CHARLES EDOUARD (JEANNERET) LE CORBUSIER

(1887-1966)

Le Corbusier was the dominant figure internationally in modern archi­tecture from 1920 to 1960.

He proposed the " Modulor", a system of proportions grounded on the golden section or the Fibonacci series using the human figures as its basis, formulated the famous definition of architecture as 'the masterly correct and magnificent play of masses brought together in light'. His comparisons with engineering constructions and with modern forms of transportation were formulated into such oft-misunderstood postulates as 4he house is a machine for living in' and that it should be as practically constructed as a typewriter. By this he meant not a mechanistic 'machine aesthetic1 but rath­er complete rationality in plan, capacity for serial-production and function.

His 'five points for a new architecture': the pilotis, roof terraces, free plan, continuous window strips and free facade composition were to be the essential elements of the new aesthetic.

Le Corbusier's works have become monuments of modern architecture with their general independence of terrain as well as a rich variety of inte­rior and exterior spaces achieved by means of 'double-height rooms, gallery floors, bridges and ramps with views into the interior as well as 'framed' views looking out, all expressions of a genuine luxury in architecture.

Le Corbusier's long period as a leading figure in modern architecture — for nearly half a century — was unique among architects of his time and is, finally, a reflection of his capacity to endow architecture with an expres­sion which evokes the spirit of his epoch. In this sense he was at once the 'terrible simplificateur' in the tradition of the rationalist enlightenment and a creator of forms which will endure well beyond his time.

Among his works are Villa Savoye, Poissy (1929—1931); Pavilion Su-isse, Cite Universitaire, Paris (1930-2); The Clarte apartment house in Geneva (1930-1932); Unite d'Habitation, Marseilles (1947-1952); the urban planning schemes for large North African and South American cit­ies, (the 1930s); the Pilgrimage church of Notre Dame-du-Haut at Rou-champ (1950—1954); the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1961—1964); the plan of the city of Chandigarh, India (1950—1951), and others.

 

 

Vocabulary

oft-misunderstood — часто понимаемый неправильно

capacity — способность

continuous — сплошной

terrain — местность

ramp — скат, уклон, наклонная плоскость

luxury — роскошь

to endow — наделять, одарять

to evoke — вызывать (восхищение)

enlightenment — просвещение

to endure — выдерживать испытание временем; длиться, продол­жаться

 

I. Choose the appropriate adjective.

1. Le Corbusier was the... figure internationally in modern architec­ture from 1920 to 1960.

a) dominant b) foreign c) possible

2. According to Le Corbusier architecture is " the masterly correct and... play of masses brought together in light ".

a) bright b) wooden c) magnificent

3. Free facade composition is one of his " five points for a... architec­ture".

a) new b) great c) modern

4. Le Corbusier's long period as a... figure in modern architecture was unique among architects of his time.

A ) continuous b) leading c) wise

5. Le Corbusier's works have become monuments of...architecture,

a) modern b) medieval c) native

 

II. Complete the following sentences.

1. According to Le Corbusier, " the house should be as practically con­structed as...".

a) a TV-set b) a type-writer c) a refrigerator

2. He advanced the " Modulor" in order to determine the proportions of...

a) machines b) terrain c) building units

3. His formulas of architectural typology are: the pilotis, roof terraces, free plan, continuous window strips and...

a) free facade composition

b) conspicuous use of decoration

c) complexity of forms

4. Le Corbusier worked out the urban planning schemes for Paris and for several large North African and... cities.

a) South African

b) North American

c) South American

 

 

BRITISH ARCHITECTURE

 

Buildings: first impressions

What makes the look of British towns and cities distinctive? The most striking feature is the lack of blocks of flats. People prefer to live in individual houses — units with their own front doors and sometimes gardens. Perhaps this says something about the national character; a love of privacy and a lack of interest in the wider community. There is a proverb: " An Englishman's home is his castle."

Whatever the deeper reasons for it, the result is that British towns and cities are full of two or three-storey houses. Only in the 1950s and 60s did councils start building tall blocks of flats in the American style; but these have been very unpopular, and the cheaper ones are now being demolished.

Another distinctive feature of British buildings is the use of brick. Some of the oldest monuments, like Hampton Court Palace or Queens' College, Cambridge, are made of brick. It remains the favourite material for new houses today. While the rest of the world prefers concrete, for some reason the British taste is for brick, at least in smaller buildings.

