The Building Blocks of Cities

A. Overview

1. Main elements of the polis: chora, asty, akropolis, agora, city wall.

2. The polis was seen as an association of extended families.

3. Issues like religion and culture were generally regarded, along with politics and military concerns, as associated with the polis.

4. There was a real tension between "panhellenism" and the localism of the polis.

a. The Greeks realized that they all shared many things in common: worship of (more or less) the same gods, language, culture.

b. This was expressed as Panhelenic unity--especially in defense against common enemies (Persian Wars) and the Panhellenic sancturies and festivals (Olympia, Delphia, Isthmia, Nemea).

c. Localism, however, was a far stronger sentiment--citizens of a polis regarded the polis as their main object of identification.

d. This led to war and perhaps exaggerated loyalty to the state in military terms.

1. Sanctuaries were "sacred places," set apart from the rest of the world--thus the world was divided into two kinds of space: secular space and sacred space.

2. Sanctuaries were places that were in some way or another dedicated to the gods and they were not to be used for regular activity; the gods were supposed to be present there in some way or another.

3. The only thing a sanctuary needed was a boundary--temenos--that might be a regular wall, but it could be a line of stones or sticks, just so it clearly marked the boundary.

4. Normally, cult practices were carried out in sanctuaries--public cult was simply public worship of the gods.

5. The primary aspect of cult normally was sacrifice, and this was performed on an altar: so sanctuaries normally had an altar.

6. Sometimes the sanctuary might also have a temple--the house of the god that was essentially nothing more than a shelter for the cult statue.

7. Normally, there were no cult practices carried out in the temple: the altar would be outside, but still within the temenos.

1. The earliest sanctuaries might have been connected with the dominance of aristocratic families.

a. The aristocrats provided the stability and wealth necessary to build and maintain the sanctuaries.

b. In some cases it is likely that the sanctuaries were dedicated to heroes (humans who had become gods) who may have been seen as founders of the aristocratic families.

c. In any case, the earliest temples probably were connected with the growth and prosperity of the earliest cities.

2. Temples in the Geometric Age (900-700BC)

a. Usually it is assumed that the earliest temples followed the plan of the Mycenaean megaron; they were all presumably made of wood, with stone foundations.

b. It's clear that the temples were also modeled on Egyptian buildings.

c. Much of the earliest evidence comes from models that have survived

d. The Perachora model: horseshoe-sheped ground plan, tall, probably thatch roof, two parts of posts at the front forming a porch.

e. Model from the Argive Heraion: rectilinear plan and high pointed roof, reconstructed with two posts at the front.

f. Actual remains of early temples are few.

g. Temple of Apollo at Dreros on Crete: small rectilinear building (10.8 x 7.2 m.), has central sacrificial hearth and bases for posts that ran down the middle, supporting the roof beams (8th century BC?).

h. Temple of Hera at Samos: also 8th century BC, very long and narrow (32.9 x 6.5 m.), open at opne end with a row of columns down the middle; there was no internal hearth; toward the end of the 8th century a pteron (external porch) was added on each side, supported by rows of columns, all probably made of wood.

3. Doric and Ionic orders developed in the 7th century.

a. Establishment of the Doric order in permanent materials (stone and terra cotta) can be traced to Korinth:

-- Temple of Apollo at Korknth (700BC)

-- Temple of Poseidon at Isthmia (1st half 7th century BC)

b. These used terra-cotta roof tiles, stone superstructure, and at least occasionally stone columns.

c. After this the canon of proportions, etc., developed and Doric architecture was standardized.

d. Ionic architecture was probably monumental at an earlier age.

e. It developed in Ionia on the west coast of Asia Minor--example is the Temple of Hera at Samos.

4. Other buildings

a. Sancuaries also had other buildings, although these were not essential:

b. Propylon (Propylaia): monumental entrance

c. Priests' houses

d. Bathing establishments (baths or lustral basins)

e. Treasuries

1. "Theatron" simply means a place to watch, usually on a natural slope

a. There is considerable controversy about the development of the theater, and its origin is hotly debated.

b. It is clear that the theater was originally involved in ritual and the performance of theater was never fully removed from its religious connections.

c. The central part of the theater was the orchestra--the dancing place--a simple flat area at the bottom of the slope where the dancers, singers, and actors performed.

