Can you think of any examples in modern sports--or in any other occupa- tion or profession--in which there is a similar double
standard?
Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome_nodrm
One of these was used as a kind of picture gallery.
strove to excel themselves: Ancient Greek artists--like most typical ancient Greeks--loved to compete with one another to determine which of them could produce the best works of art.
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
? ? ? ? A HOME FIT FOR A GODDESS
The Parthenon is perhaps the most recognizable landmark in all of ancient Athens. Photos of it have probably appeared in more travel brochures, more feature newspaper articles, more history books, and on more Internet sites than any other ancient building. And why not? It came to symbolize the power and the wealth of the Golden Age of Athens under Pericles's inspired leadership.
The word derives from the Greek parthenos, meaning "young girl," one of the chief epithets of the goddess Athena, in whose honor the Parthenon was built. Located at the top of the Acropolis (see glossary, above), it was a massive rectangular structure, so large that it could reportedly be seen by sailors on ships in the Mediterranean Sea, from 20 miles or more away. Its exterior featured 34-foot-tall Doric columns, 17 of them on the two long sides of the building, 8 on the short sides. (By contrast, typical rectangular temples generally featured 13 columns on the long sides and 6 on the two ends. ) The columns were ingeniously designed in such a way that they bulged very slightly in the middle and tilted very slightly toward one another. The Greek architects were trying to create an optical illusion with this bulging and tilting; they knew that from a great distance, a curved line looks straight, and a straight line looks curved. They wanted the columns to appear to be perfectly straight when viewed by those sailors on the sea and by others who might be seeing the building from a distance.
Perhaps the most stunning feature of the temple was the magnificent statue of Athena, placed on the inside of the building. Standing some 40 feet tall, created by the super-talented sculptor-architect Pheidias, it was a chryselephantine (gold and ivory) colossus. The gold alone that it contained has been estimated to have been worth 44 talents, equivalent to approximately $13 million (see the following sidebar). Some archaeologists believe the statue's great height required a sort of skylight to be carved into the roof of the Parthenon to accom- modate it; otherwise, it would not have fit inside the building.
? ? ? ? ? ? ANCIENT GREEK MONEY
Greek money in Pericles's day was divided into four basic denominations: obols, drachmas, minas, and talents; the latter two were never minted. The drachma seems to have been the basis of the monetary system, much like the dollar in modern American currency. So the question arises: how much, in American dollars, was the drachma worth?
First, some equivalencies: six obols 1/4 one drachma
100 drachmas 1/4 one mina
6,000 drachmas 1/4 one talent
It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to determine the exact dollar amount for one drachma. But educated
guesses are possible. For example, it appears that one drachma was about the average daily income for a middle-class, employed Athenian in the fifth century BCE. If we assume an approximate contemporary mini- mum wage of $6. 00/hour, and an eight-hour workday, then we might suggest a value of $50 (rounded up from $48) for one Athenian drachma. (If this calculation is even roughly accurate, it then becomes apparent why the Athenians never minted one-talent coins. A one-talent coin would have been worth $300,000. Where, and on what, would such a coin be spent? What merchant could make change for it? )
Hence, 44 talents for the gold in the statue of Athena would be equivalent to $13,200,000. The overall cost of the Parthenon has been estimated at a stupendous 5,000 talents, or about one and a half billion dollars, a staggering sum even by today's standards, surpassing the price tag even of a modern sports palace like Yankee Stadium. A couple of factors that drove the cost so high: the expense of the building materials (only top-quality marble was used) and the labor costs. The document has revealed how many people were employed generally in the Athenian Golden Age, and certainly a good many of these workers were assigned to Parthenon construction. And of course, they all had to be paid.
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12. CICERO ADVISES HIS SON ON A RIGHT AND PROPER CAREER
INTRODUCTION
The orator/statesman/lawyer Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE) produced a tremendous output of written works during his lifetime, including many philosophical treatises. Among these is his De Officiis, or On Duties.
Cicero's public life had taken a very gradual decline after his consulship in 63 BCE, and in the 50s and 40s, he turned increasingly to thinking about, studying, and writing philosophy. De Officiis, penned about 45 BCE, is the last, and possibly best, of his 15 philosophical tracts. The piece is addressed to his 21-year-old son (also named Marcus Tullius Cicero), who was at the time in Athens studying with the noted philosopher Cratippus. (The elder Cicero was apparently acquainted with Cratippus and even used his influence to help him gain Roman citizenship. ) Cicero wrote De Officiis with his son in mind.
Sadly, at the very end of the book, Cicero expressed his hope that he and his son could discuss in person the issues raised in it, but he never saw his son again. The famed orator was killed in the proscriptions of late 43 BCE.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. Cicero, as an educated and sophisticated Roman gentleman, had a sort of benign contempt for people he considered beneath his social status, especially manual laborers such as "fishmongers, butchers, cooks, poulterers, and fishermen. " Interestingly, however, he professes a high regard for those engaged in agriculture (although he probably refers in the document to the owners and managers of the farms, not the field workers).
2. Cicero, and many Romans of his rank in society, looked down upon professions, and their practitioners, that today are held in (mostly) high esteem: actors, physi- cians, architects, and athletes, for example. This disconnect is especially striking in the case of charioteers and gladiators. Romans of all social classes flocked to the amphitheaters and the racetracks in huge numbers; the great chariot-racing venue in Rome, the Circus Maximus, is estimated to have had a seating capacity in excess of 250,000. But these same rabid spectators would have considered individual glad- iators and charioteers a contemptible lot.
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
? Document: Cicero's Advice to His Son
Now in regard to trades and other means of livelihood, which ones are to be considered becoming to a gentleman and which ones are vulgar, we have been taught, in gen- eral, as follows. First, those means of livelihood are rejected as undesirable which incur people's ill-will, as those of tax- gatherers and usurers. Unbecoming to a gentleman, too, and vulgar are the means of livelihood of all hired work- men whom we pay for mere manual labor, not for artistic skill; for in their case, the very wage they receive is a pledge of their slavery. Vulgar we must consider those also who buy from wholesale merchants to retail immediately, for they would get no profits without a great deal of outright lying. And verily, there is no action that is meaner than misrepresentation. And all mechanics are engaged in vulgar trades, for no workshop can have anything liberal about it. Least respectable of all are those trades which cater for sensual pleasures: "Fishmongers, butchers, cooks, and poulterers, and fishermen. " [A quotation from the play Eunuch, by the Roman playwright Terence, ca. 195-159 BCE. ] Add to these, if you please, the perfumers, dancers, and the whole corps de ballet.
