Most of the houses in towns were built very close together with a narrow ally way between them. The ally was also used by the household slaves as a place to throw their rubbish.
The house was often built around a courtyard. The courtyard had an alter in it which the family would gather round to pray to the gods. The prayers were led by the kyrios (head male of the household). The courtyard may also have held a statue of the god Zeuse and a well for getting water. If the house did not have a well a slave would have to have gone to the local fountain to collect water.
The storerooms in the house had access to the street and the room was sunken into the ground. The room was sunken in because it made it cooler, so in the hot summer months it acted as a refrigerator to food and wine.
Men and women had to live in different parts of the house. The men’s part of the house was called the Andron. The Andron was the dining room where the family would eat their meals together. When the kyrios wanted to hold a drinking party called symposia, only the men were allowed to attend. The women’s quarters were known as Gynaikon. In the Gynaikon the women had the loom room where they had to do the spinning of cloth, all women no matter how rich had to do this.
Most of the cooking done in Greek homes was done outside rather than the kitchen. They did this because the kitchen would become to hot and smoky to work in when it was very hot. Only rich households were able to afford a bathroom, so sometimes there wasn’t one.
Bedrooms may have been on the second floor. The family slept on beds or couches and there may have been a chest to store clothes etc.
The house often had a veranda. The Greeks liked south facing verandas because they could make the most out of the Mediterranean climate. Sometimes the Greeks may even have used one room of the house with street access as a shop.
Part B
I think the houses in ancient Greece were built in this way because they wanted to be comfortable with the climate they were living in. They also needed to build their house around a courtyard so they could worship all their gods. Men and women mostly lived separately so they both needed their own quarters to live in.
I think the houses were built so close together was so they could fit as many in as possible. The houses it seems were not very luxurious as the Greeks preferred to spend money on their public buildings like temples rather than their private homes.
Although these houses were made a very, very long time ago; they were built in a very clever way. For example the Greeks knew that if they built the storeroom into the ground it would be cooler and act as a fridge.
By Nikki Symeon 10C/A2