The Roman Domus: Architecture and Domestic Life in the Republic

House fronts in a residential neighborhood in Pompeii

I. Roman Domus (house), a Mediterranean courtyard house designed for sociability, business, and the individuality of the owner

Typical Roman domus, Pompeii, Italy, 1st cen. BC - 1st cen. AD

domus = house (from dominus meaning lord, head of household)

earlier Italic scheme courtyard house

I. A. The basic configuration of a Roman domus: 1. How did the Roman domus of the republican period differ from other courtyard houses in Italy and Greece?

Classical Greek oikos, Olynthos, Greece

Typical Roman domus1st cen. BC - 1st cen. AD

I. A. 1.

Greek Hellenistic oikos Palace at Pergamon, 2nd cen. BC

1.

GreekLate Classical oikos w/ peristyle court, 4th cen. BC

House of Pansa, 2nd cen. BC

I. A. 2. What were the typical size, materials, entrances, fenestration, facade, and relationship to the street (tabernae = shop space)?

Roman domuses in Pompeii

I. A. 2.

Earlier houses andupper floors of later houses

Later houses: concrete ground floor

opus reticulatum

from 3rd cen. BC from ca. 120 BC from AD 50

wood form work for concrete

I. A. 2.

facings for Roman concrete

I. A. 2.

typical Roman domus

tabernae (leasable shop space)

I. B. Plan: Key spaces in the typical domus plan and their use 1. vestibule and fauces

typical Roman domus

1

Entrance to the House of the Faun

2nd cen. BC

I. B. 2. atrium with impluvium surrounded by all-purpose rooms (cubicula)

typical Roman domus

1

2House of Menander, Pompeii, late 1st cen. BC

atrium (digital reconstruction)

cubicula

impluvium collects rain water

I. B. 3. tablinum – office, record room

tablinum

House of Menander, Pompeii, late 1st cen. BC House of the Faun, Pompeii, 2nd cen. BC

I. B. 4. peristyle court

typical Roman domus peristyle court

1

23

4

I. B. 5. triclinium (formal dining room)

typical Roman domus

triclinium – dining room

1

23

45

oecusprincipal hall or reception room

Roman domusClassical Greek oikosaxial organization

centripetal organization

I. C. Cultural character of the domusI. C. 1. What typical Roman planning principles organize the spaces in the Roman domus?

I. C. 2. What architectural elements from pubic architecture are found in the Roman domus?

Classical orders (pilasters) on the door Classical orders, pediment in peristyle courtyard

House of the Faun, 2nd cen. BC House of Menander, Pompeii, late 1st cen. BC

I. C. 3. What are some social tensions that emerge from the need for opulence and openness in the domus compared to the Greek oikos?

Frescoes, stucco relief, and mosaic floors in the House of Menander, late 1st cen. BC 2.3.

Greek oikos

A. How did the Roman house negotiate gender roles?II. The social space of the Roman Domus: gender and social status

Roman domus

4.5.

House of the Faun, 2nd cen. BCAno Liossia, Greece, 5th cen. BC

House of the Faun, 2nd cen. BC

II. B. Private vs. public: how the design of the domus negotiated social relationships with non-family membersII. B. 1. What spaces were for a lower social class clientele of the dominus (uninvited guests)?

II. B. 2. What spaces were for the elite guests and friends of the dominus (invited guests)?

House of the Faun – peristyle courtyard and oecus

House of Menander – peristyle courtyard

III. B. 2.

Roman domuses of the republic and early empireClassical oikoi in democratic Greece

exalt individualismexalt collectivity

III. Republican context: How does the republican domus contradict republican values?

House of Menander – fauces-atrium-tablinum axis

III. A. How did this spatial organization exalt the dominus (his individuality)?