But the professions in which either a higher degree of intelligence is required or from which no small benefit to society is derived--medicine and architecture, for exam- ple, and teaching--these are proper for those whose social position they become. Trade, if it is on a small scale, is to be considered vulgar. But if wholesale and on a large scale, importing large quantities from all parts of the world, and distributing to many without misrepresentation, it is not to be greatly disparaged. It even seems to deserve the high- est respect, if those who are engaged in it, satiated, or rather, I should say, satisfied with the fortunes they have made, make their way from the port to a country estate, as they have often made it from the sea into port. But of all the occupations by which gain is secured, none is better than agriculture, none more profitable, none more delightful, none more becoming to a free man. [Tr. Walter Miller. Cicero: De Officiis (1. 150. ) LCL, 1913. Page numbers: 153, 155. ]
AFTERMATH
As noted earlier, Cicero is thought to have written this philosophical tract around 45 BCE, near the end of his long and distinguished career in Roman public and intellectual life. De Officiis was his penultimate published work; only the Philippics, a series of 14
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? corps de ballet: Cicero again enumera- tes a list of disreputable occupa- tions, culminating with the corps de ballet, or in Latin, ludus talar- ius, a kind of melodramatic vaude- ville show, often with bad acting, bad singing, and bad dancing. Cicero here is denigrating the actors who participate in such displays.
fishmongers, butchers, cooks, poul- terers, fishermen: It is not exactly clear why Cicero, or Terence for that matter, would consider these sorts of occupations the "least respectable," or why workers engaged in these occupations would be founts of lies and misrepresenta- tions. It could be that the market- places where these goods were sold sometimes harbored unsavory characters--thieves, pickpockets, muggers--and so the reputations of even the honest tradesmen were thereby besmirched.
liberal: This word is not to be under- stood with the modern political connotations. As used in the document, its etymological con- nection to the Latin word liber, "free," helps to define it: occupa- tions that are worthy of a free Roman citizen or those "becoming to a gentleman. "
Terence: (Full Roman name: Publius Terentius Afer. ) The Roman play- wright Terence wrote six plays; all survive. Eunuch (161 BCE) recounts the story of a love triangle involv- ing an Athenian youth, a courte- san, and a soldier.
vulgar: The Latin word, which has been translated as "vulgar," is sor- didus, a word of many and varied
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speeches directed mostly at his hated rival Mark Antony, appeared later. Crossing Mark Antony was not a wise thing to do; his influ- ence was on the rise in the 40s as Cicero's declined. For the last 18 months of his life, Cicero was reduced to not much more than a fugitive, wandering across Italy. (Fortunately, he owned several properties at various places, so presumably he was able to find accommodations. ) When he was eventually tracked down and mur- dered, in December of 43, his severed head and hands were put on public display, apparently at the behest of Mark Antony.
ASK YOURSELF
1. Why do you suppose Cicero believed that fishermen, butchers, cooks, and chicken farmers engaged in professions that "cater[ed to] sensual pleasures"? Why would he have considered basic foods such as fish, meat, and poultry to be somehow linked to sensual pleasures?
2. Cicero does not explicitly urge his son not to earn his livelihood in any of the occu- pations that he scorns in the document. Do you think, however, that this is the implicit message?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e How would you feel if a parent or other close relative sent you a book- length letter (the De Officiis is several hundred pages long) filled with admonitions, career counseling, injunctions, and other advice that might seem a bit inappropriate? We do not know how the young Cicero felt about his father's many words of advice, but could you speculate about his reaction?
Cicero Advises His Son on a Right and Proper Career
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? meanings. In this context, its sense is one of impropriety; these occupations are not worthy of an honorable person. Note the con- trast to occupations "becoming to a gentleman. "
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? TWO ACTORS WHO ROSE ABOVE IT
Cicero (as we have seen) and other respectable Roman gentlemen and ladies were cynically contemptuous of those who took up the acting profession. But the orator/educator Quintilian (ca. 35-95 CE) relates the stories of two actors who seemed to be universally appreciated for their talents, Demetrius and Stratocles: "[T]he one [Demetrius] was at his best in the roles of gods, young men, good fathers and slaves, matrons and respectable old women [male actors played both male and female roles], while the other [Stratocles] excelled in the portrayal of sharp-tempered old men, cunning slaves, parasites, pimps, and all the more lively characters of comedy. " [Quintilian. Institutes of Oratory 11. 3; tr. Butler. ] Quintilian states that both actors had strong voices, but each one also had his own unique talents. Demetrius possessed a pair of extremely expressive hands, a manner or power of speech that charmed his audiences, and an ability to make his costumes "seem to puff out with wind as he walked. " It helped that he was a tall and handsome man, advantages that successful modern actors also enjoy!
Stratocles had the ability to move quickly and with great agility, and an infectious laughter that he some- times employed at unexpected or inappropriate places in the play, just to get the audience to laugh along with him. He also was able to manipulate his head and neck in such a way that it seemed as if the former were sinking into the latter.
Quintilian notes that if either man had tried to incorporate the other one's idiosyncrasies into his own ver- bal and physical repertoire, he would have failed as an actor.
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? ? ? ? TRIMALCHIO'S COOK AND OTHER PROFESSIONS
In his satirical book Satyricon, the Roman novelist Petronius (d. ca. 65 CE) described an outlandish dinner party given by the obnoxious and filthy-rich Trimalchio. Trimalchio had a (usually misguided) opinion on every sub- ject imaginable, including the art of cooking. In a memorable scene from the book, a waiter carried into the din- ing room a huge roast pig and placed it before the dinner guests. Trimalchio was pleased at first, but then he began to look more closely at the pig and discovered that it had not been gutted. Furious, he demanded that the cook come out of the kitchen and answer for this unforgivable act of forgetfulness. When the cook appeared, all nervous and contrite, Trimalchio was about to order that he be horsewhipped. But the diners interceded on his behalf and begged Trimalchio to rescind the punishment; accidents happen! Trimalchio smiled and re- lented, and instructed the cook to gut the pig right then and there, in full view of all. As the cook complied, and went to work with his carving knife, sausages and blood-puddings tumbled out of the pig's belly. Everyone cheered, and the cook--who only moments before had faced the unhappy prospect of a beating-- was rewarded with a drink, a silver coin, and an expensive goblet.
Elsewhere in the story, Trimalchio ranks some of the professions according to the degree of difficulty. He considers the writing of literature the most challenging. After that come medicine and banking.
