In the ancient Greek world cities and religious sanctuaries formed two complementary and interdependent types of the built environment, each with its own characteristic function, architecture, and layout.
- How did these distinctive architectural complexes arise, and how did they change through time and space?
- What were their individual roles?
- How can we detect those roles in the buildings and layouts of individual sites?
- And to what extent did major political and cultural changes, such as the introduction of democracy, shape the various structures and the sites on which they stood?
In this course we address these questions and evaluate some of the answers (both ancient and modern) which have previously been offered. We do so by looking in detail at the evidence from a variety of sanctuaries such as Delphi, Olympia and Samos, and cities such as Athens, Megara Hyblaia and Priene. The course covers a wide geographical area, stretching from the Greek communities of southern Italy in the west, through Greece itself, to the eastern Greek settlements on the west coast of modern Turkey. It also spans a long period of time, from the ninth and eighth centuries BCE, down to the third century BCE.
The aim of the course is to enable students with some prior experience of Greek art and archaeology, and/or classical civilization (for example Clciv 101, Clarch/Histart 221, and/or Clarch/Histart 384) to explore in more depth some of the cultural, social and political factors influencing the architectural form and spatial organization of cities and sanctuaries in the Greek world during this period.
Course Requirements:
2 in-class tests; weekly participation in discussion of readings; final paper
Intended Audience:
Primarily intended for undergraduates with some prior knowledge of the ancient Greek world (e.g. through a prior Clarch, Clciv or Art History course) and for graduate students looking to fill a gap in their knowledge.
Class Format:
Two meetings per week - primarily lecture but with some discussion of readings