Men took part in politics, arts and crafts, building,
agriculture, sea-faring, manufacturing and trade. Agriculture, the
most common male activity, is only rarely shown in Greek art. Yet the
large majority of citizens of all Greek states relied upon the land
for their basic income; even the rich, who did not work in the fields
themselves, tended to oversee directly the farming of at least some
of their property rather than leasing it all out. For the common
people, agricultural work was what they did all their lives.
Two important parts of men´s private lives are the time-honored
pastimes of hunting and horseback riding, which took place out of
doors, free of the constraints of family life. These activities and
the important theme of warfare are well-illustrated in Greek vase
painting.
