‹‹‹ Vitr. 6.7.4 | Table of Contents | Vitr. 6.7.6 ›››
5Between the peristylium and the lodging rooms are passages, which are called Mesaulæ, from their situation between two aulæ (halls). By us these are called Andrones. But it is remarkable that this appellation seems to suit neither the Greek nor Latin terms. For the Greeks call the oeci, in which male guests are entertained, ἀνδρῶνες, because the women do not enter them. There are other discrepancies similar to this, as the xystus, prothyrum, telamones, and others of that sort: ξυστὸς, in Greek means a portico of large dimensions, in which athletæ exercise in the winter season: we, on the contrary, call by the name of xysti those open walks which the Greeks call περιδρόμιδες. The vestibule in front of a house, by the gates, is called prothyrum by the Greeks; we, however, give the name of prothyrum to that which the Greeks call διάθυρον (diathyrum).
5Between the two peristyles and the guests’ apartments are the passage-ways called “mesauloe,” because they are situated midway between two courts; but our people called them “andrones.”
This, however, is a very strange fact, for the term does not fit either the Greek or the Latin use of it. The Greeks call the large rooms in which men’s dinner parties are usually held ἁνδρωνεϛ, because women do not go there. There are other similar instances as in the case of “xystus,” “prothyrum,” “telamones,” and some others of the sort. As a Greek term, ξνστὁς means a colonnade of large dimensions in which athletes exercise in the winter time. But our people apply the term “xysta” to uncovered walks, which the Greeks call παραδρομἱδες. Again, πρὁθυρα means in Greek the entrance courts before the front doors; we, however, use the term “prothyra” in the sense of the Greek διἁθυρα.