Art History- Lesson One

As you all know I majored in Art History and adored it. I do honestly miss going to the class lectures and doing the readings every evening. Art is so fascinating to study and you can learn so much about culture through a single work of art or a structure. Therefore, after some thought I have decided to include an Art History lesson bimonthly. Though we all love to hear of fun finds I think it is important to stay well versed and take in a bit of culture. I have started with some Architectural facts from way back when. I tried to keep is brief as to not overwhelm and in the future plan to concentrate more on paintings. Please do let me know your thoughts on the subject and with no further ado 'lesson' one :

The site of Olynthus underwent an extensive excavation beginning in 1928 (Berlin 23 October 2006), and it was this excavation that uncovered evidence to an ancient, domestic version of democracy. The homes found in Olynthus were of two types: a more common sixty square foot home and then a larger, villa style home. Both types of houses have almost identical plans, the villa was only slightly bigger in size. Each is on a street block of the same size. This denotes that Olynthus was a planned city. Like the town it self, the interior of all the homes also indicates planning as they are divided across the middle by a common wall line; a peak for the roof line.

Upon entering a house, one would step into a paved courtyard that always faced South (Berlin 23 October 2006). All the other rooms in the home were arranged around this central courtyard area (much like some homes today!). There was a large room off the courtyard that was also accessible from the street. Since the town of Olynthus lacks any sort of business district the street access/entrance and objects found here-weights and scales- indicate the room was used as some sort of workshop or shop. Business was conducted here and the people of Olynthus had easy access to their businesses. An andron, or dining room, was another room off the courtyard. The door to this room was off center so that seven couches could be placed up against the walls of the room; these couches were where guests and the home’s owners would lay and eat their meals (I guess laziness could be blamed on our ancient ancestors). However, like any modern room these rooms were not without eye candy. Not only were the walls painted, but there was also often a mosaic floor which again only further indicates it was a special purpose room (Berlin 23 October 2006). The figures of mosaic were arranged in such a way that when lying on a couch they always appeared right side up.

Several clay pots and drinking vessels have also been found in various androns in Olynthus (Berlin 23 October 2006), again only further indicating that they were used to dining. The finds in the homes at Olynthus allow an archaeologist to draw conclusions about spatial usage which further helps one understand classical personal life.

Berlin, Andrea M. University of Minnesota. Minneapolis. CNES 23 October 2006.