Cicero evaluated various professions not only in the document, but elsewhere in his writings. Consider these comments, from his philosophical essay On Divination [1. 24]: Doctors, for example, practice the art of medicine, but make many mistakes. Captains of sailing vessels are also capable of errors in judgment; for exam- ple, when the Greek fleet finally sailed away from Troy after 10 long years of warfare, their euphoria over leaving got in the way of their good sense. They gazed at the scenery, daydreamed, unmindful of a coming storm. Military generals, too, make bad and costly decisions. Politicians are not exempt from fallibility; Cicero gallantly notes that even he had made a mistake or two over the previous 40 years! All these examples were adduced in order to demonstrate that soothsayers should not be overly criticized because of an occasional incorrect proph- ecy, because most of the time, their proclamations are reliable.
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e The Christian author Tertullian (ca. 160-225 CE) wrote a treatise entitled De Spectaculis (Concerning Spectacles) in which he sharply criticized the atti- tude of the Roman populace toward charioteers and gladiators, and in par- ticular, their love of the games and shows, but their contempt for the individual athletes. Why do you suppose this double standard existed?
Can you think of any examples in modern sports--or in any other occupa- tion or profession--in which there is a similar double standard?
Further information
Cowell, F. R. Cicero and the Roman Republic. London, 1948. Stockton, David. Cicero: A Political Biography. Oxford, 1971.
Websites
Cicero: On Duties. http://bostonleadershipbuilders. com/cicero/duties/epitome. htm Cicero: On Duties. http://www. iep. utm. edu/cicero/#SH7s
Bibliography for Document
Glover, T. R. (tr. ). Tertullian: Apology; De Spectaculis. [LCL. ] Cambridge and London, 1931.
Miller, Walter (tr. ). Cicero: De Officiis. [LCL. ] London and New York, 1913.
13. THE SKY IS NO LONGER THE LIMIT: DIOCLETIAN'S CAP ON WAGES AND PRICES
INTRODUCTION
At the close of the third century CE, the Roman Empire was facing some serious economic challenges, including runaway inflation. The emperor Diocletian (reigned 284-306 CE) attempted to address the problem by issuing an unprecedented decree limiting the prices for commodities and services, and also capping wages. This decree, the Edictum de maximis pretiis, or Edict Concerning Maximum Prices, was issued in 301. Penalties for violating the edict were severe: death or exile.
The document is remarkable for the detailed information it provides about the relative prices of consumer goods at the time, as well as the wage scale in effect for a large number of occupations and professions.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. This detailed document forms the longest continuous text pertaining to economic issues still surviving from the ancient world, either Greek or Roman.
2. In the years of Diocletian's reign prior to the issuance of the edict, he and his armies had been engaged in seemingly endless wars and in putting down revolts in various parts of the empire. The tremendous expense associated with these campaigns may well have been a major factor in the economic crisis that precipitated the need for a cap on wages and prices.
3. Military adventurism may not have been the only problem. The contemporary Christian writer Lactantius implies that Diocletian's ambitious building programs also played a part in bringing about the empire's economic woes: "he had a certain endless passion for building, and no small exactions from the provinces for maintain- ing laborers and artisans and for supplying wagons and whatever else was necessary for the construction of public works. Here basilicas, there a circus, here a mint, there a shop for making weapons, here a house for his wife, there one for his daughter. " [Lactantius. On the Deaths of the Persecutors vii; tr. Lewis and Reinhold. ]
4. Most of the specified maximum salaries are per day or per month, but some are cal- culated according to the number of clients served, (or animals, in the case of veterinarians).
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
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Document: An Ancient Roman Wage/Price Freeze
[Excerpts from the preamble:]
If the excesses perpetrated by persons of unlimited and frenzied avarice could be checked by some self-restraint--this avarice which rushes for gain and profit with no thought for mankind . . . or if the general welfare could endure without harm this riotous license by which . . . it is being very seriously injured every day, the situation could perhaps be faced with dissembling and silence, with the hope that human forbearance might alleviate the cruel and pitiable situation. But the only desire of these uncontrolled madmen is to have no thought for the common need. Among the unscrupulous, the immoderate, and the avaricious it is consid- ered almost a creed . . . to desist from plundering the wealth of all only when necessity compels them . . .
It is our pleasure, therefore, that the prices listed in the subjoined schedule [i. e. , the text of the edict] be held in observance in the whole of our Empire . . . Therefore, it is our pleasure that anyone who resists the measures of this statute shall be subject to a capital penalty for daring to do so. And let no one consider the statute harsh, since there is at hand a ready protection from danger in the ob- servance of moderation.
[The initial clauses in the document specify maximum prices for all sorts of food and drink: wheat, barley, beans, rye, peas, rice, wines, beer, olive oil, salt, pork, beef, pheasant, chickens, sparrows, venison, butter, fish, oysters etc. The last clauses set the maximum prices for various commodities, including boots, shoes (men's and women's), fir and pine timber, silk, wool, gold, freight and transportation charges. The middle clauses set the maximum wages for a number of occupational titles, including the following:]
Occupational title
Farm laborer
Carpenter
Wall painter
Picture painter
Baker
Shipwright working on a seagoing ship Shipwright working on a river boat Camel driver
Shepherd
Muleteer
Veterinarian, for clipping and preparing hoofs Veterinarian, for bleeding and cleaning the head Barber
Sewer cleaner, working a full day
Scribe, for the best writing
Scribe, for second-quality writing
Notary, for writing a petition or legal document
Maximum wage (daily, unless otherwise noted)
25 denarii
50 denarii
5 denarii
150 denarii
50 denarii
60 denarii
50 denarii
25 denarii
20 denarii
25 denarii
6 denarii per animal 20 denarii per animal 2 denarii per man
25 denarii
25 denarii for 100 lines 20 denarii for 100 lines 10 denarii for 100 lines
Tailor, for cutting and finishing a hooded cloak of first quality
Tailor, for breeches
Tailor, for leggings
Elementary teacher, per boy
Teacher of arithmetic, per boy
Teacher of shorthand, per boy
Teacher of Greek or Latin language and literature, and teacher of geometry, per student.
Teacher of rhetoric or public speaking, per student. Advocate or jurist, fee for a complaint
Advocate or jurist, fee for pleading
Teacher of architecture, per student
Check room attendant, per bather
60 denarii
20 denarii
4 denarii
50 denarii per month 75 denarii per month 75 denarii per month 200 denarii per month
250 denarii per month 250 denarii
1,000 denarii
100 denarii
2 denarii
The Sky Is No Longer the Limit: Diocletian's Cap on Wages and Prices
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? denarii: A denarius was a commonly circulated silver coin, equivalent to four sestertii. For a discussion of the value of a sestertius, refer to the chapter on sports and games, p. 240.
