House of Many Colors

This villa was located by eye using Google Earth satellite imagery with an overlay of a plan of Olynthus from http://makedonia-alexandros.blogspot.com/2011/09/olynthus-and-its-houses.html.

The House of Many Colors was excavated by Lloyd Daly, who kept very detailed records of the excavation. George Mylonas chose this house as a typical Olynthian dwelling because of its preservation and details. The House of Many Colors has an unusual design, but otherwise it shares the styles and features of a "typical" Olynthian house. It was violently destroyed by a fire, probably in the siege of Philip II in 348 BC. Many intact vases and other objects were found on the floor. The walls of each room were painted with vibrant colors and intricate designs. In the andron (men's dining room), there is fragmentary evidence for painted decoration in the form of a floral band with palmettes. This is one of very few examples of figural art in Olynthus. The courtyard in this house was only lightly used, unlike most houses, and an altar and cult sites within the house suggest that it may have been a ritual center. The red-figure pottery found inside this house confirms that it was in use between 432 and 348 BC.