The ancient house lay close to the street line. The
exterior was plain and simple to an extreme. The owner was satisfied if his
mansion shut out the noise and dust of the highway. He built it, therefore,
round one or more open courts, which took the place of windows supplying light
and air. Except for the doorway the front of the house presented a bare, blank
surface, only relieved by narrow slits or lattices in the wall of the upper
story. The street side of the house wall received a coating of whitewash or of
fine marble stucco. The roof of the house was covered with clay tiles. This
style of domestic architecture is still common in eastern lands.
INTERIOR OF THE HOUSE
In contrast with its unpretentious exterior a classical
dwelling indoors had a most attractive appearance. We cannot exactly determine
just what were the arrangements of a Greek interior. But the better class of
Roman houses, such as some of those excavated at Pompeii, followed Greek
designs in many respects. The Pompeian remains, therefore, will give some idea
of the sort of residence occupied by a well-to-do citizen of Athens or Rome.
