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.
[Illustration: HOUSE OF THE VETTII AT POMPEII (RESTORED) Notice the large area of blank wall both on the front and on the side. The front windows are very small and evidently of less importance for admitting light than the openings of the two atria. At the back is seen the large, well-lighted peristyle.]
[Illustration: ATRIUM OF POMPEIAN HOUSE The view shows the atrium with the basin for rainwater, in the center the tabinum with its wall paintings, and the peristyle at the rear.]
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, [11] 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.
[Illustration: POMPEIAN FLOOR MOSAIC]
THE ATRIUM
The visitor at one of these ancient houses first entered a small vestibule, from which a narrow passage led to the heavy oaken door. A dog was sometimes kept chained in this hallway; in Pompeii there is a picture of one worked in mosaic on the floor with the warning beneath it, "Beware of the dog." Having made known his presence by using the knocker, the guest was ushered into the reception room, or atrium. This was a large apartment covered with a roof, except for a hole in the center admitting light and air. A marble basin directly underneath caught the rain water which came through the opening. The atrium represents the single room of the primitive Roman house without windows or chimney. [12]
THE PERISTYLE
A corridor from the atrium led into the peristyle, the second of the two main sections of a Roman house. It was a spacious court, open to the sky and inclosed by a colonnade or portico. This delightful spot, rather than the formal atrium, served as the center of family life. About it were grouped the bedchambers, bathrooms, dining rooms, kitchen, and other apartments of a comfortable mansion. Still other rooms occupied the upper stories of the dwelling.