Domestic Space in Classical Antiquity (Key Themes in Ancient History)

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.