 

British architecture

Apart from some ancient churches, the oldest buildings you will see in Britain are castles. They are dotted all over the country, with many beautiful examples in Scotland and Wales. They were first built by the Normans after their invasion of England in 1066. The Tower of London dates from about 1078. Because of the Normans' desire to control the population, they started to build castles everywhere, but especially in the more restless regions. For example, King Edward I built a series of massive castles in Wales at the end of the 13th century; his aim was to keep the lawless Welsh under English rule.

As the dominance of the English crown was established, the need for castles diminished. Then the use of gunpowder meant that they could no longer resist attack. So by the 15th century the castle-building age was over. Many Scottish castles are from a later period, but these are not military buildings; they are aristocratic family houses that imitated older styles.

Since the Middle Ages, architecture in Britain (as in most of Europe) has been based on three major styles: Gothic, classical, and modern. The great early cathedrals and churches are in Gothic style - tall, with pointed arches and highly decorated; they are covered in sculptures of people, animals and plants. The buildings are fantastic engineering achievements., constructed with very little machinery and designed by architects whose names have been forgotten. The tallest spire in Britain, at Salisbury Cathedral, is 123 metres high and was built in the 1330s. It is incredible that such size and perfection were achieved without a single crane or computer!

After the Gothic period, architectural fashion looked back to the classical age of Greece and Rome for its inspiration. So we see columns and triangular pediments as on Greek temples; round arches, domes and perfect Latin lettering as on Roman public buildings. Many of the finest London churches are in this style; St Paul's Cathedral (built by Sir Christopher Wren between 1675 and 1710) is the biggest and most celebrated, but there are many more all over the city.

Not only churches were in the classical style. Rich aristocrats built huge and impressive houses surrounded by parkland; they are on such a grand scale that it is difficult to imagine that they were once private homes, but of course they had dozens and sometimes hundreds of servants.

Many of the most beautiful parts of British cities consist of houses in this style. The period of kings George I to George IV is known as the Georgian period, and cities such as London, Edinburgh, Bristol and Bath still today have large numbers of elegant Georgian houses, which give the streets a striking sense of unity and design.

In the 19th century, during the Victorian age (taking its name from Queen Victoria), architects went back to medieval Gothic ideas for their inspiration. At first sight it is sometimes difficult to tell whether a Victorian church is 100 or 500 years old! At the same time, classical styles did not disappear

altogether. In fact, there was a " Battle of the Styles" between classical and Gothic. The British Museum (1823) was a victory for the classical, and the Houses of Parliament (1836) for the Gothic. There was also debate about the use of iron and steel: should these new materials be visible, as in the new bridges and railway stations, or hidden, as in the Natural History Museum, London, where the metal frame is covered by coloured brick and stonework?

From the 1920s on, new ideas were transforming art and music, and architecture, too, was caught up in the modernising culture. People wanted buildings which were not just copies of the past. Having abandoned both classical and Gothic styles, the challenge was to create - to invent -something really new. Luckily, this change in attitude came at the same time as exciting new engineering materials were becoming available.

With concrete and steel together, and new types of glass, it was possible to escape from the traditional forms. For the first time in history, architects were free to make almost any shapes they liked.

 

Richard Rogers

British architecture is going through a dynamic period, with several big international names such as James Stirling and Norman Foster. Perhaps the architect best known in Britain is the designer of the Millennium Dome, Richard Rogers. He too, has carried out many major projects abroad. He was responsible for the airport in Marseille, numerous office complexes in Japan and the USA, and (with an Italian, Renzo Piano) for the great Centre Pompidou in Paris. In his own country he has worked on many smaller projects, such as the flats shown in the photograph on the right. But he is best known for the most spectacular modern building in the financial centre of London - the Lloyd's Building. Although it contains a very conservative insurance business, and is in the oldest part of London, it is an extraordinary and daring piece of modern architecture - all steel and glass, with pipes and lifts on the outside.

Richard Rogers is also modern in his philosophy. He is extremely concerned about the environmental aspects of design: can a building use solar power, can it make the most of natural light, and can it function without wasteful air conditioning? He is keen to make London a better place to live in, with less traffic and more spaces in which people can enjoy city life. Talking about famous parts of the city like Oxford Circus, Parliament Square and Marble Arch, he says: " They are dangerous, degrading, inhuman and unnecessary spaces where vehicles have replaced people, and the servant has become the master.... clean, live-work cities based upon the bicycle and upon walking, are absolutely possible." Happily, the government is beginning to follow Rogers' advice and the future of London is looking brighter; there are, for example, plans for a car-free Trafalgar Square.

