The Roman Domus : Architecture and Domestic Life in the Republic

1. The Roman Domus: Architecture and Domestic Life in the Republic House fronts in a residential neighborhood in Pompeii

2. I. Roman Domus (house), a Mediterranean courtyard house designed for sociability, business, and the individuality of the owner domus = house (from dominus meaning lord, head of household) Typical Roman domus, Pompeii, Italy, 1stcen. BC - 1st cen. AD

3. 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 earlier Italic scheme courtyard house

4. I. A. 1. 1. GreekLate Classical oikos w/ peristyle court, 4th cen. bc Greek Hellenistic oikos Palace at Pergamon, 2nd cen. bc Typical Roman domus 1stcen. BC - 1st cen. AD

5. I. A. 2. What were the typical size, materials, entrances, fenestration, facade, and relationship to the street (tabernae = shop space)? Roman domuses in Pompeii House of Pansa, 2nd cen. bc

6. I. A. 2. Earlier houses and upper floors of later houses Later houses: concrete ground floor

7. I. A. 2. wood form work for concrete facings for Roman concrete from 3rd cen. BC from ca. 120 BC from AD 50 opus reticulatum

8. I. A. 2. typical Roman domus tabernae (leasable shop space)

9. I. B. Plan: Key spaces in the typical domus plan and their use 1. vestibule and fauces typical Roman domus Entrance to the House of the Faun 1 2nd cen. bc

10. I. B. 2. atrium with impluvium surrounded by all-purpose rooms (cubicula) typical Roman domus atrium (digital reconstruction) impluviumcollects rain water House of Menander, Pompeii, late 1st cen. bc 2 1 cubicula

11. I. B. 3. tablinum – office, record room tablinum House of Menander, Pompeii, late 1st cen. bc House of the Faun, Pompeii, 2nd cen. bc 3 2 1

12. I. B. 4. peristyle court typical Roman domus peristyle court 4 3 2 1

13. I. B. 5. triclinium (formal dining room) typical Roman domus oecus principal hall or reception room 5 4 3 2 triclinium – dining room 1

14. I. C. Cultural character of the domus I. C. 1. What typical Roman planning principles organize the spaces in the Roman domus? axial organization Classical Greek oikos Roman domus centripetal organization

15. 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

16. 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? 2. 3. Frescoes, stucco relief, and mosaic floors in the House of Menander, late 1st cen. bc

17. II. The social space of the Roman Domus: gender and social status A. How did the Roman house negotiate gender roles? 4. 5. Greek oikos Roman domus House of the Faun, 2nd cen. bc AnoLiossia, Greece, 5th cen. bc

18. II. B. 1. What spaces were for a lower social class clientele of the dominus (uninvited guests)? II. B. Private vs. public: how the design of the domus negotiated social relationships with non-family members House of the Faun, 2nd cen. bc

19. 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

20. III. B. 2. House of Menander – peristyle courtyard

21. III. Republican context: How does the republican domus contradict republican values? Classical oikoiin democratic Greece Roman domuses of the republic and early empire exalt collectivity exalt individualism

22. III. A. How did this spatial organization exalt the dominus (his individuality)? House of Menander – fauces-atrium-tablinum axis