Greek Home Style

Inspiration of Greek home style
The brief history of Greece is compiled here as an introduction to web readers and to provide the historical background that’s needed to appreciate all the subjects of Ancient Greek culture. It was no easy task to compress the history of Ancient Greece into a concise format that would be appropriate both for online reading and as a precise overview of the subject. This history is divided into the major Greek history eras:

How to Create a Greek-Style Patio Area
A balcony or a patio is part of every Greek style home. Especially if you live in a warm climate, you can easily achieve this peaceful and sun-loving look inspired by the beautiful Mediterranean decor.

1. White and cracked walls

Give your patio an authentic Mediterranean look with white and cracked walls. Brick or adobe walls, but also tiles imitating brick patterns are good choices. A good tip to get the cracked effect common to the Mediterranean decor is to sandpapering your walls. You can also mix fine cement and fine sand onto your walls to create a dry impression. Don’t forget that a Greek style patio will work better in a hot area where the sun can naturally bleach your walls!

2. Mediterranean plants in terracotta pots

A Greek style patio area would not be complete without Mediterranean plants in terracotta pots such as lavender, thyme, rosemary, oleander and geraniums placed on a bed of pea gravel. These plants will also keep your patio cool, but don’t overcrowd them. If you are lucky enough to have a yard, don’t hesitate to extend your Mediterranean decor style with olive or citrus trees, for example.

3. Rustic and iron furniture & accessories

Greeks and the Mediterranean in general love to have guests and to eat in an outdoor dining area such as the patio. Opt for strong and rustic furniture made from cast iron or wood. For example, a nice way to add a greek decoration touch to your patio is to choose a table with a mosaic top and wrought-iron cafe-style chairs. Don’t forget to also place a little glass-topped table perfect to put on mezze (a selection of small dishes). Add a Mediterranean decor look to your patio as well with accessories like robust iron candle holders.

History of Greece: Classical Greece

The flurry of development and expansion of the Archaic Era was followed by the period of maturity we came to know as “Classical Greece”. Between 480 and until 323 BCE Athens and Sparta dominated the Hellenic world with their cultural and military achievements. These two cities, with the involvement of the other Hellenic states, rose to power through alliances, reforms, and a series of victories against the invading Persian armies. They eventually resolved their rivalry in a long, and particularly nasty war that concluded with the demise of Athens first, Sparta second, and the emergence of Macedonia as the dominant power of Greece. Other city-states like Miletus, Thebes, Corinth, and Syracuse among many others played a major role in the cultural achievements of Classical Greece.

The first inhabitants of the Greek peninsula, who are believed to be Neolithic, built very primitive and basic structures. The houses were mainly built with a circular, oval, apsidal, or rectangular shape. The rectangular house was mostly square, but some were oblong, and had the entrance at one of the short ends. They used mud bricks and stones in the mud with reeds or brush to help build the house. Most of the houses had one room, there were very rarely two.

The next group of settlers were the Minoan architects. Their towns were mostly residential with little or no temples and public places. Unlike earlier people, their houses were private and had many rooms. However, to separate rooms, they would use only pillars. Thus, the house was very open. The stairways were a very prominent feature for these massive homes. This began a whole new era for the Greeks dealing with architecture.

During the Classical Greek architecture period, it was made up of three different orders that are most commonly seen in their temples. These three orders were the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The orders are also known for their columns style. The Corinthian order was not used as widely as the Doric of Ionic. The reason being, is that the Corinthian order was fancier than the others, and had a lot more detail. Thus, information dealing with this order is very little, and some is not worth putting up.

The most basic order for their temples would be the Doric order. Doric architecture was known for being used by the Spartans. It all starts with some wood shafts, which latter was replaced by stone. On the top of the shaft, were circular pads with a square block of wood over it. The vertical columns were used to support the beams called architraves. In order to form the ceiling, other beams were laid across the building with their ends on these architraves. On the end of these beams, they could be channeled to make a triglyph. On the top of a triglyph there would be another beam which would be placed for the overhanging rafters. These type of beams were referred as to a mutules.


The finishing touches for the roof had to have a flat gables called pediments. The gutter ran along the top of the pediments and ended at a lion's mouth. This acted like a drain. The materials that were used for the roofs were thatch and the terra-cotta and marble. The of Doric temples were similar to those of the Ionic order in lay out and design.