Ancient Greek houses were primarily made of sun-dried mud brick. Small houses with shuttered windows and tiled roofs were common. There are no extant ruins of ancient Greek dwellings due to the delicate materials employed in their construction—only traces of their foundations and layouts. In general, houses in Greece today are also made of sun-dried mud bricks or concrete.
The Greeks built larger houses with wood frames and plaster walls. The Romans added rooms to their homes by extending them outwards from a central nucleus called a "domus". Some Roman houses had separate apartments for married couples so that they did not have to live together if one was unsatisfactory to the other.
During the Byzantine era, houses became more permanent and stable. They were usually made of stone or wood, but sometimes also mud brick. Windows and doors tended to be placed according'to convenience rather than appearance. The layout of Byzantine houses was based on strict rules which helped preserve privacy. Rooms were used for various purposes including living quarters, workshops, and storage areas.
By the Renaissance era, most houses in Europe were built using timber frame and plaster walls. The Greeks continued to build in this manner until about 1800 when they began to use mortar instead. Today, many European buildings still have wooden frames and plaster walls because it is easy to work with and cost effective.
Homes in ancient Greece were designed to be built around a courtyard or garden. The walls were frequently composed of wood and mud bricks. They had little windows without glass but with wooden shutters to keep the blazing sun out. Greeks slept on mattresses filled with wool, feathers, or dry grass at night. They also used blankets during cold weather.
The typical Greek house had one floor level, which served as living room, dining room, and kitchen all in one. There might be another floor above, which consisted mainly of storage rooms. Each section of the house had a separate entrance. The central part of the house was open to the sky for ventilation.
People spent most of their time outside, so the house needed to be comfortable outside too. In hot climates like that of Athens, Greece, the roof was usually made of tiles, which kept the heat out and the rain in.
Greeks lived in homes for about half of their lives. After marrying, people moved into an aunt's house or the home of a wealthy friend until they had children. When they were old enough, children left their parents' house and went to live with an uncle or another family member. This system meant that people were always looking for better housing than what they had now, so prices increased over time.
In conclusion, houses in ancient Greece were simple, but effective buildings for a climate like that of Athens.
What was it like to live in a Greek home? The roofs were made of tiles or clay.
People lived in small apartments, usually on the first floor or lower level of a building. Each apartment had one room where they ate, slept, and kept their possessions. There was no separate kitchen; all cooking and cleaning duties were done inside the apartment. Bathrooms were rare; people went to public baths instead.
Workers in ancient Greece were expected to provide for themselves and their families. So men tended to leave work when they got sick or injured, while women left if they found another job. Unemployment was very high because there was always a need for more workers. In Athens, where evidence has been found that about half of all children were born dead, doctors were very popular jobs. Doctors made enough money to live in luxury compared to other professions.
Students in ancient Greece were not required by law to go to school, although most people wanted their kids to learn how to read and write. Schools consisted mainly of rooms where teachers could talk about what's important in life without being interrupted by students. These classes were called "dialogs" and they took place during lunch breaks and after hours.
(Annely) There are several initiatives underway now for the renovation and preservation of old structures (see image to the right). The Greeks preferred limestone, marble, and ivory as construction materials and building blocks for their temples, monuments, and sculptural ornamentation. Gold was used in the creation of some ceremonial objects like talismans and masks.
Limestone is a hard, white substance that is composed of calcium carbonate. It is found in many parts of Greece, especially in the Peloponnese region where there are large quantities available. Limestones can be soft or hard depending on how long they have been exposed to the atmosphere. Hard stones such as potash and chalk are called travertine when they form mineral deposits within cave walls or serpentine when they occur as small, smooth rocks near the surface. Marble is a stone formed from the remains of plants and animals that are deposited in shallow seas or lakes over a very long period of time. It is a dense, heavy material that is used for statues, floors, and other decorative items. Ivory is used for utensils, tools, and weapons. It is obtained by killing elephants and rhinos with spears or arrows and then cutting them open to remove the tusks. The Greek word thalamos means "ivory" because it was once believed that this was what gave horses their speed! Gold is a metal that is very soft.
In Greece, unfinished constructions are widespread. The reason behind this is because Greeks build only what they require today, leaving the remainder of the buildings incomplete for the future. If you look around you will see lots of buildings that are still under construction, even in major cities such as Athens or Crete.
Greeks generally don't like to invest money without a guarantee of profit, which is why most buildings aren't finished. Also, the Greek government has no funding program for the construction industry so most building projects cannot be financed.
There are several factors that have caused this problem over the years. First of all, there was a period when almost nobody built anything because there was no need for investment and people saved their money instead. After the economy started recovering in the 1990s, more and more companies began building up their reserves again by investing in new facilities or expanding existing ones. But since then, there has been no real need for further investment; the market is quite stable. This is why you often find big companies holding back from making any decisions about their future because there's no point in spending money if you're not going to use it.
Secondly, the financial crisis of 2008 had an enormous impact on Greece. A lot of businesses went bankrupt and people lost their jobs.