been built by giants, the stones are so enormous. Each king had nobles
under him, rich men, and all had their palaces, each with its courtyard,
and its long hall, where the fire burned in the midst, and the King and
Queen sat beside it on high thrones, between the four chief carved
pillars that held up the roof. The thrones were made of cedar wood and
ivory, inlaid with gold, and there were many other chairs and small
tables for guests, and the walls and doors were covered with bronze
plates, and gold and silver, and sheets of blue glass. Sometimes they
were painted with pictures of bull hunts, and a few of these pictures may
still be seen. At night torches were lit, and placed in the hands of
golden figures of boys, but all the smoke of fire and torches escaped by
a hole in the roof, and made the ceiling black. On the walls hung swords
and spears and helmets and shields, which needed to be often cleaned from
the stains of the smoke. The minstrel or poet sat beside the King and
Queen, and, after supper he struck his harp, and sang stories of old
wars. At night the King and Queen slept in their own place, and the
women in their own rooms; the princesses had their chambers upstairs, and
the young princes had each his room built separate in the courtyard.

There were bath rooms with polished baths, where guests were taken when
they arrived dirty from a journey. The guests lay at night on beds in
the portico, for the climate was warm. There were plenty of servants,
who were usually slaves taken in war, but they were very kindly treated,
and were friendly with their masters. No coined money was used; people
paid for things in cattle, or in weighed pieces of gold. Rich men had
plenty of gold cups, and gold-hilted swords, and bracelets, and brooches.
The kings were the leaders in war and judges in peace, and did sacrifices
to the Gods, killing cattle and swine and sheep, on which they afterwards
dined.