Andron (architecture)

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Andron (Greek: {{lang|grc|ἀνδρών}}, andrōn){{LSJ|a)ndrw/n|ἀνδρών|ref}}. or andronitis ({{lang|grc|ἀνδρωνῖτις}}, andrōnitis){{LSJ|a)ndrwni{{=}}tis|ἀνδρωνῖτις|shortref}}. is part of a Greek house that is reserved for men, as distinguished from the gynaeceum ({{lang|grc|γυναικεῖον}}, gynaikeion), the women's quarters.{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Andron|volume=1|page=975}} The andrōn was used for entertaining male guests.{{cite journal|last=Coucouzeli|first=Alexandra|title=From Megaron to Oikos at Zagora|journal=British School at Athens Studies|year=2007|volume=15|page=173}} For this purpose the room held couches, usually an odd number to allow space for the door, tables which could be tucked under the couches, artwork and any other necessary paraphernalia. Not all classical Greek houses were large enough to have a dedicated andrōn, and even those that did might have used the room for mixed-gendered events and women receiving female guests, as well as men hosting symposia.{{cite journal|last=Coucouzeli|first=Alexandra|title=From Megaron to Oikos at Zagora|journal=British School at Athens Studies|year=2007|volume=15|page=174}}

In excavations at Olynthus, rooms identified as andrōnes contained items identified with female activities, as in the rest of the house.

The definition of andrōn changed from Ancient Greek literature of Homer to the Latin of Vitruvius. Vitruvius explains some of the changes in Book 6 of De architectura;{{Cite book|last=Vitruvius|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ten_Books_on_Architecture/Book_VI|title=Ten Books on Architecture|chapter=Book VI |year=1914 |publisher=Harvard University Press }} architectural theorist Simon Weir has explained the context around Vitruvius's comments.{{Cite journal|last=Weir|first=Simon|date=2015-09-03|title=Xenia in Vitruvius' Greek house: andron, ξείνία and xenia from Homer to Augustus|journal=The Journal of Architecture|volume=20|issue=5|pages=868–883|doi=10.1080/13602365.2015.1098717|s2cid=145783068|issn=1360-2365}}

Art historian Hallie Franks has explained the metaphors of movement in Greek andrōns.{{Cite journal|last=Franks|first=Hallie|date=2014-04-03|title=Traveling, in Theory: Movement as Metaphor in the Ancient Greek Andron|journal=The Art Bulletin|volume=96|issue=2|pages=156–169|doi=10.1080/00043079.2014.898995|s2cid=194035202|issn=0004-3079}}