 

Topics for discussion.

· Which are more common in your area – houses or flats? Which do you prefer?

· Do you enjoy walking round old buildings such as castles? If so, why?

· Is the architecture in your country very different from that in Britain?

· Why do you think architectural styles change from time to time?

· Do you take notice of new buildings around you? Which ones do you admire?

· What should be the priorities of architects today – beauty, environmental factors or what?

 

PART III

Amsterdam

 

The city of Amsterdam (formerly Amsterdam) lies at latitude 52°22'30" north and longitude 4°53'48" east, in the Dutch province of North Holland. The centre of the old town, Dam Square, lies 2.20 meters above sea level on flat peat land at the dammed mouth of the River Amstel south of the IJ, an extended bay of the former Zuiderzee. The city covers an area of 20, 743 ha, of which 4, 184 ha are water. The population of Amsterdam in 2003 was 719, 500 - 5.24% of the Netherlands' 13.8m inhabi­tants.

Amsterdam was the most important trading city of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces (1588-1795). Only in 1813 did Amsterdam become the capital of the Netherlands, when after the French occupation (1795-1813) the Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded. The title of capital is only a symbolic one, since the seat of the government, the ministries and the Parliament remain in the Hague, the old residence of the Counts of Holland, which had also since the end of the 16th century been the seat of central institutions of the Republic, the Prince of Orange, the Stadtholder, and the government of the province of Holland. The kings of the House of Orange, however, are inaugurated in Amster­dam's New Church on Dam Square.

The oldest document mentioning Amsterdam is a toll privilege granted by Count Floris V of Holland in 1275 to the homines manentes apud Amestelledamme, the people living near the Amstel Dam. The inhabitants were exempted from paying toll-dues to the Count in the interests of their trade. The dam across the River Amstel was not much older than the town itself, dating back to about 1270. Thanks to the privilege granted in 1275, Amsterdam was able to establish itself as a trading town, and development began quickly. Amsterdam received civic rights under a charter from Guy of Hainault, Lord of Amstel; these rights were confirmed in 1342 by William IV of Hainault, Count of Holland.

About 1300 the city government consisted of schout en schepenen (sheriff and aldermen) who exercised jurisdiction, enacted keuren (regulations), managed the city's affairs with specialized assistance from four raden or burgemeesters (councillors or burgomasters). During the 14th century the burgomasters became the actual governors of the city, with particular charge of municipal finances and public works such as care of the town ramparts, walls, dykes and canals, and the Town Hall and other municipal buildings, while the power of the burgomasters grew, the duties of the sheriff and aldermen were gradually confined to jurisdiction. In the first half of the 15th century the care of the municipal finances and the execution of public works were delegated to a board of four thesaurieren (treasurers) under the supervision of the burgomasters, who also supervised in the second half of the 15th century the board of fabriekmeesters or timmermeesters (masters of the works or master carpenters), which was charged with executing public works and ensuring the observance of building regula­tions.

The medieval town centre near St Olof's Gate was surrounded by a wall from 1380. A new fortress was built in 1481. The oldest monuments are the ecclesiastic institutions of the various religions. The originally cruciform Oude Kerk (Old Church) dates from the 13th century. The Beguine Dutch lay order was existing in 1346. Their buildings became known as the Begijnhof (Beguinage). The oldest, the Wooden House (No. 34), dates from the second half of the 15th century; No. 6 still possesses a wooden frame behind its stone facade. The Oudezijds or St Olof's Chapel (Oudersplein 13), in origin a 15th century chapel, had been adjoined to the St Olof's Gate demolished in the 17th c. The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) on Dam Square is a three-aisled, in part five-aisled basilica built originally in the 15th century but several times destroyed by fire and rebuilt. The Oude Walenkerk (Old Walloon Church) was also begun in the 15th century; since 1578 it has served a congregation of French-speaking Calvinists.

The oldest type of house in Amsterdam was made of wood, but it gradually gave way to stone housing because of the fire risk. The only wooden houses still in existence are in the Begijnhof and in the Zeedijk. Amsterdam's most typical houses are narrow and deep and with one or two floors built on a voorhuis (hall) with in insteek, a room forming a kind of gallery to the hall. There was sometimes an independent achterhuis behind. Until 1650 most houses were built with stepped gables, from which more elaborate versions such as the Vredeman de Vries and the Hendrick de Keyser types developed. The stepped gable was superseded by the 'neck' facade, sometimes divided by pilasters, the most beautiful examples of which were designed by Philips Vingboons.