? ? ? [Tr. Lewis, Naphtali and Meyer Reinhold. Roman Civilization: Sourcebook II, The Empire. (Excerpts from Volume III of the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, or CIL). Harper Torchbooks, New York, first edition pub- lished in 1966 (book was originally published by Columbia University Press, in 1955). Page numbers: 464, 465, 468, 469, 470. ]
AFTERMATH
Unfortunately, Diocletian's bold effort at controlling inflation with a wage/price freeze was unsuccessful, and the edict was revoked a few years after it was promulgated. Lactantius claims that violence erupted when attempts were made to enforce the law, that commerce was suppressed, and that prices actually increased. In any event, it was apparent that the edict was not producing the desired effect. Diocletian abdicated his imperial office around 306 and lived the last decade of his life in relatively obscure retirement.
ASK YOURSELF
1. Some of the wage specifications seem to make sense. An artist creating a mural painting for a wall probably deserved to be paid a better wage than a worker who merely whitewashed the wall. But others seem a little odd. For example, why do you suppose a differentiation was made between a shipwright who worked on a sea- going vessel and one who did the same kind of work but on a riverboat? Or why would a wall painter qualify for a higher maximum than a carpenter?
2. Probably one of the most important occupations in the ancient world--both Greek and Roman--was agriculture. Some experts estimate that as many as 80 percent or more of the work forces of both civilizations were involved in some way with farm- ing work. So if this kind of work was such an important part of the economy, why do you suppose that two of the lowest pay ceilings listed in the document were for farm laborers (25 denarii maximum per day) and shepherds (20 maximum)?
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
3. The maximum salaries for teachers vary greatly, depending on the subject(s) taught. Do these maximums tell us anything about the importance the ancient Romans attached to the various subjects?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Someversionofawage/pricefreezehasbeenrecommended,oreventried, at various points in western history, in order to control inflation. Can you find other examples (in addition to Diocletian's edict)? How successful, or not, have these efforts been? If they succeeded, why did they succeed? If not, why not?
e It has already been mentioned that Diocletian's edict was not successful. The contemporary Christian author Lactantius provided several reasons for this. Can you think of additional reasons?
e ThedocumenthasalwaysbeenknownastheEdictofDiocletian,buthow likely is it that Diocletian himself was personally responsible for incorporat- ing the various maximums and other details contained in it? It seems rea- sonable to assume that his economic advisers put together the nitty-gritty details. But is there any way to know for certain?
Further Information
Barnes, Timothy. The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine. Cambridge, MA, 1982. Corcoran, Simon. The Empire of the Tetrarchs: Imperial Pronouncements and Government.
Oxford, 2000.
Jones, A. H. M. The Later Roman Empire, 284-602: A Social, Economic, and Administrative
Survey. Oxford, 1964. Websites
Edict of Diocletian. http://www. 1911encyclopedia. org/Edict_of_Diocletian
What Things Cost in Ancient Rome. http://www. constantinethegreatcoins. com/edict
Bibliography for Document
Lewis, Naphtali and Meyer Reinhold. Roman Civilization: Sourcebook II; The Empire. New York, 1955.
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FOOD AND CLOTHING
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14. PLUTARCH AND FRIENDS TALK DIRTY (LAUNDRY)
INTRODUCTION
Plutarch's Moralia (Moral Essays), the source for the document, encompass a wide variety of subjects, including the kinds of issues that might be discussed at a dinner party.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. The scene: a dinner party in which three of the guests--Plutarch, Theon, and Themistocles--discuss the merits using freshwater instead of seawater for washing clothes.
2. Although the conversation ostensibly concerns laundry issues, notice that Plutarch also manages to incorporate into it a good deal of information about other topics.
3. Artistotle and Homer are generally considered the ultimate authorities on almost any topic, even something as mundane as the weekly washing, so it is not surprising to find that both of them are referenced in the document.
Document: Laundry Day in Ancient Greece
When we were being entertained at the house of Mestrius Florus, Theon the critic raised the question with Themistocles the Stoic why Chrysippus never gave an explanation for any of the strange and extraordinary things he frequently mentions: for example, "salted fish are fresher if wetted with brine"; "fleeces of wool yield less easily if one tears them apart violently than if one parts them gen- tly"; and "people who have fasted eat more deliberately than those who have taken food beforehand. " Themistocles answered that Chrysippus mentioned such things incidentally, by way of example, because we are easily and irrationally trapped by what appears likely, and contrariwise disbelieve what appears unlikely, and turning to Theon, he continued: "But what business have you, sir, to raise a question about these matters? For if you have become inquisitive and speculative in the matter of explanations . . . tell us for what reason Homer has made Nausicaa [see sidebar] do her washing in the river instead of the sea,
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Women doing their laundry. Greek, red-figured pelike (two-handled, free-standing jar), fifth century BCE. (Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY)
though the latter was nearby and quite likely was warmer, clearer, and more cleansing. "
"But," said Theon, "this problem you propose to us Aristotle long ago solved by considering the earthy matter in sea water. Much coarse, earthy matter is scat- tered in the sea; being mixed with the water, this matter is responsible for the saltness, and because of it, sea water also supports swimmers better and floats heavy objects, while fresh water lets them sink, since it is light and unsubstantial. For the latter is unmixed and pure, and so because of its light consistency, it soaks into cloth and, as it passes through, dissolves out stains more readily than sea water. Don't you think what Aristotle says is plausible? "
"Plausible," I said, "but not true. For I observe that people frequently thicken their water with ash, or soda, or, if these are not at hand, with a powdery solid. The earthy matter, it would seem, is more easily able by its roughness to wash out dirt, while the water alone because of its lightness and weakness does not do this [equally effectively]. It is not, therefore, the coarseness of sea water that prevents this action, nor is sea water a less efficient cleanser because of its acridness, for this quality cleans out and opens up the mesh of the cloth and sweeps away the dirt. But since everything oily is hard to wash and makes a stain, and the sea is oily, this would surely be the reason for its not cleaning efficiently.
That the sea is oily Aristotle himself has said. For salt water contains fat, so making lamps burn better. And sea water itself, when it is sprinkled into flames, flashes up with them. . .
What is more, the phenomenon can also be explained in another manner. Since cleansing is the aim of washing, and what dries quickest appears cleanest, the washing liquid must depart with the dirt . . . The sun easily evaporates fresh water because of its lightness, but salt water dries up with difficulty since its coarseness holds it in the mesh of the cloth. [Tr. Paul A. Clement. Plutarch's Moralia (626E- 627D). Volume VIII. LCL, 1969. Page numbers: 87, 89, 91, 93. ]
AFTERMATH
Plutarch was born in the little town of Chaeronea, in Greece, not far from Athens.
strove to excel themselves: Ancient Greek artists--like most typical ancient Greeks--loved to compete with one another to determine which of them could produce the best works of art.
