Private houses

• In Latin there are three words denoting housing; domus = rich city house, villa = country house and insula = apartment building.

• More than 100 housing remains have been excavated in the region of Patras.

• The fanciest, for the wealthy are located in Psilalonia area, while many villas were mainly found in West Achaia.

Villa rustica – Villa suburbana

• In Patras even town houses (domus) have elements of country homes, therefore they are called “villae suburbanae”.

• Wealthy peoples’ homes were usually of the same basic design as follows:

Building technique

Romans used all different kinds of materials and patterns

Opus testaceum (bricks in even horizontal courses)

Opus mixtum (small stones alternating with horizontal courses of bricks)

Non symmetrical wall pattern

Opus quasi reticulatum

Small cubic stones unevenly arranged diagonally enclosed by bricks

Glass window

Terracotta oil lamp with bronze suspension hook (1st c. A.D.)

Made by student E. Liana

Antefixes

Drawing made by student D. Voutsina

With palmettes

With Gorgoneion (Medusa’s head)

Clay chimney cover

Drawing made by I. Christidi

Mosaics

• House walls were brightly painted and the floors were often richly decorated with mosaics.

• Many mosaics captured scenes from everyday life as also geometrical patterns, flowers, animals and deities.

• The picture was made up of several thousand tiny pieces of colored stone, each about 0.2 in (5mm) square. They were laid in wet plaster by expert mosaic makers.

Geometric mosaic pattern on the making. By the student A. Kouzeli

The results

Geometric floor pattern

Made by the student D. Voutsina

Geometric floor pattern

Made by student I. Papadionysiou

Geometric mosaic floor

Plain mosaic of cheap pebbles without pattern

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Mosaic floor with proverbial inscriptions and fishes, 3rd c. A.D., Kanari str.

Made by the student A. Kousoula

«Κλειδίον εάν απολέσης γείνεται» = if you lose your key, you can make a new one

Mosaic with fishes and birds. 2nd c. A.D., Sisini Str.

Mosaic with god Panas treading grapes and inscription, 3rd c. A.D., Karolou str.

The three Graces dancing around an open altar with offerings. 2nd–3rd c. A.D., Agiou Dimitriou str.

Copy of the mosaic made of glass pebbles by the student D. Bakas, 11th grade

1st price in contest “Traveling all over ancient Achaia”, organized by the Archeological Museum of Patras, February 2012

Mosaic, 2nd c. A.D., Psilalonia.Venus holding a mirror: her naked body was cowered with a dress after new work was carried out on the mosaic during early Christianity.

Mosaic. Triton who is riding a seahorse surrounded by guilloche, late Roman period, Nikita str.

Wells. Fragment of a stone rectangular well rim.

Made by the student A. Spetsieris

Well (?) found in upper town of Patras

Clay pipes

Made by student A. Kouzeli

Part of roman sewage system network in upper town of Patras

Some of these pipes are still in use today!!!

Roman sewage system network - Detail