To understand how free time plays an important role in our daily lives today, we should have a comprehensive understanding of how free time has historically influenced our lives. Equally important would be the role that geopolitical events and technology have played throughout history and its effects on leisure. Western civilization uses the Aristotelian definition of leisure as “a state of being in which activity is performed for its own sake or as one's own business.” own purpose” (Grazia page 13). The concept of leisure was first formed by the Greeks, Aristotle stated that “the life of leisure was the only suitable life for a Greek” (p.19). They (the Greeks) felt they could not succeed as a city state without leisure. There were many forms of recreation, gymnastics, wrestling, dancing, drama, poetry and education among other things. The Greeks believed that man's ability to contemplate was the closest thing to man's divine ability, and even separated them from animals. Now let's fast forward to the Classical Age, which was aptly named for trying to emulate the Greeks and their love of the world. literature and art. During the classical period the majority of the world's population carried out strenuous jobs, most were in the agricultural sector, whether it was livestock or pastoralism. If they did neither, they were craftsmen who created and built things with their hands. The workday by today's standards was brutal; 12 to 16 hour work days were very common during the spring and fall and “meal and rest breaks were breaks, not modern recreation” (Croce p.9). For those who worked in agriculture the colder months did not allow for farming, harvesting and moving sheep and cattle from farm to slaughter. This hard work also played a role in the population of many cities. The average age of death for most citizens... middle of paper....... Prohibition actually saw greater alcohol consumption nationwide than before the amendment was passed . To go with alcohol people also needed a place where they could drink without fear of being discovered, this gives us easy talk. A place that was no different than pre-18th amendment bars and pubs, but which we knew was underground or off-site. There was dancing and gambling along with illegal prostitution and bootleg alcohol. It was common practice during that time that most if not all crime families supplied to both the public and the government (police and government officials). The advantage of working both sides of the room, so to speak, is that they satisfied the locals and the police were able to give early warning of raids on non-legal establishments. This allowed their empires to grow and they accumulated much wealth because of this.