As  the  fronts  of  large  houses  were  mostly  occupied  by  shops
on  a  level  with  the  pavement,  as  in  the  London  Eoyal  Ex-
change, the  Greek  streets  cannot  have  been  architecturally
imposing.  Nor  were  the  materials  of  which  the  houses  were
built  sumptuous  or  durable.  These  were  usually  a  framework
of  wood,  and  walls  of  unbaked  bricks.  Tovs  tolx^vs  7i"i]XLvovs
€xoix€v,  says  Plutarch;  and  it  will  be  remembered  how  at  Plataeae,-
when  the  Thebans  tried  to  seize  the  town,  the  inhabitants  dug
their  way  through  from  house  to  house,  until  they  had  gathered
together  a  corps  of  armed  men.  Hence  too  the  use  of  the  verb
Totx^/ovxeii',  which  is  used  for  burglarious  entry.  Xor  did  the
fronts  of  Greek  houses  present,  like  ours,  windows  to  the  street ;
the  greatest  break  in  the  dead  wall  would  be  a  narrow  slit  or
a  close  casement.  They  were  to  be  looked  at  from  within
and  not  from  without.  But  no  doubt,  making  due  allowance
for  these  inevitable  drawbacks,  the  Greeks  knew  how  to  make
the  best  of  their  materials.  In  the  disposal  of  space  within
the  house,  however,  their  greatest  care  was  spent.
I  insert  a  speculative  plan  of  a  simple  Greek  mansion.  The
student  must  remember  that  this  plan  is  really  no  more  tlian  a
diagram  to  assist  our  description.  Greek  houses  were  subject
in  their  plan  to  local  conditions,  and  varied  widely.
^  Xenophon,  Memor.  iii.  8  ;  (Econ.  ix.  4.  -  Thuc.  ii.  3.
