ABSTRACT
Town and country were closely-knit - except in those remoter parts, like Arcadia and Western Greece, which had no towns at all. The discursive survey of the physical conditions in which the Greeks lived may well conclude with some remarks on the natural resources of the country and the nature of its economy in primitive conditions. Among the Greek medical writings attributed to Hippocrates is a short treatise entitled Airs, Waters, Places. This gives a gloomy impression of the Greek climate. The Greek climate has indeed its dramatic aspects: Zeus, the sky-god, was irascible, and Poseidon, the Shaker of Earth whether by waves or by earthquakes, was a formidable being. The real education of the Athenian, and of many another Greek, was given in the places of assembly - in the hours of talk in market-place, colonnade or gymnasium, in the political assembly, in the theatre, at the public recitals of Homer, and at the religious processions and celebrations.
