter, he could easily refuse to paternity. Then the child was left behind and he was dying. The Hellenic woman could not get rid of the unsuccessful union of her will. But it was easier for a man to part with his unloved wife. The nationwide announcement that he did not want to live with his wife anymore was a strong enough argument for the dissolution of the marriage.
It was possible to distinguish a married woman from a girl by the position of her belt on her lower dress. The girls wrapped the chiton at waist level, married under the breast. Heaton woman's outfit did not end. The so-called ashes were dressed on top of the lower dress. The cloth for the ashes was longer and wider. The upper dress was mostly yellow-brown or red. White dresses were intended for holidays and festive occasions. A raincoat of a different color was worn over the dresses, and the thinnest scarf was thrown over the head. Complex, heavily draped clothes, stuffed with lead weights, of course, contributed to the proud posture and measured smoothness of the movements of the Hellenists. The basis of the ancient Greek costume, both male and female, was the drapery. Strictness and simplicity were most appreciated. The flowing drapery of matter imitated the columns of ancient temples. "Beautiful without fuss and beauty without fatigue" - this was the ideal of ancient women.
Free Greek women had long hair. There is an opinion that blondes used to be especially popular in Ancient Greece. Classical features of the face of Hellenists are known to all thanks to the ancient statues. The most notable part of the face was a straight, slightly large nose. As for the forehead, its height from eyebrows to hair roots should have been two fingers according to the beauty canons of that time. And the hairstyle of the "Greek bundle" with the hair down on the cheeks, which was gathered in the back of the knot, was designed to reduce the forehead, as required by fashion.
The basic principle of Hellenistic is "nothing extra", "measure in everything". The Hellenes created a pure hymn to art. They laid the foundation for European thought. Philosophers of that time for a relatively short period had time to ask so many questions about the essence of being that they surpassed in their curiosity all subsequent eras. However, the wise Hellenes did not feel much admiration for their time. Ancient Greek poet Kesiod believed that all the best had passed long ago. "If I could not live with the generation of V century, before his death I would like to die or later be born. He was confident that the world was steadily going to decline. It should be noted that such a grim feeling visited Kesioda at the turn of the brightest period of antique Greece. Nevertheless, the poet was not mistaken. For 2 000 years of its existence, the ancient Greek civilization still fell into decay. And centuries later, only the ruins of once majestic temples, theaters and palaces remained from Hellas.