The Roman Domus--There's No Place Like Home!

Much of the action and storyline of Antonius: Son of Rome takes place in the domus (home) of Marc Antony and his family. In the next few blogs, I'm going to talk about and share pictures of the personal living space within a Roman home. And I might add, wealthy Romans had BEAUTIFUL homes! Okay, so where did the plebians live? Keep reading my blogs and in a few weeks, we'll talk about just that. 

​But for now, let's tackle a typical domus of the rich and famous!

Members of the noble classes, such as Antony's family, lived in splendid houses, often atop the Palatine Hill. A typical domus would have several traditional living spaces, which have been documented by archaeologists studying the floor-plans of both Rome and Pompeii, as well as other locations. There were definitely trends in layouts and overall design. 

Because upper-class Roman families were so much in the public eye, their personal space was often bordered by tall, windowless walls, allowing for privacy--their own little haven of peace. That being said, certain rooms were still designated to promote the family's influence, wealth, and power.

This week, let's talk about the atrium. First of all, I have an atrium in my house! It's the entryway--the first room a guest sees when visiting. Roman atria were designed to be striking, since they wanted their guests and clients to be more than impressed when first coming into their homes. Often a lararium (shrine) to household deities would be built into one of the four walls. In some Roman houses, another room, the tablinum (office space) would provide the paterfamilias with a place to have meetings or work privately. Once you set foot into the atrium, you'd have a feeling of open space, for a large, square or rectangular opening in the roof allowed rainwater to collect in a basin or pool beneath it. The opening above was called the compluvium and the pool was the impluvium. A Roman atrium was beautifully decorated, sometimes with statuary, family busts, or wall-paintings and mosaics. There would be benches and chairs, inviting guests and clients to be comfortable while awaiting the family members to welcome them.

I'm including several photos I've taken in my research, of actual atria, so readers can get a general idea of what they looked like inside. These are actual samples from ancient homes and are not recreations, so get ready to use your imagination a bit!

Herculaneum (1st cent. AD): Look how lofty the ceiling was, along with the extra support beams for the compluvium. The impluvium had a fountain in the middle. Also, note the remains of impressive wall-paintings. 

Oplontis (1st cent. AD): Courtesy of Mt. Vesuvius, this was the Villa of Poppaea, Nero's wife. Yes! It still stands! It being an imperial villa, just look at the sheer SIZE of this atrium! Interestingly, the impluvium pool was shallower than the smaller one in the other picture. No worries. Nero built Poppaea a swimming pool complex in the back yard!