Greek city houses of the 6th and 5th century BC. were
usually small and built of fairly cheap materials. They varied from
two or three rooms around a small courtyard to a dozen or so rooms.
City house exteriors looked very plain from the street, with only a
door and a few high windows. In larger houses the main rooms included
a kitchen, a small room for bathing, several bedrooms which usually
occupied a second floor, the men's andron for dining, and perhaps a
separate suite of rooms known as the gynaikonitis for the use of
women.
We don't know a lot about how Ancient Greeks lived
inside their cities and houses. But painted scenes on pottery made in
Athens during the 6th and 5th centuries BC. offer glimpses of daily
life taking place inside Greek homes.
The evening meal might be followed on special occasions by a
symposium, a drinking party organized by the host for his male
guests. The participants reclined on couches arranged around the
sides of the room. Low tables for food were set in front of each
couch. Symposia were normally attended by the host and his male
guests, but could also include female entertainers and servants.
Wives and daughters of the guests and host were never allowed to
attend.