2. Theaters were always built on natural slopes (with spectators sitting on the slope), and this determined their location in the city: the theater was one of the few buildings that could not be placed anywhere in the city.

3. The seating area, or cavea, was divided into sections.

4. The orchestra was probably originally rectangular, but later became round or semi-circular.

5. The skene -- or scene building -- was originally just a place for actors to change their costumes.

a. Slowly it was architecturally decorated.

b. It became a backdrop or "scenery" behind the orchestral

c. Originally probably made of wood and canvas, it came later to be made of stone.

6. Theaters were frequently used for other purposes, such as assemblies of the people.

7. There were smaller theaters -- odeia (singlular odeion) -- that were apparently covered to provide shade and protection from rain and were used for music concerts.

1. Places where people met--especially for political purposes, especially to vote.

2. Probably originally in the agora -- most cities presumably continued to meet there or in the theater.

3. A few cities had spcial buildings or places of assembly:

a. The Spartans had a place called Skias (canopy) at the edge of the agora.

b. The Thersilion in Megalopolis after 371BC was roofed, perhaps containing as many as 10,000 men, a building 218 ft. x 172 ft.

c. The Pnyx in Athens, finally arranged to hold 10,000 men.

1. Place where the "council of elders" (boule) could meet, almost always roofed.

2. The bouleterion could take any shape, but most common was a small theater placed in a rectangular building.

3. The bouleterion at Priene (ca. 200BC) was a square with seats on 3 sides, holding 600-700 people, roofed.

4. Miletus (175-164BC) arranged in a semi-circle, seating 1200 people.

1. General-purpose building, used in many contexts.

2. The architecture was simple: an open colonnade with a blank back wall, many with an inner colonnade, frequently with closed rooms ("shops") at the rear.

3. Origins uncertain, possibly derived from Egyptian or Mycenaean contexts.

4. Present in the Heraion at Samos and the Argive Heraion at an early date.

5. Developed and refined, especially by the addition of winds at the end, shops at the back, and a second floor.

6. Stoas--or stoa-like buildings--could be used in a variety of places for practical and athletic purposes.

1. Primarily an athletic complex, but much more than that.

a. Atheletics were a central part of Greek education and culture.

b. Gymnasia became social, political, and cultural centers.

c. The gymnasium was seen as the primary institution of a Greek city, the necessary and sufficient characteristic of a polis.

d. Many cities had more than one--normally they were state-built and state-operated, but occasionally a gymnasium might be built by a group.

2. Gymnasia and palaistra (palaestra)

a. The palaistra was a wrestling ground.

b. Sometimes this was part of a gymnasium, sometimes a separate building.

3. Originally the gymnasium was probably just a section of the agora, but later it became a separate building.

4. Architectural form of the gymnasium

a. Originally there was no standard form: just an assemblage of certain areas or functions:

b. Palaistra

c. Running track (xystos)

d. Exercise rooms and spaces for exercise

e. Rooms for informal meetings, lectures, and locker rooms

5. These rooms gave the gymnasium the facilties to become educational and cultural centers, the predecessor of modern universities.

6. Ultimately--probably in the 4th century BC--the peristyle gymnasium became the norm, with a colonnade and a series of rooms surrounding an open courtyard.

a. Gymnasium at Epidavros.

b. Palaistra at Olympia.

1. Stadia were originally simple and without seats, merely a natural depression or a slope on one site, with a relatively long, flat space for the running track.

a. Like the theater, the stadium had to be placed according to the lay of the land.

b. Merely a straight running track, a "stade" long -- 600 Greek feet, or about 180-185 m., about the length of two American football fields.

c. Stadia were generally placed on the outskirts of cities (for fairly obvious reasons).

2. Later articulation

a. Stone seats

b. Water channels around the running tracks.

c. Elaborate starting mechanisms.

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