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Far from a moldering ruin, the Greek home is rather like a crisp white ship that has foundered against rock and become permanently glued to the side of a cliff. Or from a distance, it is like a cloud that has taken on the shape of a fairy castle – or better, the shape of a Greek house. Recalling the simplicity of an age long past, the Greek home is as spare and unfussy on the inside, as it appears on the out. There is not much need for decoration when the view from the window puts home accessories to shame. After all, what could be more spectacular to look upon than the opalescent blue sky and crystal azure seas of the Aegean.
The brilliant white walls of the Greek home are rendered in hand plastered stucco. In ancient times, walls were decorated with murals and mosaics, or with carpets hung for warmth. The interior ground was laid with pebbles, stone, and in some cases tile, while upper floors were constituted with wood. Furniture was simple, few, and functional throughout.
The Andron, as the most richly decorated of all rooms in the house, was the place where guests were received and entertained. Its walls were lined with high, backless divans made of wood, and piles of fleece and animal hide cushioned daybeds designed for sleeping, but also, for lounging while enjoying a meal. Scattered to various uses were small three-legged stools, square tables with bronze lion’s paw detailing, and the elegant, curved legged, subtly reclining Klismos chair.
In the ancient kitchen, clay ceramic bowls, large jugs, and the four legged wooden chest stood ready to be used for carriage and storage of food and water. The triple legged tripod that now supports perhaps a clay flowerpot and an overflowing plant once held a clay fire cauldron over which water was boiled and meals prepared. Under the flame of an open fire, fresh bread was baked and porridge stewed to perfection.
Unlike the main living areas, whose furnishings are familiar to a modern age, the Greek kitchen of antiquity was defined less by the skill of the carpenter and more by the flair of the cook – and by the appetizing aromas emanating from the general direction. It was in this room that a house was made a Hellenic home. Times have changed and technologies have advanced. Still, in the modern Greek home, feasting and festivity remains a silent toast to a rich past carried in small glasses of ouzo.
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According themselves no uncertain likeness to their chosen divinities, the Greeks lived in pillared houses, the same as their ‘gods.’ Still, even in Athens during the classical period, most houses were fairly plain. Like Greek temples, Greek houses were initially made of wood. Later, they were built from set stones or clay brick, and then covered with plaster. Houses were typically roofed over with timber beams and then overlaid with terracotta tiles.
The shape of domestic structures varied, taking the form of a circle, semi-circle, oval, or oblong rectangle. An appropriately fitted open courtyard sat at the center of the dwelling, and often at the back of it as well. The outer courtyard served multiple uses as a work area for women, living quarters for slaves, and stall for animals. While most Minoan houses might contain only one room with columns to differentiate between spaces, Greek houses held a number of divided rooms, all of which faced onto the inner courtyard.
In the home of the wealthier Greek, the banquet room might resemble a small temple lined with Doric columns. This home might also have a tile mosaic floor. By comparison, the average Greek would pave his floors with small stone pebbles, which functioned almost as well tile. As protection from the elements, the ancients did not have windows that faced the street. Nor did they have an engineered plumbing system as did their future neighbors, the Romans. A house might have a well, or if it did not, water would be gotten from the nearest public fountain, and carried back in clay jugs.
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