Page:Herodotus and the Empires of the East.djvu/97

Rh accounts. The undergarments, reaching to the feet, and the somewhat shorter, richly decorated over-garment are clearly seen in the reliefs of the Assyrian kings. The clothes were tightly fitting. Furthermore, the white mantle can be seen on several representations.

The statements of Herodotus naturally concern themselves with the general fashion. Soldiers and workmen wore more convenient, shorter garments, as seen in the representations. The custom of doing the hair, which we observe on the monuments, corresponds exactly to the description which Herodotus gives. The long hair was carefully fastened in braids; even soldiers wore their hair in this fashion.

The accounts of Herodotus concerning the bride market are remarkable. In each year, he says, all the maidens in the separate villages who are marriageable are collected and brought to one place. The most beautiful are sold at a great price. Out of the net proceeds was derived a dowry for the uglier ones. No purchaser could take away a maiden without surety, but he must promise and give surety that he would take her for his wedded wife. (Hdt. I., 196.) Herodotus further adds that this custom, which he considers as the wisest and the best of all the Babylonian practices, no longer existed at his time, but belonged only to the good old days.

It is hard to determine whether this description is correct in all particulars. Strabo and Nicolaus Damascenus also mention such a practice. From the contract tablets we are informed only that women were purchased.