"In Ancient Greece the chief architectural achievement in Archaic and Classical times was the temple: public buildings could be outstanding, while the private houses remained modest and unpretentious. Matters changed only in the end of the fifth century as a new type of house was created, distinguished by a peristyle court, polychrome wall decorations in the main rooms, floor mosaics with figural and ornamental pictures, even marble sculptures. These elements, being intended to assimilate the domestic space to the public buildings of assembly, ennobled the private residence. The rise of noble houses is a consequence of a change in the way of life of certain people, a change that took place mainly in Athens. Such people valued above all schole and apragmosyne, a certain retirement from active participation in current politics in order to live a 'life of beauty' in a comprehensive sense - we get a glimpse of the milieu where the Platonic dialogues were born. The peristyle house as an abode of a higher lifestyle, was created in Athens in Late Classical times and spread throughout the Hellenistic world."--BOOK JACKET.