The 16th century was a period of unrest, in which the Reformation coincided with mounting opposition to absolutism. The enmities were deepened as the County of Holland, just like the other Dutch provinces, was in personal union with the House of Habsburg. During the reign of Philip II (1555-1581), King of Spain, a growing resistance to the activities of the Inquisition and other measures that conflicted with Dutch interests led to the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648). Amsterdam joined the side of the revolt only in 1578, but played an import­ant role in the independent republic that was formed on the basis of the Union of Utrecht in 1579.

In spite of its rather unfavourable position on the Zuiderzee, Amsterdam in the 15th and particularly the 16th century developed into the foremost trading city of Holland, with its activities centring on the Baltic trade. The oldest parts of the town are bounded by the Burg-wallen (city canals), within which the shipping business was originally confined. Later, room for shipping activities was found at the Oude Waal and Kromme Waal outside the fortifications in the area known as the Lastage.

At the beginning of the 17th century, Amsterdam became the centre for trade with the East Indies and a world port and staple city for colonial goods. The East and West Indian Companies built warehouses, offices, shipyards and maintenance yards.

From 1613 onwards the old medieval centre was enlarged with the famous ring of canals, which was enclosed by the fortified Singelgracht. Windmills were built on the ramparts of this canal, and a wooden palisade, closed at night, was built around the IJ harbour. Five gates opening onto the roads to Weesp, Muiden, Utrecht, Leiden and Haarlem were built in the walls.

Regulations prescribed what sort of factories could be allowed within the walls. Outside there was a strange medley of little workshops, poor housing and taverns, especially along the Amstel, Boerenwetering and Over-toom. The town expansion plan of 1613 (which was more or less implemented by 1662) was so lavish that there was room inside the city walls for recreation areas like the Plantage, a popular space for taverns and summer cottages.

Zuiderkerk (South Church), the first Protestant church of Amsterdam, was built between 1603 and 1611 by the architect Hendrick de Keyser. It is a fine example of Dutch Renaissance with sandstone columns and richly ornamented facades, now restored and used as a social. and cultural centre for the neighbourhood. The various denominations all built important churches: the Roman Catholic hiding church Ons' Lieve Heer op Zolder (Our Dear Lord on the Loft, 1662-3), the Mennonite hiding church Het Lam (The Lamb, 1607) and the Oude Lutherse Kerk (Old Lutheran Church, 1633). The Portuguese Synagogue, built in 1671-1675 and designed by Elias Bouman, stands in a courtyard. Stalpaert's I7th century Grote Sjoel (Great Synagogue) and Maybaum's 18th century Meije Sjoel (New Synagogue) form a single building.

The city's visual character stems from its administrative and commercial buildings, from which an idea of the city's commercial and industrial activities can be had. The Royal Palace on Dam Square was originally built as a town hall (1648-62). The former St Anthony's Gate (1488) was converted into the Waag (Weighbridge House, 1617-18), where a number of gilds had rooms on the upper storey. The characteristic De Geyer (Corn Mill) dates from the same period, and so does the Munttoren (Mint Tower). The Harbour Office used to be the Schreierstoren, a rampart tower from the later Middle Ages. The Trip family's Trippenhuis is a characteristic building with chimneys in the form of barrels, to recall the guns manufactured in the Trip foundries.

Houses along the canals in the 18th century were mostly built in the Louis XIV, XV and XVI styles. All the bridges were built in the lyth and 18th centuries, either with stone arches or simply on wooden piles. Where it became necessary drawbridges were also built of which the Magere Bridge crossing the Amstel and Sloterdijk bridge on Prinsen Island are the most beau­tiful. In the igth century numerous arched bridges were lowered and transformed into girder bridges. (Later, with the exception of two, the igth c. bridges were removed.)

The 17th century was a flourishing period in the architecture of Amsterdam. It was then that the foun­dation stone of the New Town Hall and of the Bourse were laid, and churches, towers and numerous welfare institutions were built. The architect Hendrick de Keyser designed the Westerkerk, the Zuiderkerk, and perhaps the Noorderkerk too. He also designed the_Bourse, the Munttoren, the Montelbaanstoren and the Haring-pakkerstoren. The architect of the New Town Hall was Jacob van Campen, assisted by Daniel Stalpaert.

