the hellenistic polis Flashcards
(20 cards)
Pausanias’ checklist of features for a polis
pausanias 10.4.1: surrounding walls, monumentally defined agora, theatre, at least one gymnasion, stoas, fountain houses, a council house or prytaneion (town hall)
with this infrastructure went administrators like agoranomus (market warden), gynmasiarchos (head of gym), amphodarchai (street governors), astynomoi (city wardens)
general features of axial grid plan
generally circular in shape with irregularities to take advantage of terrain
public buildings and spaces concentrated at the centre
wide avenues east to west, narrower streets crossing north to south
advantages of geographical location of priene
on the southern slope of the cape mykale peninsula - overlooks the gulf (though no longer due to silting)
gulf of latmos immediately south, steep cliff to the north with a fortified outpost - surrounded by strong city walls
arrangement of public buildings in priene
public buildings at centre from north to south
theatre
gymnasium
council house and city hall
grand stoa
two part agora and temenos of zeus olympios
agora of priene
large main agora flanked on the west by the smaller part - potentially a commercial marketplace (separation of political and commercial aspects of agora frequent in hellenistic poleis)
temples in priene
temenos of zeus olympios in the central area with public buildings
temple of athena - city patron - to the west of the main public buildings
temple of demeter - north west quadrant of the city
how is the axial grid plan adapted to the geography and physical landscape of priene
additional public space / secondary hub at the southern edge of the town - large second gymnasium and stadium - takes advantage of the flatter terrain
north slope of Mt Mykale dominates the orientation of the city - main avenues run east to west so they can run flat, with narrower north south streets to negotiate the slope which can be quite steep - often these streets have stair sections
city blocks upon a series of terraces - open vista over the gulf and sunlight in winter
water supply via aqueduct from the mountains and collected in settling tanks - earthenware pipes distribute to stone fountains set into the walls of buildings
basic background of the city of Ephesos
ancient ionian city rebounded towards the beginning of the hellenistic period on a new site
much larger than priene
extensive roman period overlay restricts our secure understanding of the hellenistic layout - work on assumption that the basic layout was established in the hellenistic period and then built upon by the romans
layout effected by the harbour and hills but also the suburban temple of artemis
adaptations to the axial grid pattern in Ephesos
main avenue oriented with the temple of artemis and the local topography in mind
processional way running south from temple until the magnesia gates, and then shifts west entering the city along the valley between the hills and down to the harbour - then north to the north gate of the city
distinctly non-axial avenue that the street grid then radiates out from in two arrangements: upper city is basically axial, though not meeting the avenue at a right angle, lower city is more complete axial
the ‘arkadiane’ street
NOTE: name is a roman thing
great colonnaded street rebuilt by the emperor Arcadius
led straight to the harbour, bisecting the lower city along
arrangement of public buildings in ephesos
due to the urban layout - public buildings could not be concentrated in the centre, split between the upper and lower cities
UPPER: political centre of the city accessed on avenue from the Magnesian Gate - contained the main agora with stoas along two sides, bouleuterion in form of small auditorium and a prytaneion beside
LOWER: commercial and cultural centres - a second agora intended for commercial use and linked to the harbour by the Arkadiane, also a magnificent theatre with capacity for 24,000 at its largest - expanded in roman period with scene and extra seats though. Roman stadium but presumably site of hellenistic one. 4 gymnasia
background information of pergamon
was not a city pre-hellen istic period: fortified outpost on a prominent hill until it came under the control of the attalid dynasty - small but weal;thy kingdom
lay on the top of a hill and spread down slopes - least axial of cities discussed
natural topography resulted in upper, middle and lower city (bear in mind the substantial roman overlay) - lower city essentially roman other than suburban habitation and sanctuary of asklepios
arrangement of ‘public’ buildings in pergemon
UPPER: royal palace and military complexes along with various public buildings and spaces - faces west like the theatre and curved around the theatre making it a kind of centre-piece
two distinctive agorai for public and commercial functions
sanctuary of athena (patron of city) - large open square with stoas on north, east and south - on west side is doric temple of athena
salute of sanctuary - two-aisled stoa
row of shops facing south overlooking the heron in honour of Attalos I and Eumenes II
south east - sanctuary of zeus with the great altar at the centre, below this is the political agora
WEST SIDE OF SLOPE: theatre built into the slope, unusual for it’s steepness
MIDDLE: main residential quarters with several important public complexes
temple of demeter, prytaneion, three part gym complex (fro different ages of men, may have doubled as a school for the young), second agora surrounded by stoas (commercial agora)
inscription at pergamon
detailed instructions for upkeep of the road networks - specifying minimum width for public roads and side roads - city wardens given chief responsibility for this - street governors working under them
public funding in the hellenistic period
taxation of citizens considered demeaning
public funding reliant on irregular and at times unpredictable income from market/harbour taxes, import/eprot duties, occasionally property tax
short falls common and then appeals to local benefactors were made: locals benefit from the funding and increasingly in hellenistic period - foreign kings/dynasts would fund public words and get inscriptions recording thanks and honours accorded to them would be set up in visible places
correspondence of the Kytenians
appealed to the xanthus a base on ancestral ties going back to kings descended from herakles for money to rebuild the city walls after war/earthquake
documentary evidence shows xanthians did not give money because they didn’t have it but gave a small donation and invited people for a hospitality meal
mirroring inscriptions at iasos and priene
196 BC - iasos appeal to priene for a team of arbitrators to help judge a backlog of controversial judicial cases
after these were completed - iasos issued an honorific decree with is sent to priene which priene responds too with its own decree mirroring the details - communications were then collocated and inscribed in marble slabs set up in the main shrine at priene - temple of athena polias
theatre at babylon
Oriented southwards, as all greek theatres, it consists of an orchestra, rows, honour-seats (proedria), and a stage monument.
Behind the stage-wall was a palestra surrounded by four porticoes.
The greek theatre of Babylon was an exception in the syro-mesopotamian world.
city of Ai Khanoum
no agora or boulitarion - no traces of civic institutions of infrastructure of the ‘hellenistic polis’
hellenistic decoration but using local materials
temple of indented niches at Ai Khanoum
laid out in seleukid period then remodelled on several occasions -> main temple/sanctuary in town
constructed from mud brick, standing on a tall step podium - leading into a central cella with several smaller areas for shrines etc
named as such from the exterior walls which are indented with stepped niches for decorative purposes