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? ? ? ? A HOME FIT FOR A GODDESS
The Parthenon is perhaps the most recognizable landmark in all of ancient Athens. Photos of it have probably appeared in more travel brochures, more feature newspaper articles, more history books, and on more Internet sites than any other ancient building. And why not? It came to symbolize the power and the wealth of the Golden Age of Athens under Pericles's inspired leadership.
The word derives from the Greek parthenos, meaning "young girl," one of the chief epithets of the goddess Athena, in whose honor the Parthenon was built. Located at the top of the Acropolis (see glossary, above), it was a massive rectangular structure, so large that it could reportedly be seen by sailors on ships in the Mediterranean Sea, from 20 miles or more away. Its exterior featured 34-foot-tall Doric columns, 17 of them on the two long sides of the building, 8 on the short sides. (By contrast, typical rectangular temples generally featured 13 columns on the long sides and 6 on the two ends. ) The columns were ingeniously designed in such a way that they bulged very slightly in the middle and tilted very slightly toward one another. The Greek architects were trying to create an optical illusion with this bulging and tilting; they knew that from a great distance, a curved line looks straight, and a straight line looks curved. They wanted the columns to appear to be perfectly straight when viewed by those sailors on the sea and by others who might be seeing the building from a distance.
Perhaps the most stunning feature of the temple was the magnificent statue of Athena, placed on the inside of the building. Standing some 40 feet tall, created by the super-talented sculptor-architect Pheidias, it was a chryselephantine (gold and ivory) colossus. The gold alone that it contained has been estimated to have been worth 44 talents, equivalent to approximately $13 million (see the following sidebar). Some archaeologists believe the statue's great height required a sort of skylight to be carved into the roof of the Parthenon to accom- modate it; otherwise, it would not have fit inside the building.
? ? ? ? ? ? ANCIENT GREEK MONEY
Greek money in Pericles's day was divided into four basic denominations: obols, drachmas, minas, and talents; the latter two were never minted. The drachma seems to have been the basis of the monetary system, much like the dollar in modern American currency. So the question arises: how much, in American dollars, was the drachma worth?
First, some equivalencies: six obols 1/4 one drachma
100 drachmas 1/4 one mina
6,000 drachmas 1/4 one talent
It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to determine the exact dollar amount for one drachma. But educated
guesses are possible. For example, it appears that one drachma was about the average daily income for a middle-class, employed Athenian in the fifth century BCE. If we assume an approximate contemporary mini- mum wage of $6. 00/hour, and an eight-hour workday, then we might suggest a value of $50 (rounded up from $48) for one Athenian drachma. (If this calculation is even roughly accurate, it then becomes apparent why the Athenians never minted one-talent coins. A one-talent coin would have been worth $300,000. Where, and on what, would such a coin be spent? What merchant could make change for it? )
Hence, 44 talents for the gold in the statue of Athena would be equivalent to $13,200,000. The overall cost of the Parthenon has been estimated at a stupendous 5,000 talents, or about one and a half billion dollars, a staggering sum even by today's standards, surpassing the price tag even of a modern sports palace like Yankee Stadium. A couple of factors that drove the cost so high: the expense of the building materials (only top-quality marble was used) and the labor costs. The document has revealed how many people were employed generally in the Athenian Golden Age, and certainly a good many of these workers were assigned to Parthenon construction. And of course, they all had to be paid.
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12. CICERO ADVISES HIS SON ON A RIGHT AND PROPER CAREER
INTRODUCTION
The orator/statesman/lawyer Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE) produced a tremendous output of written works during his lifetime, including many philosophical treatises. Among these is his De Officiis, or On Duties.
Cicero's public life had taken a very gradual decline after his consulship in 63 BCE, and in the 50s and 40s, he turned increasingly to thinking about, studying, and writing philosophy. De Officiis, penned about 45 BCE, is the last, and possibly best, of his 15 philosophical tracts. The piece is addressed to his 21-year-old son (also named Marcus Tullius Cicero), who was at the time in Athens studying with the noted philosopher Cratippus. (The elder Cicero was apparently acquainted with Cratippus and even used his influence to help him gain Roman citizenship. ) Cicero wrote De Officiis with his son in mind.
Sadly, at the very end of the book, Cicero expressed his hope that he and his son could discuss in person the issues raised in it, but he never saw his son again. The famed orator was killed in the proscriptions of late 43 BCE.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. Cicero, as an educated and sophisticated Roman gentleman, had a sort of benign contempt for people he considered beneath his social status, especially manual laborers such as "fishmongers, butchers, cooks, poulterers, and fishermen. " Interestingly, however, he professes a high regard for those engaged in agriculture (although he probably refers in the document to the owners and managers of the farms, not the field workers).
2. Cicero, and many Romans of his rank in society, looked down upon professions, and their practitioners, that today are held in (mostly) high esteem: actors, physi- cians, architects, and athletes, for example. This disconnect is especially striking in the case of charioteers and gladiators. Romans of all social classes flocked to the amphitheaters and the racetracks in huge numbers; the great chariot-racing venue in Rome, the Circus Maximus, is estimated to have had a seating capacity in excess of 250,000. But these same rabid spectators would have considered individual glad- iators and charioteers a contemptible lot.
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? Document: Cicero's Advice to His Son
Now in regard to trades and other means of livelihood, which ones are to be considered becoming to a gentleman and which ones are vulgar, we have been taught, in gen- eral, as follows. First, those means of livelihood are rejected as undesirable which incur people's ill-will, as those of tax- gatherers and usurers. Unbecoming to a gentleman, too, and vulgar are the means of livelihood of all hired work- men whom we pay for mere manual labor, not for artistic skill; for in their case, the very wage they receive is a pledge of their slavery. Vulgar we must consider those also who buy from wholesale merchants to retail immediately, for they would get no profits without a great deal of outright lying. And verily, there is no action that is meaner than misrepresentation. And all mechanics are engaged in vulgar trades, for no workshop can have anything liberal about it. Least respectable of all are those trades which cater for sensual pleasures: "Fishmongers, butchers, cooks, and poulterers, and fishermen. " [A quotation from the play Eunuch, by the Roman playwright Terence, ca. 195-159 BCE. ] Add to these, if you please, the perfumers, dancers, and the whole corps de ballet.
