Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

The Public Sphere 255
In the course of his life time, an Athenian citizen would expect
to be called up many times, because it is estimated that most
Greek cities went to war three years in every four. It follows from
this that he also had a fair chance of dying in battle, whether on
land or at sea. Archaeology provides testimony to this fact in the
form of casualty lists—inscribed monuments that were set up at
public expense listing all the Athenian dead, tribe by tribe, on an
annual basis. From them, scholars have calculated that 3 percent
of the entire Athenian population died in battle annually. There is
no reason to suppose that the average death toll would have been
appreciably different in any other Greek community. Finally, we
should spare a thought for those who returned from battle grievously
wounded and who, in many cases, given the rudimentary
state of medical knowledge, would have died a painful and protracted
death.
Making Connections
Like most Greeks, you are extremely pious. How does religion
impinge upon your activity as a trader, as a plaintiff
or defendant in a lawsuit, as a soldier or sailor, or as someone
who is experiencing bereavement? It may be that there
is a festival being celebrated in your deme or in the polis and that you
are required to perform some official role. Do not neglect your family
devotions. You may find it helpful to present your account in the form
of a diary, describing either a single day or several consecutive days.
Try to make your account reflect your social status, your age, your
gender, and your place of abode.