Domestic Space in Classical Antiquity
Domestic Space in Classical Antiquity
Housing is shaped by culturally-specific expectations about the kinds of architecture and decoration that are appropriate; about how and where different activities should be carried out; and by and with whom. It is those expectations, and the wider social and cultural systems of which they are a part, that are explored in this volume. At the same time, the book as a whole argues two larger points: first, that while houses, households and families have in recent years become increasingly important as objects of inquiry in Greek and Roman contexts, their potential as objects of inquiry has yet to be fully realised; second, that greater weight and independence should be given to material culture as a source for studying ancient history.
- Explores the wider social and cultural systems of which domestic architecture and decoration in antiquity were a part
- Presents a series of case studies carefully chosen to demonstrate key aspects of housing at different points in time
- Includes numerous illustrations to assist with the comprehension of individual structures
Reviews & endorsements
"This is a welcome interpretation of the chiefly material (archaeological) evidence for households from eighth century BCE Greece through fourth century CE Roman times. The author provides an insightful view of the ordinary activities of daily life in the classical world through its material evidence and clearly shows how much detail is learned from this cultural, sociological, and historical approach." --Choice
Product details
September 2010Hardback
9780521783361
198 pages
235 × 157 × 15 mm
0.44kg
38 b/w illus. 3 maps
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Domestic space and social organisation
- 2. House form and social complexity: the transformation of early Iron Age Greece
- 3. A space for 'hurling the furniture'?: the andron and the development of Greek domestic symposia
- 4. Housing and cultural identity: Delos, between Greece and Rome
- 5. Seeing the domus behind the dominus in Roman Pompeii: artefact distributions as evidence for the whole household
- 6. Housing as symbol: elite self-presentation in North Africa under Roman rule
- Epilogue. Domestic space and social organisation in classical antiquity
- Glossary
- Period names and dates referred to in this book.
