Greek Houses

Abstract

The Greek house is a fascinating but tantalizing subject. We would naturally like to form a clear picture of the setting in which the Greek spent his private life, but though here and there we get unobstructed and illuminating glimpses it would still be an understatement to say that there are large gaps in our knowledge. However, the evidence is now far greater and more reliable than when it was mainly drawn from somewhat obscure or even misleading accounts and references in ancient literature, especially since Olynthus has provided a good solid body of archaeo- logical evidence for the late fifth and fourth centuries, to add to the later, mainly Hellenistic material. Several well developed house-types have emerged, bearing an interesting relation to one another; but the possibility of a complete and systematic account of the Greek house is still remote; it is impossible, for instance, to define which, if any, is the basic type and which are local varia- tions. However, some features belong to all in common; and in any case the unsolved problems do not vitally affect the question of the place of domestic architecture in the structure of the city.

The houses of Olynthus have been discussed, e.g., by A. Boethius, American Journal of Philology, lxix. 4, 1948, pp. 396 ff.; J. W. Graham, A.J.A., lvii, 1953, PP. 107 ff. Hesperia, xxii, 1953, pp. 196 ff., xxiii, pp. 320 ff. and xxvii, 1958, pp. 318 ff; and the present writer in Journal of the R.I.B.A., liv, 3, p. 135 and lvi, 10, p. 439.