The Greek House

Houses at Olynthus were arranged in blocks measuring about 100m x 20m; these blocks contained two rows of five houses, with each house being relatively the same size. The walls of the houses were made up of sun-dried brick which were stuccoed and painted. Painted as they were, houses were not designed to add asthetically to the city; that was the job of the design of temples. Though they appeared similar from the outside, the insides of the houses do not necessarily mirror the layouts of their neighbors. Individual houses had rooms that served the same purposes, but their locations relative to each other were unique.₄ This layout does not differ much from today. A subdivision contains lots with equal dimensions and houses with some type of rectangular form to them. The floor plans, just as in Olynthos, differ from house to house, but each contains essential rooms such as the kitchen, dining room, and living room. Just as family wealth influences the sizes of houses today; it was no different in Olynthos.

Rooms by Size

Olynthos represents an area occupied by a somewhat middle class. The sizes for the houses measured approximately 15m x 15m.₄ These houses were occupied by about six rooms and a court.

In general, the house’s largest area was the court.₄ All other rooms were generally directly connected to the court. Depending on the family’s economic status, this court could be bare earth, cemented, or even cobble stone.₁ Usually found on the north side of every court was a veranda with a tiled roof. Occasionally this veranda completely surrounded the court, but this was not usually the case.₄

The largest room of the house was the dining room which was typically situated near a corner of the house.₁ In this way, the windows could be maximized during the dining experience.₁ The dining room was distinguishable as the edges of the floor near the walls had raised platforms where the couches would be situated. The purpose of this unique configuration was directly connected with eating habits, in which any trash during meals could be thrown on the floor.₄

Evolution of Greek Houses

Early Greek houses were basically huts of two varieties. The more basic of the two was the tholos style; it was a simple round home with a thatched roof. ₄ The “clustered” style, however, looked much like a rectilinear court with a semi-circular hut on one or both of the short ends.₄ These clustered homes consisted of a hall (with possible porch) and wooden posts inside supporting the structure.₄ Any separation within the hall was done in a non-permanent fashion. Wealthy families may have had a few rooms branching off from this main area, ₄ but no house at this time structurally separated the rooms to the extent that the houses of the 4th century city of Olynthus would achieve.

The basic square-house plan, which had the rooms surrounding a center courtyard, became the norm in much of the Greek world, especially where it was best to run streets at right angles. It was the result of a natural progression of Mycenean houses, which were of a similar rectangular formation.₄ Olynthus is a good example of this type since rectangular foundations of entire neighborhoods remain.

The Private Nature of the Greek Home

Greek urban life revolved around interaction between its people; many citizens sold goods or services to others and the state religion was a very social one.

Lacking the open spaces which rural settlements in Attica had, many urban families did not have personal gardens to feed themselves and thus had to pick up other trades. Every day, streets would be bustling with citizens going to and from market to satisfy daily needs.

Religion of ancient Greece was also a social endeavor. Citizens would worship at altars in front of temples, asking certain gods to protect them as a people, not as individuals (unlike many of today’s religions). One third of the year was devoted to some religious festival or another, bringing people together in a big celebration. It may be surprising then that the Greek home was built to avoid public life.

Greek homes, like those at Olynthus, were constructed to face in on themselves, not out toward the city. The majority of windows in the home faced the center courtyard; the very few windows that did face the streets were often very high off the ground, possibly to prevent burglary. ₁

Family privacy was a major concern for the home. Many rooms at Olynthus were off-limits to non-family members; guests were often serviced in the andron, a dining room, and rarely allowed to go elsewhere, especially to the women’s quarters. Even the entrance to the house was made inconspicuous to dissuade unwelcome visitors.


Check out some houses in greater detail
The House of Many Colors
House A vii 4