Greek housing

Question	Answer
What literary evidence do we have for housing?	legal speeches and Xenophon's treatise on household management- Oikonomikos
Representation on objects?	Athenian painted pottery
Physical evidence?	Archaeological remains of houses in Athens, Olynthos, Eretria and Pella
What are the shortcomings of these evidences?	Pottery is artistic and not necessary literal
Evidence for the layout, particularly women's quarters?	Pottery-double doors Legal texts house plans
Which texts refer to women's quarters?	Xenophon and Lysias 'I showed her the women's quarters, separated by a bolted door from the men's quarters' 'I must explain that I have a small house which is divided into two- the men's quarters and the women's quarters.'
What does the house on the north slope of the Aeropagus in Athens show?	A separation between men's quarters keeping the andron to the back of the house
What feature identifies the Andron? ex	Mosaics on the floors in the house of the comedian
What does the house at Olynthos show?	Stairs in the courtyard potentially leading to the women's quarters
Term for pottery being used as evidence?	iconographical
Why are there few texts on the Greek household?	Men were not interested in domestic life
Dates of vases used as iconographical evidence?	4th-6th C BC
What are women shown to be doing in the household?	domestic activities such as weaving
What is important about this imagery?	It appears so often that it is normative- generally accepted as the norm
What is a key signifier of women's work?	The kalathos, or wool basket
What are other common objects in a women's quarters?	Hanging textiles, alabastron for perfume, small casket, stool and chair
When are women portrayed outside the home?	collecting water, weddings, death rituals and festivals
Negatives to archaeological evidence?	Housing neglected by archaeologists compared to big finds, badly preserved mudbrick, fixtures and fittings looted in antiquity
When was Olynthos excavated?	1920s and 30s
main characteristic of the site?	Grid pattern of streets in early 4th c housing
When was it destroyed?	348 by Philip II
What examples are there?	HOuse of many colours, house of the comedian, house A vii 4
How many houses are there at Olynthos?	Over 100 have been excavated, making it the best source of evidence known
What house is at Eretria? When?	HOuse of the mosaics 370 BC
What examples do we have in Attica?	The Dema house, north of Athens, 5th C farm, Vari house in SW Attica, 4th and 5th C farm
What house is at Pella?	House of Dionysos, late 4-3c W
How was privacy shown?	private central courtyard, single entrance designed so that people couldn't see in, few high and small windows
What objects represent women's activities?	Kalathos, wool basket, spindle whorls, loom weights. alabastron and perfume vessels
How do we know about the layout of couches in the andron?	There is bare space left in a border around a mosaic, such as in the house of the comedian
What does house Avii4 at Olynthos prove?	The possibility of multi-use rooms
Example of some room uses?	Weaving/storage, anteroom/andron
What does the Vari house have?	Signs of a brazier in one room and a fixed hearth in another
What is unique about the Virtrurian style houses in Eretria and Pella?	They have two courtyards (house of mosaics and house of Dionysos)
How are entryways kept private?	Long passage with an angled entrance with a recessed porch

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	Created by Ellen Somers over 6 years ago