exposure of infants; the most famous infant to be saved from
this fate was Oedipus, the hero of Sophocles’ trilogy of plays
that includes Oedipus the King.
Th e natural way to nourish infants was for their moth-
ers to breast-feed them, a practice that was encouraged in
the belief that a mother’s own milk was the best food for her
child. Still, nursing was considered tiring, and mothers were
supposed to refrain from sexual intercourse while they were
nursing a baby, a prohibition that made the practice unap-
pealing to many parents. In reality, then, many mothers who
could aff ord the expense hired wet nurses to breast-feed their
babies. Wet nurses were women who had recently given birth
themselves, were producing milk, and breast-fed babies other
than their own. Some of these women were slaves who lived
with the family, but others did it purely for economic reasons,
receiving wages for the service.
Mortality rates were high among infants and children.
Perhaps one-quarter of babies died before the age of one. An-
other third of children died between the ages of one and 10.
Doctors had no eff ective remedies for diarrhea, respiratory
infections, and other common sicknesses, which killed many
children. Children also died from accidents, fi res, and attacks
by wild animals.
Young children of both sexes stayed home with their
mothers until they were about six years old. Most Greek
adults seem to have liked their children and enjoyed seeing
them grow up. Plato describes the play of children in his Laws
and praises it as an excellent means of forming personality.
Schola rs k now t hat Greek ch i ld ren had toys bec ause t hey have
found pictures of playthings on Greek vases and actual toys in
Greek graves. Th ese included rattles for infants, rolling carts,
balls, hoops, toy animals, swings, and seesaws. Girls had dolls
and dollhouses complete with miniature furniture. Children
also played games; ancient authors have described blindman’s
buff , catch, dice, and prisoner’s base. Many of these games
were accompanied by traditional songs, similar to modern
children’s games such as London Bridge.
Both boys and girls dressed in simple tunics. Many chil-
dren wore good-luck charms around their necks; bells were
especially popular because they could amuse the child and
were believed to ward off the evil eye, or bad luck. In litera-
ture many abandoned infants are identifi ed by the unique
charms they wear.
Around the age of six or seven boys began their educa-
tions. In Athens they were enrolled in hereditary organiza-
tions called phratries when they were still quite young. Th ese
organizations served as an extension of the family, handling
community aff airs and resolving disputes among members.
Every Athenian citizen had to belong to one, and participat-
ing in the activities of phratries gave Athenian boys important
early training in the aff airs of the city. In addition to engag-
ing in their civic duties, Athenian boys attended elementary
schools, where they learned reading, writing, arithmetic, mu-
sic, poetry, dance, gymnastics, and general physical educa-
tion. Parents paid for school; there was no public education.
Discipline was strict and corporal punishment common. Stu-
dents competed in periodic public contests to show what they
had learned.
In Sparta children were considered the property of the
state from the age of seven. Young boys left home and moved
into public schools called agoge, which were primarily con-
cerned with training soldiers. Spartan schools were hard on
their young pupils; boys were given only a cloak to wear, win-
ter or summer, and were encouraged to become tough and
violent. Spartan girls trained with boys in athletic feats such
as running or gymnastics; this was considered essential prep-
aration for their future duties as mothers of Spartan soldiers.
Girls in most of Greece spent their childhoods at home, in
the company of their mothers and other women. Th ey learned
the skills they would need as adults, such as spinning and
weav ing. Girls as wel l as boys at tended school, t houg h t hey d id
not necessarily study the same subjects. When boys reached
their late teens, various ceremonies marked their entry into
manhood. Before they became adults, many boys became the
lovers of men; this was considered entirely proper and goodProfi le of a Greek boy (Alison Frantz Photographic Collection, American
School of Classical Studies at Athens)
children: Greece 195