peculiar to the occasion. If the child was a boy, the door was decorated with an olive garland: if a girl, wool was a substitute for the olive, in token of the spinning and weaving destined to occupy her ma

turer years.

On the tenth day, another entertainment was given, and the child received its name, which was usually bestowed by the father. It was common to choose the name of some illustrious or beloved ancestor; but names describing personal and moral qualities were frequently given, such as the ruddy faced, the eagle-nosed, the ox-eyed, the gifted, the lover of his brethren, &c.

When the child was forty days old, another festival was kept, and the mother offered sacrifices in Diana's temple. Athenian nurses quieted fretful babes with sponges dipped in honey.

It was common to expose children, especially females, on account of the expense attending their settlement. Posidippus says:

A man,

though poor, will not expose his son,

But if he 's rich, will scarce preserve his daughter."

The children thus exposed were wrapped in swaddling bands, and placed in a sort of ark, or basket. Sometimes jewels were attached to them, as a means of discovery, if any person should find and nourish them; or, as some have supposed, from the superstition that it was important for the child to die with some of the parents' property in its possession.

The Thebans disliked this cruel practice, and their laws made it a capital offence. Those who were too poor to rear their children, were ordered to carry

them to the magistrates, who nourished them, and afterwards received their services in payment.

The Grecians believed in the power of the evil eye, especially over little children. It was generally attributed to one under the influence of malice or envy; and they endeavored to protect an infant from its baneful effects, by tying threads of various colors round the neck, and touching its forehead and lips with spittle mixed with earth.

Filial respect and affection, the distinguishing virtue of olden times, was in high repute among the Grecians. The story of the daughter who nourished her imprisoned father with her own milk, is too well known to need repetition. Alexander the Great having received a letter from Antipater full of charges against Olympias, for her interference with public affairs, the monarch read it, and said, " Antipater knows not that one tear from a mother can blot out a thousand such complaints."

Solon made a law that women should not join in the public funeral solemnities even of their nearest relations, unless they were threescore years old; but this law did not continue to be observed; for gallants are described as falling in love with young women whom they saw at funerals. It is supposed that men and women formed separate portions of the procession; the former preceding the corpse, the latter following it. Mourning women were employed to sing dirges, and bewail the dead. They beat their breasts, disfigured their faces, and made use of other violent demonstrations of grief. The female relatives of the

They laid

departed often joined in these excesses, altogether regardless of the hideous scars produced thereby; but this practice was forbidden by Solon. In many places it was the custom for women to shave their heads, and spread their tresses over the corpse. aside all ornaments and rich attire, and wore black garments made of coarse materials. Those who were joined by near relationship, or strong affection, generally shared the same funeral urn. Thus Halcyone, whose husband perished at sea, says:

"Though in one urn our ashes be not laid,

On the same marble shall our names be read;

In amorous folds the circling words shall join,

And show how much I loved-how you was only mine."

A very beautiful bass-relief found at Athens, repre sents a woman seated, while a man with three little children seem bidding her an affectionate farewell. It probably marked the sleeping-place of some beloved wife and mother. At the funeral of a married woman, matrons carried vases of water to pour upon her grave; girls performed this office for maidens, and boys for young men. These processions of water-bearers are often represented on ancient sepulchres. An owl, a muzzle, and a pair of reins, were often carved on the tombs of women; as emblems of watchfulness, silence, and careful superintendence of the family.

It was not uncommon for widows to marry a second time; but those who did otherwise were regarded with peculiar respect. Charondas excluded from public councils those men who married a second

wife, when they already had children. "Those who do not consult the good of their own family cannot advise well for the good of the country," said he. "He whose first marriage has been happy, ought to rest satisfied with his share of good fortune; if unhappy, he is out of his senses to incur another risk."

In very early times the priestesses were allowed to marry; thus Homer speaks of the beautiful Theano, wife of Antenor, who was unanimously chosen priestess of Minerva. At later periods, all who were devoted to the service of the temples were required to live unmarried.

The oracles of the gods were universally uttered by women. The most celebrated was the Delphian oracle of Apollo. The priestess who uttered the prophetic words was called Pythia, or Pythonissa. She was obliged to observe the strictest rules of temperance and virtue, and to clothe herself in simple, modest, and maidenly apparel. They neither anointed nor wore purple garments, because such habits belonged to the rich and luxurious. In early times the Pythia was chosen from young maidens; but in consequence of a brutal insult offered to one of them, the selection was ever after made from women more than fifty years old. Before the prophetess ascended the tripus, where she was to receive inspiration, she bathed herself, especially her hair, in the fountain of Castalia, at the foot of Parnassus. When she seated herself upon the tripus, she shook the laurel tree, that grew near it, and sometimes ate the leaves, which were thought to contain some vir.

tue favorable to prophecy. In a short time she began to foam at the mouth, tear her hair, and cut her flesh, like a maniac. The words she uttered during these paroxysms were the oracles. The fits were more or less violent; sometimes comparatively gentle. Plutarch speaks of one enraged to such a degree that the terrified priests ran from her, and she died soon after. The time of consulting the oracle was only one month, in the spring of the year.

Women had their share in sacred festivals among the Greeks. In the processions of the Panathenæa, in honor of Minerva, women clothed in white carried torches and the sacred baskets. At the annual solemnity in honor of Hyacinthus and Apollo, the Laconian women appeared in magnificent covered chariots, and sometimes in open race-chariots. At the processions in honor of Juno, her priestess, who was always a matron of the highest rank, rode in a chariot drawn by white oxen. Aristophanes describes the wife and daughter of a citizen as assisting in the ceremonials of a rural sacrifice to Bacchus. The girl carried a golden basket filled with fruit, and a ladle with which certain herbs were poured over the sacred cakes. Her father followed, singing a hymn to the god, while the mother, standing on the housetop, watched the procession, and charged her daughter to conduct herself like a lady, as she was, and to be cautious lest her golden ornaments were stolen in the crowd.

One of the most ancient ceremonies among the Greek women was that of bewailing annually, with