Jasmine.DThe Greek House
Greek city houses of the 6th and 5th century b.c. were usually modest in scale and built of relatively inexpensive materials. They varied from two or three rooms clustered around a small court to a dozen or so rooms. City house exteriors presented a plain facade to the street, broken only by the door and a few small windows set high. In larger houses the main rooms included a kitchen, a small room for bathing, several bedrooms which usually occupied a second floor, the men's andron for dining, and perhaps a separate suite of rooms known as the gynaikonitis for the use of women.The private lives of the ancient Greeks are only dimly reflected in the archaeological remains of their sanctuaries, cities and houses. But painted scenes on Black Figure and Red Figure pottery made in Athens during the 6th and 5th centuries b.c. offer glimpses of daily life taking place inside Greek homes.
The evening meal might be followed on special occasions by a symposium, a drinking party organized by the host for his male guests. The participants reclined on couches arranged around the sides of the room. Low tables for food were set in front of each couch. Symposia were normally attended by the host and his male guests, but could also include female entertainers and servants. Custom dictated that the wives and daughters of the guests and host always be excluded.
The plan of a Greek house naturally varies infinitely according to the size of the land plot, the size of the owner's family, his own taste, and wealth. It will usually be rectangular, with the narrower side toward the street; but this is not invariable. In the larger houses there will be two courts (aul�), one behind the other, and each with its own circuit of dependent chambers. The court first entered will be the Andronitis (the Court of the Men), and may be even large enough to afford a considerable promenade for exercise. Around the whole of the open space run lines of simple columns, and above the opening swings an awning if the day is very hot. In the very center rises a small stone alter with a statue of Zeus the Protector (Zeus Herke�os), where the father of the family will from time to time offer sacrifice, acting as the priest for the household. Probably already on the alter there has been laid a fresh garland; if not, the newcomers from the Agora have now fetched one.