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

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

3. Classical Greek oikos, Olynthos, Greece
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. GreekLate Classical oikos w/ peristyle court, 4th cen. bc
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
1st cen. BC - 1st cen. AD

5. Roman domuses in Pompeii
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. upper floors of later houses
I. A. 2.
Earlier houses and
upper floors of later houses
Later houses:
concrete ground floor

7. wood form work for concrete facings for Roman concrete
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. tabernae (leasable shop space)
I. A. 2.
typical Roman domus
tabernae (leasable shop space)

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

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

11. House of the Faun, Pompeii, 2nd cen. bc
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. triclinium – dining room
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. centripetal organization
I. C. 1. What typical Roman planning principles organize the spaces in the Roman domus?
I. C. Cultural character of the domus
axial organization
Classical Greek oikos
Roman domus
centripetal organization

15. Classical orders (pilasters) on the door
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. Ano Liossia, Greece, 5th cen. bc
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
Ano Liossia, Greece, 5th cen. bc

18. House of the Faun, 2nd cen. bc
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. House of the Faun – peristyle courtyard and oecus
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. House of Menander – peristyle courtyard
III. B. 2.
House of Menander – peristyle courtyard

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

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