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Bedrooms in antiquity were generally small. A typical room was usually not much wider than six feet. Bedrooms were normally approximately square in plan, although they could differ from house to house. In both Greek and Roman houses, bedrooms were located on both the first and second stories, although in Rome, the “best” houses were those that had the bedrooms located on the second floor. Greek and Roman bedrooms were located off a main open area, called the courtyard in Greece and the peristyle in Rome. Some Roman houses also had bedrooms located off the atrium, or main entrance hall. In larger Greek and Roman houses, not only were there bedrooms for members of the family, but there were “guest suites” or bedrooms that had their own adjacent dining room and anteroom. In Roman houses, these guest suites had no specific location within the house, while in Greece they were located within the male portion of the house.

In Rome, there were different types of sleeping rooms. Some were specifically meant for the midday siesta, and these were located in the coolest parts of the house. Then there was the traditional bedroom, meant for nighttime sleeping. Some bedrooms found in Pompeii had a bed niche, or a square intruding from one of the corners of the walls, which created an ideal space for the bed. In both Greek and Roman bedrooms, the main piece of furniture was the sleeping couch or bed.

In Greece, the main functions of the bedroom were for sleeping and conjugal sex. Women’s bedrooms were usually located towards the back of the house, sometimes on the second floor. This suggests a seclusion and privacy that did not exist in Roman houses. In the Roman world, the bedroom was much more public. Very often it was next to and linked with a dining room. The Roman bedroom was regularly used in the daytime for private meetings, reception of close friends, and management of confidential business. The Roman bedroom was not, however, all public. Its main function was still to hold a bed and serve as a private space for an individual. In both societies, all dressing and grooming activities would normally have taken place here as well.

Bedrooms in some Greek and Roman houses normally had small windows. According to ancient architects, bedrooms should be placed on the western side of the peristyle, in order to catch the morning sun, which is why many windows had shutters to keep out the light, submerging the room into artificial night. In Roman houses, windows of the bedrooms on the first floor did not look out onto the street, but only out onto the peristyle; while bedrooms on the second floor may have had exterior windows. In Greece, some bedrooms had windows on the ground floor, but these windows were placed high so passersby could not look inside. Both Greek and Roman windows were small, in general no larger than three feet by two feet.

In both Greece and Rome, the bedroom was the only area used for an individual’s privacy within the larger communal space of the household. It therefore could be furnished and decorated in a wide variety of ways, subject to the taste and means of the residents.

Carrie Weber


Items Exhibited:

Red-figured lekythos: woman with mirror
Greek, 5th century B.C.
Terracotta
The Art Museum, Princeton University. Bequest of Mrs. Edmund Y. Robbins.

Mirror: Figure of Lasa
Etruscan, late 4th – 3rd centuries B.C.
Bronze
The Art Museum, Princeton University. Bequest of Frank Jewett Mather, Jr.

Mirror: Two Female Figures and the Dioscuri before a Temple Facade
Etruscan, 4th century B.C.
Bronze
The Art Museum, Princeton University. Museum purchase.

Leech-type fibula with incised decoration
Greek, Geometric, late 8th – early 7th centuries B.C.
Bronze
The Art Museum, Princeton University. Gift of Sol L. and Colleen Y. Rabin.

Pin
Greek, Northern Greece, Geometric, early 7 century B.C.
Bronze
The Art Museum, Princeton University. Gift of Dr. Sol Rabin and Colleen Rabin

Bottle
Roman, 1st century A.D.
Glass
The Art Museum, Princeton University. Museum purchase.

Amber bottle
Roman, 3rd century A.D.(?)
Glass
The Art Museum, Princeton University. Museum purchase.

Unguentarium
Roman
Clear glass, bluish green
The Art Museum, Princeton University. Gift of Mrs. Platt from
the bequest of Dan Fellows Platt, Class of 1895.

Alabastron
Egyptian, 300–200 B.C.
Glass
Collection of The Newark Museum, Eugene Schaefer Collection

Alabastron
Egyptian, 6th c. B.C.
Alabaster
Collection of The Newark Museum, Eugene Schaefer Collection

Earrings
Roman, Eastern Mediterranean
1st–2nd c. A.D.
Gold/silver
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Earrings
Roman, Eastern Mediterranean
1st–2nd C. A.D.
Gold/pearl/glass
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Earrings
Roman, 2nd–3rd c. A.D.
Gold
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Earrings
Roman, 1st–3rd c. A.D.
Gold/garnet
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Earrings
Roman, 2nd–3rd c. A.D.
Gold/glass/emerald
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Ram’s Head Bracelet
Roman Egypt
3rd c. A.D.
Gold
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Finger Ring
Roman Imperial
1st c. A.D.
Gold/chalcedony
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Garnet Finger Ring Roman
1st c. A.D.
Gold/garnet
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Athena Seal Ring
Intaglio
1st–2nd c. A.D.
Gold/carnelian
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Finger Ring w/Eros & Anteros
Intaglio: Roman
2nd c. A.D.
Gold, carnelian
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Glass Bracelet
Probably Eastern Mediterranean, Roman
1st–4th c. A.D.
Glass, drawn technique
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Glass Bracelet
Probably Eastern Mediterranean, Roman
1st–4th c. A.D.
Glass, drawn technique
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Gold Syrian Bracelet
Roman, Syria
Gold
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Necklace or Armlet
Roman, 1st–3rd c. A.D.
Gold/carnelian
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Roman Necklace
Roman
Gold/emerald/pearl/glass
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Greek Re-strung Necklace
4th c. B.C.
Gold/garnet
Collection of Glencairn Museum

Etruscan Necklet
Beads: Etruria
Gold
Collection of Glencairn Museum