Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

236 Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks
The volume of traffic that passed through the Piraeus required an
extremely efficient system of loading and unloading to prevent a
backlog of ships from clogging up the harbor with spoiled cargoes.
After unloading their wares, merchants were under considerable
pressure from the harbor authorities to sell their cargoes and depart
as quickly as possible. The majority of dockers were slaves, hired
out to ship owners on a contractual basis. Smaller merchant vessels
unloaded from the stern, whereas larger vessels remained at anchor
in the harbor basin while their merchandise was transferred onto
barges. From the sixth century b.c.e. onward, cranes were used to
unload the heaviest commodities such as marble and timber; pulleys
were not in use until the fourth century. Loose merchandise was
removed from the hold by means of a swing-beam with a weight
attached to one end and a bucket to the other. Amphorae had to be
removed singly with the assistance of a wooden pole supported at
either end. Most cargoes were probably mixed. A duty was levied
on all cargoes entering or leaving the Piraeus, which, in 399 b.c.e.,
amounted to more than 18,000 talents.
Hospitality and Hostelries
Because early Greece knew nothing of inns, an institution known
as “guest-friendship” or xenia developed. This meant that aristocrats
offered board and lodging to other aristocrats when they were
on the road. Zeus Xenios protected the rights and responsibilities
of guests and hosts alike. Being the guest of a host who was many
years one’s senior would have presented an exacting challenge for
a young aristocrat poised on the threshold of adulthood. Homer’s
depiction of Telemachos in The Odyssey as the guest first of King
Nestor in Pylos and then of King Menelaos in Sparta is clearly
drawn from real life. The young man’s ability to negotiate socially
demanding situations without causing offence proves him to be the
worthy son of his celebrated father.
By the end of the fifth century b.c.e. Panhellenic shrines like the
one at Olympia were offering public accommodation for pilgrims,
with separate quarters for foreign dignitaries. Outside the religious
centers, facilities for travelers were much more limited. Even in a
major commercial and tourist center like the Piraeus, the standard
of accommodation was deplorably low. Aristophanes implies that
its inns had a reputation for discomfort, prostitution, and bedbugs
(Frogs, lines 112–15). By the middle of the fourth century b.c.e. , the
lack of decent facilities led Xenophon in Revenues (3.12) to recom-