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Domestic space in the Late Classical and Hellenistic Periods

Although classical archaeologists are sometimes criticized for their focus on public, monumental remains, the published archaeological record of private houses from the late classical and hellenistic periods is rivalled by few if any periods of history anywhere in the world. In this assignment, you will compare houses from two of the most important sites for Greek domestic space: Olynthus on the peninsula of Chalicidice, and Delos in the Cycladic islands.

Olynthus

First, read the Perseus Project entry on the site of Olynthus.  When you are done, you should have some idea of the city's layout.  (Aerial photos of the North and South hills and of the North Hill may help.) Be sure you can answer the following questions:

• What is located on the South Hill and when was it first occupied? 
• What is located on the North Hill and when was it first occupied? 
• What is located in the plains to the East of the two hills? 
• How good is the evidence for public spaces (theaters, stoas, government buildings, fountainhouses, etc) at Olynthus?

You should also have some notion of the city's history.   What were the most important events in the history of Olynthus? Can you identify why these databale events were especially important to the excavators of Olynthus?

A house at Olynthus

Read the Perseus Project description of House A vii 4 at Olynthus;  compare the description with this plan of the house. Which rooms have identifiable functions?  How do we know what their functions were?  Do the Olynthians seem to have used their domestic spaces as we use ours?  To what extent and where are walls and floors decorated?

Pella

Pella, in Macedonia, overlaps in date the main period of Olynthus. Read the Perseus Project description to get an overview of the site. (Browse these photosto get a sense of the site and of some of the artifacts found there.) What kind of domestic site is Pella?

Delos

Delos was an important sanctuary site from the archaic period onward (and for this reason was the netural choice for the original home of the "League of Delos" in the fifth century B.C.), but much of the excavated domestic areas of Delos date to a renaissance of the site in the Hellenistic period. The city was part of an independent alliance of island cities in the third century B.C., and prospered greatly when Rome made Delos a "tax-free zone" in 166 B.C. Read the Perseus Project description of Delos. Then read the (brief) entry, study the plan and browse the images for the House of the Masks on Delos.

• Study a plan
• Browse photos of the House of the Masks

How does the House of the Masks at Delos differ from House A vii 4 at Olynthus?

To learn more...

See the entries from the Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites on:

• Delos
• Olynthus
• Pella