Home economics in ancient Greece and the origins of modern human ecology

Bilingual (greek-english) edition. Soft cover, 24 cm, 324 pp.

CONTENTS:

Prologue 15

Home Economics in the Homeric Epics 27
The World of Homer: Political and Social Profile 27
Organisation of the Family Economy 29
The formation of the family as basic productive unit 29
Family income from barter trade and the exchange of gifts 33
Utilisation of the labour of servants and slaves 35
The Position of Women in the Homeric Family 37
Textile Making and Clothing 39
Female Toiletry 43
Diet 45
The Arrangement of Domestic Space 49
General Summary 51

Hesiod's Works and Days:
The Didactic Epic and Home Economics 55
Hesiod's Society 55
The Members of the Household and the Social Environment 57
The Family as a Productive Unit 63
The development of economic activities
in pre-Hesiodic society 63
Home Economics in Hesiod's society 67
The management and use of economic resources 73
The emphasis on labour and the agricultural economy 75
Stock-rearing .. 79
Shipping as an economic activity ... 79
The moral dimension of profit 81
Epilogue 83

Herodotus: A Multinational Dimension
for Home Economics 87
The Thematic Scope of Herodotus' Work 87
Economic Activity 89
Aspects of Home and Social Life in Antiquity 95
The role of women in the family and society 95
Diet 103
Dress and body hygiene 105
Epilogue 105

The Oeconomicus of Xenophon: A First Attempt
at Founding Home Economics 109
Introduction 109
Xenophon's Predecessors 11. 1
Xenophon and Home Economics 1. 13
Economic management of the household. 113
Rural economy 117
Layout and organisation of domestic space 119
Diet and hygiene 121
Women's appearance 123
Household equipment 123
General Assessment 125

Aristotelian Thought and the Modern World
of Human Ecology 127
Thematic Focus of Modern Human Ecology 127
Elements of Human Ecology in Aristotelian Thought 1. 29
The family, the relationships between its members
and their education 129
Home economics and the concept of wealth 139
Conclusion 147

References 151

Appendix 183
Homer's Odyssey 183
Homer's Iliad 219
Hesiod's Works and Days 229
Herodotus' History 247
Xenophon's Oeconomicus 267
Aristotle's Politics 287
Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics 309

Bibliography

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