But the professions in which either a higher degree of intelligence is required or from which no small benefit to society is derived--medicine and architecture, for exam- ple, and teaching--these are proper for those whose social position they become. Trade, if it is on a small scale, is to be considered vulgar. But if wholesale and on a large scale, importing large quantities from all parts of the world, and distributing to many without misrepresentation, it is not to be greatly disparaged. It even seems to deserve the high- est respect, if those who are engaged in it, satiated, or rather, I should say, satisfied with the fortunes they have made, make their way from the port to a country estate, as they have often made it from the sea into port. But of all the occupations by which gain is secured, none is better than agriculture, none more profitable, none more delightful, none more becoming to a free man. [Tr. Walter Miller. Cicero: De Officiis (1. 150. ) LCL, 1913. Page numbers: 153, 155. ]
AFTERMATH
As noted earlier, Cicero is thought to have written this philosophical tract around 45 BCE, near the end of his long and distinguished career in Roman public and intellectual life. De Officiis was his penultimate published work; only the Philippics, a series of 14
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? corps de ballet: Cicero again enumera- tes a list of disreputable occupa- tions, culminating with the corps de ballet, or in Latin, ludus talar- ius, a kind of melodramatic vaude- ville show, often with bad acting, bad singing, and bad dancing. Cicero here is denigrating the actors who participate in such displays.
fishmongers, butchers, cooks, poul- terers, fishermen: It is not exactly clear why Cicero, or Terence for that matter, would consider these sorts of occupations the "least respectable," or why workers engaged in these occupations would be founts of lies and misrepresenta- tions. It could be that the market- places where these goods were sold sometimes harbored unsavory characters--thieves, pickpockets, muggers--and so the reputations of even the honest tradesmen were thereby besmirched.
liberal: This word is not to be under- stood with the modern political connotations. As used in the document, its etymological con- nection to the Latin word liber, "free," helps to define it: occupa- tions that are worthy of a free Roman citizen or those "becoming to a gentleman. "
Terence: (Full Roman name: Publius Terentius Afer. ) The Roman play- wright Terence wrote six plays; all survive. Eunuch (161 BCE) recounts the story of a love triangle involv- ing an Athenian youth, a courte- san, and a soldier.
vulgar: The Latin word, which has been translated as "vulgar," is sor- didus, a word of many and varied
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speeches directed mostly at his hated rival Mark Antony, appeared later. Crossing Mark Antony was not a wise thing to do; his influ- ence was on the rise in the 40s as Cicero's declined. For the last 18 months of his life, Cicero was reduced to not much more than a fugitive, wandering across Italy. (Fortunately, he owned several properties at various places, so presumably he was able to find accommodations. ) When he was eventually tracked down and mur- dered, in December of 43, his severed head and hands were put on public display, apparently at the behest of Mark Antony.
ASK YOURSELF
1. Why do you suppose Cicero believed that fishermen, butchers, cooks, and chicken farmers engaged in professions that "cater[ed to] sensual pleasures"? Why would he have considered basic foods such as fish, meat, and poultry to be somehow linked to sensual pleasures?
2. Cicero does not explicitly urge his son not to earn his livelihood in any of the occu- pations that he scorns in the document. Do you think, however, that this is the implicit message?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e How would you feel if a parent or other close relative sent you a book- length letter (the De Officiis is several hundred pages long) filled with admonitions, career counseling, injunctions, and other advice that might seem a bit inappropriate? We do not know how the young Cicero felt about his father's many words of advice, but could you speculate about his reaction?
Cicero Advises His Son on a Right and Proper Career
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? meanings. In this context, its sense is one of impropriety; these occupations are not worthy of an honorable person. Note the con- trast to occupations "becoming to a gentleman. "
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? TWO ACTORS WHO ROSE ABOVE IT
Cicero (as we have seen) and other respectable Roman gentlemen and ladies were cynically contemptuous of those who took up the acting profession. But the orator/educator Quintilian (ca. 35-95 CE) relates the stories of two actors who seemed to be universally appreciated for their talents, Demetrius and Stratocles: "[T]he one [Demetrius] was at his best in the roles of gods, young men, good fathers and slaves, matrons and respectable old women [male actors played both male and female roles], while the other [Stratocles] excelled in the portrayal of sharp-tempered old men, cunning slaves, parasites, pimps, and all the more lively characters of comedy. " [Quintilian. Institutes of Oratory 11. 3; tr. Butler. ] Quintilian states that both actors had strong voices, but each one also had his own unique talents. Demetrius possessed a pair of extremely expressive hands, a manner or power of speech that charmed his audiences, and an ability to make his costumes "seem to puff out with wind as he walked. " It helped that he was a tall and handsome man, advantages that successful modern actors also enjoy!
Stratocles had the ability to move quickly and with great agility, and an infectious laughter that he some- times employed at unexpected or inappropriate places in the play, just to get the audience to laugh along with him. He also was able to manipulate his head and neck in such a way that it seemed as if the former were sinking into the latter.
Quintilian notes that if either man had tried to incorporate the other one's idiosyncrasies into his own ver- bal and physical repertoire, he would have failed as an actor.
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? ? ? ? TRIMALCHIO'S COOK AND OTHER PROFESSIONS
In his satirical book Satyricon, the Roman novelist Petronius (d. ca. 65 CE) described an outlandish dinner party given by the obnoxious and filthy-rich Trimalchio. Trimalchio had a (usually misguided) opinion on every sub- ject imaginable, including the art of cooking. In a memorable scene from the book, a waiter carried into the din- ing room a huge roast pig and placed it before the dinner guests. Trimalchio was pleased at first, but then he began to look more closely at the pig and discovered that it had not been gutted. Furious, he demanded that the cook come out of the kitchen and answer for this unforgivable act of forgetfulness. When the cook appeared, all nervous and contrite, Trimalchio was about to order that he be horsewhipped. But the diners interceded on his behalf and begged Trimalchio to rescind the punishment; accidents happen! Trimalchio smiled and re- lented, and instructed the cook to gut the pig right then and there, in full view of all. As the cook complied, and went to work with his carving knife, sausages and blood-puddings tumbled out of the pig's belly. Everyone cheered, and the cook--who only moments before had faced the unhappy prospect of a beating-- was rewarded with a drink, a silver coin, and an expensive goblet.
Elsewhere in the story, Trimalchio ranks some of the professions according to the degree of difficulty. He considers the writing of literature the most challenging. After that come medicine and banking.
