made from wood, little has survived apart from chairs and
tables in some images of the period.
GREECE
BY JEFFREY S. CARNES
Th e most striking feature of Greek household goods is that
the Greeks had signifi cantly fewer possessions of every sort
(furniture, clothing, cooking implements, decorative objects)
than those found in a typical modern house. Th is was partly
because of the diffi culty of manufacturing goods. In an era
with little machinery and no mass production, virtually ev-
erything was made by hand and thus relatively expensive,
limiting most people’s ability to accumulate material pos-
sessions. In addition, an ideology of equality (even in many
oligarchic societies, that is, those ruled by a few) discouraged
ostentatious displays of wealth.
Furniture and other household objects were both func-
tional and, when possible, decorative. Ancient furniture dif-
fered from modern furniture in size and portability: Most
pieces were designed so that they could be moved easily from
one room to another or, for the wealthy, from one house to an-
other. Th e main items of furniture were chairs, tables, stools,
couches, and beds. Greek houses usually did not have large
cabinets, dressers, or armoires, nor were rooms built with
closets. Clothing was folded fl at and stored in small, movable
chests and boxes. Since most people had few or no changes of
clothing, the need for storage space was limited. Greek furni-
ture was made primarily of wood, which does not survive well
at archaeological sites, so most of the information we have
comes from pictures (in particular, vase paintings) and from
literary sources. Metal was used for fastenings, for locks on
storage chests, and sometimes for the legs or feet of couches,
chairs, and tables. Some of these items, in fact, have survived
long aft er the wood to which they were attached decayed.
Chairs were simple. Th e most basic type was the diphros,
or stool, which had no back or armrests and four straight legs.
A common variation on this was the folding stool with legs
that crossed in an X pattern, similar to a modern director’s
chair without arms or a back. Such chairs were easy to store
and transport. More substantial was the klismos, which fea-
tured curved legs and a curved, slightly reclined back; the
word klismos derives from the Greek verb klino, meaning
“to lean.” Th e examples on Greek vases oft en have graceful
curves. At the top end of the scale was the thronos (t he sou rce
of the word throne), a solidly constructed, upright chair with
armrests, oft en highly decorated, and more likely to be found
in temples or palaces than in households.
One of the most versatile pieces of furniture was the klinē
(a word also derived from klino), which combined the func-
tions of bed, couch, and dining couch. It was common for food
and drink to be consumed in a reclining position, particularly
on formal occasions. Th e klinē was backless and designed for
reclining rather than sitting on, with one end slanted upward.
Legs were either straight or with a slight curve and in some
cases could be carved to look like animal legs or paws. Th e
frame of the klinē was wooden and light enough to allow it
to be carried easily from one room to another or outdoors or
onto the roof for sleeping in the warmer months. Th e weight
of the occupant was borne by a surface of webbing, consisting
of interlaced leather or rope, which was typically covered by a
thin mattress. On top of this were blankets, pillows, and cov-
erlets or tapestries, which could be highly decorated luxury
items in wealthy households. Evidence for the weaving of pic-
tures and designs into tapestries is found as early as Homer’s
Iliad, in which Helen weaves her own story into a tapestry;
skilled weavers were considered among the more valuable
spoils of war. Th ere is no evidence for the use of sheets, and
mattresses were typically stuff ed with straw, so an ancient
bed would seem uncomfortable by modern standards.
Tables were either three-legged or four-legged (trapezai,
the source of our word trapezoid), and tended to be few in
number, since there simply were not that many things to put
on them. Most tables were used for dining and, like all Greek
furniture, were light enough to be carried away when not
in use. Books were rare (and typically stored in chests), andStone bowl and pitcher (Alison Frantz Photographic Collection, American School of Classical Studies at Athens)
household goods: Greece 567