Home Life in Ancient Greece - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Home Life in Ancient Greece

By Linda L. TavaresSlide2

Homes

Most homes in ancient Greece had a courtyard, which was the center of activity. Children could safely play outside in the warm climate. Homes were divided into areas for the men and areas for the women. The

Andron

was a room reserved for males to entertain male guests. The room had a separate entrance to the street so male guests did not have to cross paths with any of the ladies of the house.Slide3

Greek homeSlide4

Houses were made out of sun-dried brick on a foundation of stones. Sun-dried brick was not a dependable material and often crumbled. Burglars were termed “wall piercers” because they broke through the walls to gain entry into homes. Roofs were made of overlapping clay tiles.

Andron

room floors were sometimes tiled, but the flooring of the rest of the rooms was packed dirt.Slide5

The

Throne Room

was a chamber built for ceremonial purposes

during the 15th century BC inside the palatial complex of

Knossos

,

Crete

, in

Greece

. It is still there today and is considered

the oldest throne room in

Europe

.

[1]Slide6

The Greeks had a very limited amount of furniture in their houses. The rooms were relatively bare by today’s standards. Wooden chairs, couches and stools were typical. Slide7

Food was cooked outside during most of the year. When the weather was not conducive to cooking outside, a hearth or brazier was used in the kitchen. Kitchens were built with a hole in the roof so that smoke could escape. Slide8
Slide9

Houses had one or two private rooms. Bathrooms consisted of a chamber pot, which was dumped into a gutter or into the street.

The head of each household was the husband. It was the woman’s role to complete the daily chores and raise children. Often large families included the parents and children, grandparents, unwed female relatives, and slaves all under the same roof.Slide10

Roles

of Men and Women in Ancient

Greece

Men had the dominant role in public life in ancient Greece. They were engaged in politics and public events, while women were often encouraged to stay in the home. When men entertained, their wives were not invited to the dinner. The Olympic Games were for males only, while in another part of Olympia, the women had a small event of their own in honor of Hera. In Athens, pale skin was in style for women, showing that they were wealthy enough to stay inside. Also in Athens, only the very poor woman was found at the agora without a male escort.Slide11

Women in GreeceSlide12

Women in Ancient Greece

Women in most city-states of ancient Greece had very few rights. They were under the control and protection of their father, husband, or a male relative for their entire lives. Women had no role in politics. Women with any wealth did not work. They stayed indoors running their households. The only public job of importance for a woman was as a religious priestess.Slide13

Sparta was different from Athens

In Sparta, men stayed in barracks until they were thirty. Since Spartan women did not have this restriction, they had more freedoms and responsibilities in public life. They were able to go out in public unescorted, participate in athletic contests, and inherit land. In the fourth century, over two-fifths of the land in Sparta was owned by women. In Athens, the law required all inheritances to go through the male line and limited property that could be owned by women. Slide14

It was the wives who supervised the slaves and managed the household responsibilities, such as weaving and cooking. In affluent homes, women had a completely separate area of the house where men were not permitted. In the homes of the poor, separate areas were not available. Poor women often worked outside the home, assisting their husbands at the market or at some other job. Poorer women often went to the market without a male escort. Slide15

Bibliography

http://

www.historylink102.com/greece3/women.htmSlide16