Cicero evaluated various professions not only in the document, but elsewhere in his writings. Consider these comments, from his philosophical essay On Divination [1. 24]: Doctors, for example, practice the art of medicine, but make many mistakes. Captains of sailing vessels are also capable of errors in judgment; for exam- ple, when the Greek fleet finally sailed away from Troy after 10 long years of warfare, their euphoria over leaving got in the way of their good sense. They gazed at the scenery, daydreamed, unmindful of a coming storm. Military generals, too, make bad and costly decisions. Politicians are not exempt from fallibility; Cicero gallantly notes that even he had made a mistake or two over the previous 40 years! All these examples were adduced in order to demonstrate that soothsayers should not be overly criticized because of an occasional incorrect proph- ecy, because most of the time, their proclamations are reliable.
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e The Christian author Tertullian (ca. 160-225 CE) wrote a treatise entitled De Spectaculis (Concerning Spectacles) in which he sharply criticized the atti- tude of the Roman populace toward charioteers and gladiators, and in par- ticular, their love of the games and shows, but their contempt for the individual athletes. Why do you suppose this double standard existed?
Can you think of any examples in modern sports--or in any other occupa- tion or profession--in which there is a similar double standard?
Further information
Cowell, F. R. Cicero and the Roman Republic. London, 1948. Stockton, David. Cicero: A Political Biography. Oxford, 1971.
Websites
Cicero: On Duties. http://bostonleadershipbuilders. com/cicero/duties/epitome. htm Cicero: On Duties. http://www. iep. utm. edu/cicero/#SH7s
Bibliography for Document
Glover, T. R. (tr. ). Tertullian: Apology; De Spectaculis. [LCL. ] Cambridge and London, 1931.
Miller, Walter (tr. ). Cicero: De Officiis. [LCL. ] London and New York, 1913.
13. THE SKY IS NO LONGER THE LIMIT: DIOCLETIAN'S CAP ON WAGES AND PRICES
INTRODUCTION
At the close of the third century CE, the Roman Empire was facing some serious economic challenges, including runaway inflation. The emperor Diocletian (reigned 284-306 CE) attempted to address the problem by issuing an unprecedented decree limiting the prices for commodities and services, and also capping wages. This decree, the Edictum de maximis pretiis, or Edict Concerning Maximum Prices, was issued in 301. Penalties for violating the edict were severe: death or exile.
The document is remarkable for the detailed information it provides about the relative prices of consumer goods at the time, as well as the wage scale in effect for a large number of occupations and professions.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. This detailed document forms the longest continuous text pertaining to economic issues still surviving from the ancient world, either Greek or Roman.
2. In the years of Diocletian's reign prior to the issuance of the edict, he and his armies had been engaged in seemingly endless wars and in putting down revolts in various parts of the empire. The tremendous expense associated with these campaigns may well have been a major factor in the economic crisis that precipitated the need for a cap on wages and prices.
3. Military adventurism may not have been the only problem. The contemporary Christian writer Lactantius implies that Diocletian's ambitious building programs also played a part in bringing about the empire's economic woes: "he had a certain endless passion for building, and no small exactions from the provinces for maintain- ing laborers and artisans and for supplying wagons and whatever else was necessary for the construction of public works. Here basilicas, there a circus, here a mint, there a shop for making weapons, here a house for his wife, there one for his daughter. " [Lactantius. On the Deaths of the Persecutors vii; tr. Lewis and Reinhold. ]
4. Most of the specified maximum salaries are per day or per month, but some are cal- culated according to the number of clients served, (or animals, in the case of veterinarians).
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Document: An Ancient Roman Wage/Price Freeze
[Excerpts from the preamble:]
If the excesses perpetrated by persons of unlimited and frenzied avarice could be checked by some self-restraint--this avarice which rushes for gain and profit with no thought for mankind . . . or if the general welfare could endure without harm this riotous license by which . . . it is being very seriously injured every day, the situation could perhaps be faced with dissembling and silence, with the hope that human forbearance might alleviate the cruel and pitiable situation. But the only desire of these uncontrolled madmen is to have no thought for the common need. Among the unscrupulous, the immoderate, and the avaricious it is consid- ered almost a creed . . . to desist from plundering the wealth of all only when necessity compels them . . .
It is our pleasure, therefore, that the prices listed in the subjoined schedule [i. e. , the text of the edict] be held in observance in the whole of our Empire . . . Therefore, it is our pleasure that anyone who resists the measures of this statute shall be subject to a capital penalty for daring to do so. And let no one consider the statute harsh, since there is at hand a ready protection from danger in the ob- servance of moderation.
[The initial clauses in the document specify maximum prices for all sorts of food and drink: wheat, barley, beans, rye, peas, rice, wines, beer, olive oil, salt, pork, beef, pheasant, chickens, sparrows, venison, butter, fish, oysters etc. The last clauses set the maximum prices for various commodities, including boots, shoes (men's and women's), fir and pine timber, silk, wool, gold, freight and transportation charges. The middle clauses set the maximum wages for a number of occupational titles, including the following:]
Occupational title
Farm laborer
Carpenter
Wall painter
Picture painter
Baker
Shipwright working on a seagoing ship Shipwright working on a river boat Camel driver
Shepherd
Muleteer
Veterinarian, for clipping and preparing hoofs Veterinarian, for bleeding and cleaning the head Barber
Sewer cleaner, working a full day
Scribe, for the best writing
Scribe, for second-quality writing
Notary, for writing a petition or legal document
Maximum wage (daily, unless otherwise noted)
25 denarii
50 denarii
5 denarii
150 denarii
50 denarii
60 denarii
50 denarii
25 denarii
20 denarii
25 denarii
6 denarii per animal 20 denarii per animal 2 denarii per man
25 denarii
25 denarii for 100 lines 20 denarii for 100 lines 10 denarii for 100 lines
Tailor, for cutting and finishing a hooded cloak of first quality
Tailor, for breeches
Tailor, for leggings
Elementary teacher, per boy
Teacher of arithmetic, per boy
Teacher of shorthand, per boy
Teacher of Greek or Latin language and literature, and teacher of geometry, per student.
Teacher of rhetoric or public speaking, per student. Advocate or jurist, fee for a complaint
Advocate or jurist, fee for pleading
Teacher of architecture, per student
Check room attendant, per bather
60 denarii
20 denarii
4 denarii
50 denarii per month 75 denarii per month 75 denarii per month 200 denarii per month
250 denarii per month 250 denarii
1,000 denarii
100 denarii
2 denarii
The Sky Is No Longer the Limit: Diocletian's Cap on Wages and Prices
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? denarii: A denarius was a commonly circulated silver coin, equivalent to four sestertii. For a discussion of the value of a sestertius, refer to the chapter on sports and games, p. 240.
