AEGEAN AND

MINOAN CIVILIZATION.
The Aegean and the Minoan
civilizations were the prelude to the
Greek civilization.
This civilization flourished on the
islands of Crete. The development
of this civilization on the island
was known as Minoan civilization
after king Minos.
The development of the mainland
is termed as Helladic or also
Mycenaen Civilization known after
the city of Mycenae.
The mainland of Greece always
required strong defensive
boundary.
 The palace of the king served as the
center of community life in Aegean
culture.
On the island of Crete the town
sites offered natural protection.
Ancient cities like Knossus were
not surrounded by walls due to the
natural boundary of seas.
On the main land of Greece, cities
needed the protection of ramparts.
The cities of Tiryns and Mycenae
were heavily fortified.
 The Aegean cities were irregular in
form. Meandering streets followed
the irregular topography of the
sites.
The streets were narrow lanes
paved with stone.
There was a developed system of
water supply, sanitation and
drainage for palaces and many of
the houses.
Most dwellings were one storied in
height and densely built.
The town did not appear to be
congested.
 In the cities of Aegean culture, the
palace of the king used to be an
integral part of the town life.
Broad steps lead to an open court
which was probably a place for
assembly and entertainment.

DWELLINGS OF THE AEGEAN

CIVILIZATION:
The houses comprised a few small
rooms called the Megaron.
These rooms opened into a small
light court.
 At times there was an opening in the roof for the collection of rain
water in a cistern.
The houses of the lower class was confined to the Megaron and a
vestibule whereas the houses for upper class and the palaces were
equipped with the drains.
One storey construction was done in mud bricks and stone foundation.
 GREEK CIVILIZATION.
The Classical Greek Civilization
includes the civilization on the
mainland of Greece, Aegean
archipelago of islands and the west
coast of Anatolia.
The Aegean civilization fell
roughly around 1200 B.C. and the
Greek civilization took 500 years to
get formulated.
Greece was invaded from the north
by the Dorians. Those who went to
Anatolia were the Ionians.
These two principalities formulated
the distinct character of the Greek
Civilization.
 Greek Civilization can be broadly
classified as :
Hellenic
Hellenistic
The people on the main land of
Greece mixed with the Aegean
people which gave rise to a noble
class.
This class rose in power and
exercised an influence on the
common people
The influence of king reduced and
thus the palace citadel disappeared.
 Temples dedicated to god replaced
the palaces on the acropolis.
The emergence of merchant class
gave rise to redistribution of the
estates of nobles among the
common people.
With this concept of the law that
were determined by the people,
Athens became a democratic state.
 THE CITY OF ATHENS

During the early years of

democracy, the Greek city had
wandering unpaved lanes.
There was no drainage and
sanitation.
Water was carried from the local
wells and waste was disposed off in
the streets.
There were no palaces, but temples
were present alongwith a few
public buildings.
The common assembly place was
called as the pnyx.
 The pnyx was an open air podium
where the citizens met to consider
the affairs of the state.
The agora was the market place
and the center of urban activity. It
was irregular in form.
There was very less difference
between the houses of the rich and
the poor people. The rooms were
grouped about an interior court.
Most towns were surrounded by
protective walls.
 COLUMNS OF GREEK
ARCHITECTURE.
An order consisted of an upright
columns and the horizontal
entablatures or the part supported.
The orders that developed in the
Greek period were:
Doric order
Ionic order
Corinthian order.
The Greek architecture comprised
of many features that included the
columns of various orders.

The columns in the form of

sculptures of women were also an
important feature of the Greek
architecture.
These were seen at Erecthion and
were called as Caryatid porches.
 Theory of Hippodamus:
Hippodamus was an architect from the city of Miletus and was credited
the origination of the grid-iron pattern of streets.
The grid-iron system, according to Hippodamus, established a rational
arrangement of buildings and circulation.
For the city plan, the individual dwelling was considered as a module.
 The blocks were shaped to provide appropriate orientations
for the dwellings within them.
The functional uses of the buildings and the public space
were recognized in the arrangement of streets.
This facilitated the easy movement of people and vehicles.
The rigid geometry of the Hippodamus street system was
superimposed upon the uneven topography of the sites.
 This resulted in the development of
steps to negotiate with the steep
slope.
This was accepted as the
movement was on foot.

PUBLIC SPACE:
The public spaces consisted of the
Agora or the market place,,
assembly halls called as the
Ecclesiasteron, Council hall called
as the Bouleuterion and the Council
chamber called as the Prytaneum.
 THE AGORA:
Located in the center of the town
plan.
E-W and N-S streets lead to the
Agora.
Occupied about 5% of the city area.
The Agora had dimensions approx.
one fifth of the width and breadth
of the town itself.
Geometrical plan. Square or
rectangular open space surrounded
by colonnades, porticoes.
 It does not allow movement of
people across the open space.
Streets terminated at the Agora and
did not cross it.
The open space was reserved was
used for the pedestrian movement
and circulation.
There were olive groves outside the
walls of the city.
There were provisions of building
laws regarding the restriction of
buildings from encroaching on the
streets .
 Prohibition of projection of upper
floors beyond the first floor wall.

DWELLINGS:
There were shops adjacent to the
dwellings of the merchants.The
houses were enclosed about a
central hearth.
Streets were paved and sanitation
was improved by providing
underground drains.
Facility for the disposition of
sewage was not provided.
 CITY OF OLYNTHUS:
Irregular layout of streets.
The city contained Agora and an
assembly space.
The dwellings were small and
irregular in form.
At places, the Hippodamian plan
can be seen with main streets laid -
in a north-south direction about 300
feet apart and connected by east-
west street of narrow width some
129 feet apart.
 The city in later period
had paved street and
underground drains.
Some houses were two
storied in height.
 THE CITY OF PRIENE:

Grid- iron pattern of street system.

Agora is at the center of the town,
surrounded by temples shrines,
public buildings and shops.
Recreation and entertainment
facilities are provided in gymnasia,
stadia and theatre.
 THE CITY OF MILETUS:
This city too shows the grid-iron
system of roads.
The market place had freedom for
pedestrian movement, streets
generally by-passed terminating the
open space.
Services to the shops from exterior
street.
Agora was treated as the series of
exterior rooms.
It was rectilinear in form but the
spaces were not symmetrical.
 Shrines and public spaces were
located about the agora.
The bouleuterion, the
ecclesiasteron and prytaneum were
located about the agora.
 THE HELLENISTIC CITY:
The era after Alexander the Great is
termed as the Hellenistic era.
Public buildings like the Odeion,
the treasury, the library and the
prison were added to the agora.
Baths and stadia were built for
entertainment.
Gardens and parks were introduced
Villas were built.