skill in the manual arts. Ulysses is represented as building his
own bed-chamber and constructing his own raft, and he boasts of
being an excellent mower and ploughman. Like Esau, who made
savoury meat for his father Isaac, the Heroic chiefs prepared
their own meals and prided themselves on their skill in cookery.
Kings and private persons partook of the same food, which was of
the simplest kind. Beef, mutton, and goat's flesh were the
ordinary meats, and cheese, flour, and sometimes fruits, also
formed part of the banquet; wine was drunk diluted with water,
and the entertainments were never disgraced by intemperance, like
those of our northern ancestors. The enjoyment of the banquet
was heightened by the song and the dance, and the chiefs took
more delight in the lays of the minstrel than in the exciting
influence of the wine.

The wives and daughters of the chiefs, in like manner, did not
deem it beneath them to discharge various duties which were
afterwards regarded as menial. Not only do we find them
constantly employed in weaving, spinning and embroidery, but like
the daughters of the patriarchs they fetch water from the well
and assist their slaves in washing garments in the river.

Even at this early age the Greeks had made considerable advances
in civilization. They were collected in fortified towns, which
were surrounded by walls and adorned with palaces and temples.
The massive ruins of Mycenae and the sculptured lions on the gate
of this city belong to the Heroic age, and still excite the
wonder of the beholder. Commerce, however, was little
cultivated, and was not much esteemed. It was deemed more
honourable for a man to enrich himself by robbery and piracy than