Ancient Greece Houses

If you were born in the time of ancient Greece, what would your house have looked like? Would your social status have made any difference in the kind of house you lived in?

Ancient Greece houses differ according to one’s status in society. Rich people lived in houses that are different from those who are poor. Obviously, the poor man’s house is very plain as opposed to that of the rich man’s.

Generally, ancient Greece houses were designed to contain a courtyard in the center. Wealthy Greeks mostly have two courtyards. One courtyard is for the men’s use, while the other is for the women’s. Ancient Greece houses for the rich were made up of several rooms. Guests of these houses would enter to find the andronitis. This is a huge courtyard meant for the men. The family often would often spend their time here, with the women weaving and sewing, as they listen to the men talking. The women, however, are made to go to their own quarters when guests came. The andronitis usually housed a mini shrine of Zeus in its center. This courtyard was also mostly surrounded by storage rooms, or the sleeping quarters of the slaves and the male children of the family.

The andronitis then lead to the andron, or the dining room for men. This was the part of the ancient Greece houses where dinner parties and other social gatherings for the male guests were held. These gatherings are exclusively for the men, and women are banned from joining in. The andron was probably the most luxurious area of the house.

Ancient Greece houses forbid the male guests to wander beyond the andron as this is where the women’s quarters were. The Gynaeconitis was the courtyard for women, which also has room that lead from it. This usually has kitchen and storage rooms, as well as the sleeping quarters for the female slaves.

The women’s courtyard often led to the thalamus, or the room of the master and the mistress. This was the room where the most important and valuable possessions of the family were kept. There are ancient Greece houses that have another big room known as the ante-thalamos, or the room of the daughters.

All the ancient Greece houses were built from mud bricks. Thus, they require constant repairs. The tiled floors were meant to keep the houses cool. However, metal baskets containing fires were used as fireplace to bring warmth inside the houses.

The ancient Greece houses were influenced by how well-off a family was, and were adherent to the gender thing strictly enforced by society. But, the Greeks still maintain the value of having a place for the family to gather in.