The  Athenians  were  the  first  who  laid  aside  arms  and  adopted
an  easier  and  more  luxurious  way  of  life.  Quite  recently  the  old-
fashioned  refinement  of  dress  still  lingered  among  the  elder  men  of
their  richer  class,  who  wore  undergarments  of  linen,  and  bound
back  their  hair  in  a  knot  with  golden  clasps  in  the  form  of  grass-
hoppers ;  and  the  same  customs  long  survived  among  the  elders  of
Ionia,  having  been  derived  from  their  Athenian  ancestors.  On
the  other  hand,  the  simple  dress  which  is  now  conunon  was  first
worn  at  Sparta ;  and  there,  more  than  anywhere  else,  the  life  of
the  rich  was  assimilated  to  that  of  the  people.  The  Lacedaemo-
nians too  were  the  first  who  in  their  athletic  exercises  stripped  naked
and  rubbed  themselves  over  with  oil.  But  this  was  not  the  ancient
custom;  athletes  formerly,  even  when  they  were  contending  at
Olympia,  wore  girdles  about  their  loins,  a  practice  which  lasted
imtil  quite  lately,  and  still  prevails  among  Barbarians,  especially
those  of  Asia,  where  the  combatants  at  boxing  and  wrestling  matches
wear  girdles.    And  many  other  customs  which  are  now  confined

^The  method  of  the  historian  is  to  study  the  undeveloped  peoples  of  Hdlas  for
information  on  the  early  condition  of  those  peoples  who  had  made  progress.  The
same  method  is  employed  at  present  in  the  study  of  religion,  social  conditions,  and
other  elements  of  civilization.