? ? ? [Tr. Lewis, Naphtali and Meyer Reinhold. Roman Civilization: Sourcebook II, The Empire. (Excerpts from Volume III of the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, or CIL). Harper Torchbooks, New York, first edition pub- lished in 1966 (book was originally published by Columbia University Press, in 1955). Page numbers: 464, 465, 468, 469, 470. ]
AFTERMATH
Unfortunately, Diocletian's bold effort at controlling inflation with a wage/price freeze was unsuccessful, and the edict was revoked a few years after it was promulgated. Lactantius claims that violence erupted when attempts were made to enforce the law, that commerce was suppressed, and that prices actually increased. In any event, it was apparent that the edict was not producing the desired effect. Diocletian abdicated his imperial office around 306 and lived the last decade of his life in relatively obscure retirement.
ASK YOURSELF
1. Some of the wage specifications seem to make sense. An artist creating a mural painting for a wall probably deserved to be paid a better wage than a worker who merely whitewashed the wall. But others seem a little odd. For example, why do you suppose a differentiation was made between a shipwright who worked on a sea- going vessel and one who did the same kind of work but on a riverboat? Or why would a wall painter qualify for a higher maximum than a carpenter?
2. Probably one of the most important occupations in the ancient world--both Greek and Roman--was agriculture. Some experts estimate that as many as 80 percent or more of the work forces of both civilizations were involved in some way with farm- ing work. So if this kind of work was such an important part of the economy, why do you suppose that two of the lowest pay ceilings listed in the document were for farm laborers (25 denarii maximum per day) and shepherds (20 maximum)?
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
3. The maximum salaries for teachers vary greatly, depending on the subject(s) taught. Do these maximums tell us anything about the importance the ancient Romans attached to the various subjects?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Someversionofawage/pricefreezehasbeenrecommended,oreventried, at various points in western history, in order to control inflation. Can you find other examples (in addition to Diocletian's edict)? How successful, or not, have these efforts been? If they succeeded, why did they succeed? If not, why not?
e It has already been mentioned that Diocletian's edict was not successful. The contemporary Christian author Lactantius provided several reasons for this. Can you think of additional reasons?
e ThedocumenthasalwaysbeenknownastheEdictofDiocletian,buthow likely is it that Diocletian himself was personally responsible for incorporat- ing the various maximums and other details contained in it? It seems rea- sonable to assume that his economic advisers put together the nitty-gritty details. But is there any way to know for certain?
Further Information
Barnes, Timothy. The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine. Cambridge, MA, 1982. Corcoran, Simon. The Empire of the Tetrarchs: Imperial Pronouncements and Government.
Oxford, 2000.
Jones, A. H. M. The Later Roman Empire, 284-602: A Social, Economic, and Administrative
Survey. Oxford, 1964. Websites
Edict of Diocletian. http://www. 1911encyclopedia. org/Edict_of_Diocletian
What Things Cost in Ancient Rome. http://www. constantinethegreatcoins. com/edict
Bibliography for Document
Lewis, Naphtali and Meyer Reinhold. Roman Civilization: Sourcebook II; The Empire. New York, 1955.
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FOOD AND CLOTHING
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14. PLUTARCH AND FRIENDS TALK DIRTY (LAUNDRY)
INTRODUCTION
Plutarch's Moralia (Moral Essays), the source for the document, encompass a wide variety of subjects, including the kinds of issues that might be discussed at a dinner party.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. The scene: a dinner party in which three of the guests--Plutarch, Theon, and Themistocles--discuss the merits using freshwater instead of seawater for washing clothes.
2. Although the conversation ostensibly concerns laundry issues, notice that Plutarch also manages to incorporate into it a good deal of information about other topics.
3. Artistotle and Homer are generally considered the ultimate authorities on almost any topic, even something as mundane as the weekly washing, so it is not surprising to find that both of them are referenced in the document.
Document: Laundry Day in Ancient Greece
When we were being entertained at the house of Mestrius Florus, Theon the critic raised the question with Themistocles the Stoic why Chrysippus never gave an explanation for any of the strange and extraordinary things he frequently mentions: for example, "salted fish are fresher if wetted with brine"; "fleeces of wool yield less easily if one tears them apart violently than if one parts them gen- tly"; and "people who have fasted eat more deliberately than those who have taken food beforehand. " Themistocles answered that Chrysippus mentioned such things incidentally, by way of example, because we are easily and irrationally trapped by what appears likely, and contrariwise disbelieve what appears unlikely, and turning to Theon, he continued: "But what business have you, sir, to raise a question about these matters? For if you have become inquisitive and speculative in the matter of explanations . . . tell us for what reason Homer has made Nausicaa [see sidebar] do her washing in the river instead of the sea,
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Women doing their laundry. Greek, red-figured pelike (two-handled, free-standing jar), fifth century BCE. (Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY)
though the latter was nearby and quite likely was warmer, clearer, and more cleansing. "
"But," said Theon, "this problem you propose to us Aristotle long ago solved by considering the earthy matter in sea water. Much coarse, earthy matter is scat- tered in the sea; being mixed with the water, this matter is responsible for the saltness, and because of it, sea water also supports swimmers better and floats heavy objects, while fresh water lets them sink, since it is light and unsubstantial. For the latter is unmixed and pure, and so because of its light consistency, it soaks into cloth and, as it passes through, dissolves out stains more readily than sea water. Don't you think what Aristotle says is plausible? "
"Plausible," I said, "but not true. For I observe that people frequently thicken their water with ash, or soda, or, if these are not at hand, with a powdery solid. The earthy matter, it would seem, is more easily able by its roughness to wash out dirt, while the water alone because of its lightness and weakness does not do this [equally effectively]. It is not, therefore, the coarseness of sea water that prevents this action, nor is sea water a less efficient cleanser because of its acridness, for this quality cleans out and opens up the mesh of the cloth and sweeps away the dirt. But since everything oily is hard to wash and makes a stain, and the sea is oily, this would surely be the reason for its not cleaning efficiently.
That the sea is oily Aristotle himself has said. For salt water contains fat, so making lamps burn better. And sea water itself, when it is sprinkled into flames, flashes up with them. . .
What is more, the phenomenon can also be explained in another manner. Since cleansing is the aim of washing, and what dries quickest appears cleanest, the washing liquid must depart with the dirt . . . The sun easily evaporates fresh water because of its lightness, but salt water dries up with difficulty since its coarseness holds it in the mesh of the cloth. [Tr. Paul A. Clement. Plutarch's Moralia (626E- 627D). Volume VIII. LCL, 1969. Page numbers: 87, 89, 91, 93. ]
AFTERMATH
Plutarch was born in the little town of Chaeronea, in Greece, not far from Athens.
