What were ancient Greek families like?

What was life in ancient Greece like?

Families in ancient Greece lived in a warm, dry climate where farming, fishing and trading were common ways of life.
Some people were also scholars,scientists and artists.
Homes were simple but varied depending on wealth.
People wore light clothes suited to the heat.

Children played with toys like dolls and rattles while meals were made from bread, olives, fruit and fish.
Ancient Greek families balanced work, learning and tradition in their daily lives.

Important words for the ancient Greeks

Keyword	Definition
Household	A Greek home, including everyone who lived and worked under one roof.
Enslaved people	People who were forced to work for families and did many important jobs.
Trades	Jobs that require practical skills, such as farming or crafting.
Philosopher	A thinker who studies questions about life and knowledge.

What roles did family members have in ancient Greece?

Four people are gathered around a couch. A man is lying down and holding a round plate, while a woman sits on a stool nearby. Two others stand close, one holding a jug. A dog is resting on the floor in front of them. — Image caption,
A Greek family sharing a meal. Men often ate in a reclining position while women and servants stood or served food.

Fathers were the head of the family. They owned the land, made important decisions and represented the household in public.
Mothers looked after the home. They cooked, spun wool, wove cloth and cared for the children.
Boys from wealthier families were taught subjects such as reading, writing, maths, music and physical training, preparing them for later public or military life.
Girls stayed at home and learned skills like weaving, cooking and helping to manage the household.
Enslaved people did many jobs, such as cleaning, cooking, farming or looking after animals.
Grandparents sometimes lived with the family and helped raise the children.

What were Greek homes like?

A fountain house scene on a greek jar. — Image caption,
This water jar from around 500BC shows a 'fountain-house'. Women came here to fill jars with water to carry home on their heads.

Ancient Greek homes were built around a courtyard or garden.
The walls were often made from wood and mud bricks.
They had small windows with wooden shutters to keep out the hot sun.
They didn't have much furniture inside.
Many homes didn’t have a bathroom. There were public baths.
Most people washed using a small bucket or in a nearby stream.
At night, Greeks slept on beds stuffed with wool, feathers or dry grass.

What was education like in ancient Greece?

A man wearing a white robe with a red cloth draped over one shoulder is standing and speaking to a group of children. The children are listening closely, and they are wearing colorful clothes like yellow, blue, green, and purple. — Image caption,
A group of ancient Greek boys singing. Education was an important part of life for wealthy families.

In Athens, boys went to school from about age 6 or 7 until 13 or 14. They studied reading, writing, maths, music and literature. Gymnastics and sports were also a key part of their training.
Girls’ education was different. Spartan girls trained in physical activities like boys so they would grow strong and healthy.
Athenian girls mostly learned domestic skills at home, while only a few received wider education.
In Sparta, boys followed a very different path: from age seven, they were trained for the military with intense physical and disciple-focused education.

What were Greek clothes like?

A Ancient Greek woman carrying a pot on her head. — Image caption,
Most common people wore fairly plain clothes. Only wealthy people could afford to dye their clothes different colours.

A Greek woman wore a long tunic called a chiton.
Over this, she wore a cloak draped from her shoulders, called a himation.
Young men wore short tunics, while older men preferred long ones.
Enslaved men often wore just a strip of cloth called a loincloth.

Many people walked around barefoot.
Some wore leather sandals or, for horse-riding, high boots.
Many people wore wide-brimmed hats in hot weather, to shade their faces from the sun.

What toys did children play with?

A small statue of two people playing knucklebones. — Image caption,
These people are playing a game of 'knucklebones'. This was a bit like jacks or fivestones, but played with the ankle-bones of goats or sheep.

Children played with small pottery figures, and dolls made of rags, wood, wax or clay
Some of these dolls even had moveable arms and legs!
Other toys were rattles, hoops, yo-yos and hobby horses (a pretend horse made from a stick).
Children also played with balls made from tied-up rags or a blown-up pig's bladder.

What did the Greeks like to eat?

Take a look at some of the items the ancient Greeks might have eaten at each meal:

Breakfast - fruit with bread dipped in wine
Lunch - bread and cheese
Dinner - porridge made from barley, with cheese, fish, vegetables, eggs and fruit
Pudding - nuts, figs and cakes sweetened with honey

Everyone ate with their fingers, so food was cut up in the kitchen first.

Only wealthy people ate a lot of meat. They would eat hares, deer and wild boar killed by hunters.

Octopus and other seafood was often eaten by people in ancient Greece.

Men and women usually ate separately in ancient Greece. However, people sometimes ate together at festivals, feasts, and special gatherings.

A ancient Greek jar showing people harvesting olives. — Image caption,
This jar shows people harvesting olives. The olive is a very valuable tree in Greece. People ate the fruit, but also crushed olives to make olive oil. They used this for cooking, in oil lamps and cosmetics.

Men and women usually ate separately in ancient Greece.
Everyone ate with their fingers, so food was cut up in the kitchen first.
Only rich people ate a lot of meat. They would eat hares, deer and wild boar.
Octopus was a favourite seafood.

Think like a historian

Light blue thought bubble that says Thinking Points!

Have a look at the thinking points below and think about your answer to each question. You could even write them down on a piece of paper or discuss them with somebody else if you want to.

Why do you think boys from wealthy families and poorer boys had such different experiences of education?
How might the education of Spartan boys have prepared them for the adult lives differently from Athenian boys?
Why do you think fathers were given more power than mothers in ancient Greek households?
How might the roles of boys and girls in the family have shaped their future as adults?