a dozen or so rooms. The typical house stood beside a narrow, crooked street, its front exterior broken only by a door and possibly a few small windows positioned high in the wall. Rooms were built around a small open-air courtyard in which the family would spend much of their time relaxing and entertaining. The furnishings of Greek homes were relatively simple and can be identified from illustrations on vases and stone reliefs. They included such items as chairs, stools, couches, tables and various chests, boxes and baskets, many of which were made of wood or other organic materials and therefore had a poor survival rate, explaining why very few have been uncovered in ancient remains. The main sources of lighting candles, resinous torches and oil lamps, all of which were fairly costly, for example olive oil was most commonly used in the oil lamps and was expensive enough on its own. Although the remains of Ancient Greece appear grand in terms of scale and design, this often presents a misguided view of society. Only a fortunate few were wealthy, living such a desired and luxurious lifestyle. In truth the majority of the population was poor, making a living as best they could. Houses were simple with one main room in which the entire family lived and ate and a communal bedroom with few furnishings. The barren Greek soils and dry climate often produced a poor harvest, resulting in an unpredictable income. The majority of the poorer population lived in remote land villages, separated by mountains. People farmed just enough to feed their family and for the fortunate communities nearer the sea there was an abundance of fresh seafood. Peasants were sometimes forced to leave poorer conditions to help populate new colonies within the empire as part of the expansion scheme, rather than facing starvation.Greek women had virtually no political rights and were controlled by men at nearly every stage of their lives. The most important duties for a...
