Ancient Greek and Roman City Planning and Architecture
Planning in Ancient Greece
Pericles, the Greek architect of Miletus, adopted the grid plan, conceived by Hippodamus, for the construction of new cities. This plan featured parallel and perpendicular streets. The Hippodamian plan was applied to many cities, and this layout can still be found today, for example, in Barcelona.
Main Buildings of a Polis
The Greeks avoided monumental works. Most buildings were constructed with small blocks of stone or marble that were linked together by iron clamps. They did not use arches or vaults. The architrave connected the different columns and internal walls. The center of the city was the agora, which was usually arcaded. Commercial and trading activities developed there, and shops and public buildings were located around it.
Other Buildings
Temples honoring a god or mythological hero had a rectangular plan divided into the vestibule, the sacred chamber where the statue of the deity stood, and a rear room where the offerings of the faithful were kept.
The Temples of the Acropolis of Athens
The Acropolis of Athens was the religious center of Athens:
- The Parthenon (Doric), sacred to the goddess Athena. The reliefs of its pediments and friezes are in the British Museum in London.
- The Erechtheion (Ionic), dedicated to Athena, Poseidon, and King Erechtheus. Three of the columns on the southern side are shaped like women (caryatids).
- The Temple of Athena Nike (Ionic), consecrated to the goddess Pallas Athena.
Roman Urban Planning
The Roman city model resulted from two influences: the orthogonal layout of the Hippodamian plan and Roman military camps. Its plan was rectangular or square. Two main streets crossed: the cardo and the decumanus. At the intersection of these two streets was the forum, where political, legal, religious, and commercial buildings were located. A thick, high wall surrounded the town.
Main Buildings of a Roman City
In the field of architecture, the Romans adopted the orders of Greek architecture, the arch and dome from the Etruscans, and sumptuousness and grandeur in construction from Oriental peoples.
The Temple
Although the Romans built a few circular temples, the most common was rectangular. Unlike the Greek temple, it rested on a high podium and had columns attached to the two long sides.
The Basilica
The basilica served as a meeting place, a center of business operations, and, especially, a court. It was rectangular with three naves separated by columns and a vaulted ceiling.
The Baths
These were public baths. They had three rooms, each with a swimming pool: the frigidarium (cold bath), the tepidarium (warm bath), and the caldarium (hot bath). Some baths had gyms, massage rooms, libraries, and gardens, like those of Caracalla in Rome.
Triumphal Arches
These were memorials, usually placed in some important passageway, inside or outside the city. Triumphal arches could have a single opening or three. They were usually decorated with reliefs and sculptures. A commemorative inscription was typically sculpted on the pediment. Many triumphal arches are still in good condition, like that of Titus in Rome and that of Medinaceli in Spain.
Roman Roads
In Greece, there was no initiative to build land transport due to its rugged geography. The Romans continued the tradition of travel by sea but also built an extraordinary network of roads that connected Rome with the most distant points of their empire. Numerous routes departed from Rome (e.g., Via Appia), which, through a complex network of secondary roads, connected all parts of the empire. In Hispania, the roadways facilitated communication inside the peninsula with the main ports of the Mediterranean (e.g., Via Augusta, Via Argentea or Silver).
Bridges
The Romans were great bridge builders. Bridges were normally part of the road network. They were built when the road had to cross rivers or deep valleys. They had great consistency, as they were made of stone. Ribbed arches were used in their construction. The pillars that supported the arches usually had a breakwater or spur in the shape of a rounded bow.