DŎMĬNĬUM signifies quiritarian ownership, or property in a thing; and _dominus_, or _dominus legitimus_, is the owner. The dominus has the power of dealing with a thing as he pleases, and differs from the bare _possessor_, who has only the right of possession, and has not the absolute ownership of the thing. DŎMUS (οἶκος), a house.--(1) GREEK. A Greek house was always divided into two distinct portions, the _Andronitis_, or men’s apartments (ἀνδρωνῖτις), and the _Gynaeconitis_, or women’s apartments (γυναικωνῖτις). In the earliest times, as in the houses referred to by Homer, and in some houses at a later period, the women’s apartments were in the upper story (ὑπερῷον), but usually at a later time the gynaeconitis was on the same story with the andronitis, and behind it. The front of the house towards the street was not large, as the apartments extended rather in the direction of its depth than of its width. In towns the houses were often built side by side, with party-walls between. The exterior wall was plain, being composed generally of stone, brick, and timber, and often covered with stucco. There was no open space between the street and the house-door, like the Roman _vestibulum_. The πρόθυρα, which is sometimes mentioned, seems to be merely the space in front of the house, where there was generally an altar of Apollo Agyieus, or a rude obelisk emblematical of the god. Sometimes there was a laurel tree in the same position, and sometimes a head of the god Hermes. A few steps (ἀναβαθμοί) led up to the house-door, which generally bore some inscription, for the sake of a good omen, or as a charm. The door sometimes opened outwards; but this seems to have been an exception to the general rule, as is proved by the expressions used for opening, ἐνδοῦναι, and shutting it, ἐπισπάσασθαι and ἐφελκύσασθαι. The handles were called ἐπισπαστῆρες. The house-door was called αὔλειος or αὔλεια θύρα, because it led to the αὐλή. It gave admittance to a narrow passage (θυρωρεῖον, πυλών, θυρών), on one side of which, in a large house, were the stables, on the other the porter’s lodge. The duty of the porter (θυρωρός) was to admit visitors and to prevent anything improper from being carried into or out of the house. The porter was attended by a dog. Hence the phrase εὐλαβεῖσθαι τὴν κύνα, corresponding to the Latin _Cave canem_. From the θυρωρεῖον we pass into the peristyle or court (περιστύλιον, αὐλή) of the andronitis, which was a space open to the sky in the centre (ὕπαιθρον), and surrounded on all four sides by porticoes (στοαί), of which one, probably that nearest the entrance, was called προστόον. These porticoes were used for exercise, and sometimes for dining in. Here was commonly the altar on which sacrifices were offered to the household gods. In building the porticoes the object sought was to obtain as much sun in winter, and as much shade and air in summer as possible. Round the peristyle were arranged the chambers used by the