Life in Greece

Society

Greece is made up of several large city-states, with villages and colonies strewn between. Rather than a single nation, Greece (also called Hellene) is merely a name given to a large area in which the city-states are sovereign, independent, and have their own variety of cultural traits and political ambitions. The larger city-states tend to dominate the overall culture and they include Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Argos to name a few. Athens is known as a center of high culture and education, Sparta as a powerful and militaristic society, Corinth as a major economic and trade center, and Argos as a large city-state with a variety of such traits.

The Hellenic (Greek) landscape is extremely hilly, with mountain ranges, forests, and fertile plains speckled throughout. As such, it is difficult to build major roads that cover large distances. Most roads outside of major cities are humble dirt roads that only connect local areas within a region. This creates a condition of several wilderness areas lying in between islands of civilized areas. Most overland travel is done by walking or mule & cart. Wealthier and more powerful individuals might travel by riding horse.

Along the coastline, soil is not very fertile but irrigation and crop rotation systems help solve that problem. Olives, grapes, and figs are common foods. Goats are used for milk and cheese. In the richer plains areas wheat is grown for making bread. Fish, other seafood, and home-made wine are also popular. Meat is available in cook shops in the larger city-states, although it is rarely eaten. Most meat is used in religious sacrifices. Greece is one of the most dominant and influential cultures in the world and the Hellene are therefore just as proud of their shared Greek heritage as they are their particular city-states.

Greeks, as a whole, consider themselves to be thinkers and admire beauty and the arts. Horseback riding and parties of drink and discourse are common entertainments, not to mention the Olympic games. The Greeks lead a clean healthy lifestyle and enjoy longer lives than most. As such, a person is considered a "youth" until the age of 30. Those over 30 are given the most respect in society. In general male commoners are more prevalent outside the home while female commoners remain dominant inside the home. However, adventurer types that tend to move around a great deal are often far more egalitarian than the commoner.

Most Greek houses are made up of two or three rooms, built around an open air courtyard of stone, wood, or clay bricks. Larger homes might also have a kitchen, a room for bathing, a dining room, and perhaps a sitting area. Greek commoner women do not venture out for long periods of time but may spend a lot of time in their open courtyards, where much of Greek family life is centered. There, parents often tell stories and fables to their family. Most meals are enjoyed in the courtyards as well.

Popular pets include birds, dogs, goats, tortoises, and mice (but not cats). Children’s toys include rattles, yo-yo’s, terra-cotta dolls, clay animals, and horses on four wheels. Greek clothing is very simple for most. Linen is worn in the summer and wool in the winter. Cloth and clothing can be bought in the Agora (marketplace), but is considered expensive there. Instead, most families make their own clothing.

Slavery

Slavery is a major facet of Greek life. Slaves are considered "just another class" in society and nearly any type of person might find themselves in the role of a slave at one time or another. This includes captured enemy soldiers, abandoned children, those in debt, the poor, certain types of criminal, and so on.

Most Greek households have slaves, even those not considered wealthy. Women slaves cook and clean while men slaves act as tutors to the boys of the home and watch the door while the man of the house is away. Slavery is such a large part of Greek society that even some city guards are slaves.

To these people slavery is seen as the proper role for such people to play in society - even a humane one, as the alternative would be allowing them to starve in the streets or be executed. Even most slaves tend to accept their position, although they often look forward to working their way out of slavery - essentially buying their own freedom, which happens frequently. Even some "followers" may be loyal slaves (see Leadership feat). It may be difficult to get into the mindset of the people here. One way to think about it is that, in many ways, even post-slavery societies continue a sort of "de facto slavery" in situations where the pay is so low that one can only afford minimal food and shelter (that which a slave would have by default) and this sort of thing is accepted as the norm.

Money

The standard currency in Greece is the gold Stater. The copper Obolus is the smallest unit of currency. The silver Drachma is the next highest, equal in value to ten Obolus. It takes ten Drachma to equal one Stater, and ten Stater equal the Platinum Mina, the largest unit. (as you can see, it’s the standard DnD system, with more specific names for the coins)

• Obolus
• Drachma (10 Obolus)
• Stater (10 Drachma, 100 Obolus)
• Mina (10 Stater, 100 Drachma, 1000 Obolus)

However, not all Drachma (and other coins) are the same. Versions of all these coins are minted by the major city-states of Athens, Sparta, and Corinth (such as the "Athenian Drachma" for example). In lesser cities, all Greek coinage is accepted but in these three cities, only the native coins are commonly accepted. Money changers charge a 10% fee to convert to the local coinage.

Some foreign money from places like Persia, Etruria, and Phoenicia can also be exchanged for the same fee, although changers for this currency are difficult to find outside of larger Greek city-states. Other money from further areas or from extinct empires is simply sold as one would sell other antiques and objects made of precious metals or gems.

Non-human races which live amongst the Hellenic lands in their own communities tend to use barter or other non-monetary systems, although many of their merchants will also accept any Greek currency and have various Greek coins on hand to make purchases from travelers.

Note: on your character sheets, you’ll need to make columns for Athenian, Spartan, and Corinthian coin totals.

Calendar

The Greek calendar is made up of twelve months with either 29 or 30 days each (it alternates). There are some local differences in the calendar between different cities. For example, although the Athenian calendar year begins in summer, the Spartan and Macedonian calendar starts in the Fall and the Delos calendar in the winter. However, the recent cultural dominance of Athens has lead to many frequent travelers adopting the Athenian Calendar, as follows...

Hekatombion 1-29 (beginning of year – in the summer)
Metageitnion 1-30 (summer)
Boedromion 1-29 (fall)
Pyanepsion 1-30 (fall – Sparta & Macedon new year)
Maimakterion 1-29 (fall)
Poseidon 1-30 (winter)
Second Poseidon 1-22 (this month exists only every other year)
Gamelion 1-29 (winter – Delos new year)
Anthesterion 1-30 (winter)
Elaphebolion 1-29 (spring)
Munychion 1-30 (spring)
Thargelion 1-29 (spring)
Skirophorion 1-30 (summer)


Languages

Their are many obscure languages throughout the known world. A wisdom roll, accompanied by some relevant experience with a region will usually allow some level of understanding with minor tongues related to a known major language. However, these are some of the more common or noteworthy languages of the Hellenistic world...


Common Languages:
There is not one "common" human language, but instead are several. All "common" languages count as ½ language for purposes of figuring number of bonus languages. However, when spending skill points to learn a language, they count as a full language. Anyone who has the option to learn "common" under the standard DnD system, has the option to learn any of these languages...

Greek – spoken throughout Greece (including Macedon), Greek cities on Sicily, Magna Graecia (southern Italy), and several other surrounding colonies and isles.

Phoenician – Spoken in Phoenicia, Cathage, and several Phoenician colonies.

Etruscan – Spoken in Etruria (northern Italia)

Latin – Spoken in non-Greek southern Italia by the Saunitai and others.

Aramaic – Spoken throughout Persia and it’s colonies.

Egyptian – Spoken in Egypt, and the Lybian region west of Egypt.


Other Languages:
There are many other special languages spoken by various creatures and beings in obscure places. Unless they are listed as options for your race, you cannot normally learn these during character creation.