Ancient greek houses.

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The Ancient Greek House
The typical ancient Greek house was a place where the man of the family was proud to live. Within the walls of the house, no one could treat him with any form of disrespect at any possible time. The house was the heart of the man, in which he had no choice but to protect it and its living and non-living contents.
The Essence of the House One worry of all homeowners in the classical times was the house. The threat of an intruder filled the mind of the man of the family, especially when away from the house. Both work and war kept the man away from his home, leaving an invitation for neighborhood men and outsiders to have their way with his wife, daughter(s) and sons, and the family's belongings. The lack of home security brought the pressures of protecting the house and everything within to a challenging height. The Greek term oikos is an equivalent to a man's area, which is the space that he has the sole responsibility to protect, so that present and future generations can dwell in the home already prepared by the man.At that time, only men were allowed to own land, which left a mark for a male homeowner's son to see to. When the man of the family died, the son would take over and then take on the same responsibilities as his father once did. Since the home was such an important aspect of Greek civilization, a detailed description of the common house and its rooms will help bring the society's physical form into a more comprehensive view. Throughout Ancient Greece, houses came in two forms: the northern and southern style. These two types of homes varied by material, structure, location, and culture. Due to the shortage of information on the houses, historians have made some assumptions as to the details of the ancient house and its uses.Inside the House Within the typical house of the ancient times, the functions of some rooms in the houses are obvious, while some are unknown today. But the evaluations of the interiors of these houses have helped researchers better understand what the typical house was like. Through research concerning the everyday house, it is now known what lies inside. Evidence has shown that these houses contained rooms equivalent to a main hall, courtyard, staircase, entrance, second entrance, upper floor for guests and slaves, and a number of public rooms that border the courtyard. One example is a house in the town of Olynthos. In the second millennium BC, in Mallia, Crete, a wealthy merchant's house (as we suppose) contained a vestibule, a main corridor, a group of small storerooms, a bathroom, an eating and sleeping room, reception room, and former stores. There were also houses of smaller size, owned by the less wealthy, consisting of only basic necessary rooms. These houses possessed simple qualities that have been tagged lower class.General information about the rooms is rather clear, but the furniture in the house made each room unique. The Greeks used practicality to furnish their houses and they also borrowed some Egyptian techniques to build the furniture. Their home furnishings consisted of countless stools and chairs, some of which borrowed the folding X-frame from the Egyptians; a bed was made out of a thick board on four legs with a blanket, or by weaving string across of wooden frame, and chests were used in place of cupboards. Mattresses were made of sacks filled with leaves, which was actually comfortable to the people at the time. By today's standards, many would say this method is unbearable, compared to the spring mattress.
Neighborhoods
The ancient Greeks lived in a very enclosed manner as rows of five houses lined a typical street at those times. The plot of land (like Olynthos) which the houses sat was typical of a rectangular shape with the rows of houses lined up one next to the other. This method of building was accomplished using the supporting wall structure of the neighboring house to keep the next house standing. Given that the rows of houses shared materials, the construction of a neighboring building would be somewhat shorter and more efficient than building a free standing structure depending on no other supports.
The House Lives On The Greek style house has branded different landscapes and cities with its unique ways. Greek influence has overcome Italian sites, such as Sicily, because the Greeks once occupied that area. The Romans and those in the area might owe Greece their innovations of the living quarters of the common man.
Information provided by: http://www.historyforkids.org