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Roman Atrium Style Housing |
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written
by laured / 09.03.2004 |
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Personal Observations |
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There are a few things that really struck me about Roman Atrium style housing. The first had to do with the lavish lifestyle of the Romans. It never occurred to me that there was such a wealth divide in ancient times. Unlike America, where it seems that most citizens belong to the middle class, people rarely fell into this class in ancient Rome. Instead, they would often either be of a lower class, or upper. However, I should give mention to those who were often not lower, or upper class in Ancient Rome, namely the freedmen, who seemed to be a class of their own. Though sometimes they owned elaborate homes, they were considered differently than other men who came from different backgrounds.
Even more than the wealth divide in Ancient Rome, I was surprised by the magnificence of the large atrium style homes. These homes were strikingly big and beautiful. Many rooms within these homes were ornately decorated; wall paintings covered each wall, mosaics tiled the floor. It must have been difficult for the Romans to find a place to rest their eyes within their overly-elaborate surroundings. Aside from the individual rooms, the sheer size of some Atrium style homes is striking. For the sake of curiosity, I compared these huge houses to my living situation at the freshman dorms last year. Multiply my dorm room by 193, give it high ceilings, and pour a whole lot of paint and tile into it, and you’ve got the House of the Faun.
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