In the mid-17th century the Palladian style appeared, the most mature examples of which are the plain sand­stone facades, ornamented by Dutch Renaissance pilasters, of Philips Vingsboons. Later numerous Neo-classical buildings such as the City Hall were built in this style. But the roads serving these new large edifices remained uncompleted as the development of Amsterdam slowed down in the 18th century and were only finished in the mid-19th century.

Administrative changes followed the periods of econ­omic activity. In the 16th century, a single fabriekmeester was in charge of the execution of public works with timmermeester and stadsmetselaar (town bricklayer) as his subordinates. After 1501 building inspection was passed to the rooimeesters (surveyors). The fabriek­meester had to account for his expenses to the treasurers. After the end of the 16th century, a clear distinction was made between the administrative duties of the fabriek­meester and the technical duties of the stadsmeester-timmerman (master architect), stadsmeestermetselaar (master bricklayer), and stadsmeestersteenhouwer (master stone mason). From 1633 the treasurers directly super­vised public works, and thus the town masters, whose number was increased again (geometer, superintendent of digging and earthworks, water, locks, and so on). In 1746 all the above-mentioned officials were subor­dinated to one Directeur-Generaal van Stadswerken en Gebouwen (Director-General of City Works and Buildings). From 1777 three directors were appointed, each with his own department, including one for archi-tectura civilis, the city's buildings. In 1809, a Commissaris over de Publieke Werken (Commissioner of Public Works) was appointed. The number of the departments and directors changed several times. From 1820 to 1850 two departments existed: the director of the Stads-fabriekambt (City Building Office) and the director of the City Water Works. After several reorganizations, the activities of the stadsarchitect, the stadsingenieur and the Commissioner of the Public Works were merged into the Dienst der Publieke Werken (Public Works Service), under the control of the Alderman for Public Works. As parts of this Service grew the Architect's Office and the Engineer's Office.

The Batavian Revolution brought a change in the political structure of the state. After the entry of the French army, the pro-Orange government resigned. In 1813 the Kingdom of the Netherlands was established after the flight of the French. In the mid-19th century Amsterdam went through a crisis due to a recession that affected the port, trade and industry. The problems of urbanization were also multiplying. Growing immigration from the country to the city caused a lack of housing, and people sometimes even lived in cellars. The silting up of the Zuiderzee caused pollution of the canals.

The city corporation was unable to develop a plan to compare with the 17th century city. Slowly the city even began to sell the land that it did possess. The 1866 design of the city engineer Van Niftrik for a new girdle of residential and industrial districts around the 17th century city, with many parks and wide streets, was rejected.

Extension and enlargement of the city fell into the hands of private individuals, who sought the cheaper solution of following existing patterns and adding one street after another. That was the way in which igth century districts like De Pijp in the south, Dapperbuurt in the east, and Staatsliedenbuurt and Kinkerbuurt in the west were developed. Although the streets were laid out according to plans provided by the city, the auth­orities were unable to ensure housing standards, and maintenance of the new buildings was neglected for lack of money. Under the pretext of modernization numerous 17th century monuments, gates and towers were demolished. In the 20th century rehabilitation of these 19th century districts became an urgent task.

Gradually the city authorities became better able to improve conditions for economic development and allow standards of public hygiene to improve.

First the harbour was provided with a better entrance when the Groot Noordhollands Kanaal (Great North Holland Canal, 1819-24) was dug from Den Helder to Amsterdam, and two new harbours, Oosterdok (1832) and Westerdok (1834), were built. However, the length of the Groot Noordhollands Canal prevented it from being a success, and only when the Noordzeekanal (North Sea Canal) from IJmuiden to Amsterdam opened in 1876 was the desired result fully achieved. In 1871 plans were put forward for ensuring the circulation of the water hi the city's canals. The most important step towards higher standards of hygiene was the opening in 1851 of the central waterworks. The gas, electricity and transport networks were developed. Each had originally been in private hands, but later the city authorities took them over, leading to the foundation of the Gas en Elec-triciteitsbedrijf (Gas and Electricity Service), Gemeente-waterleidingen (City Waterworks), and Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf (City Transport Service).

From 1874 the City Council gave financial support to housing construction. The Housing Act of 1901 helped improve housing conditions by giving local authorities greater powers to regulate house-building and also to build cheaper housing themselves. The Act also gave local authorities the power to declare housing unfit for habitation and required the authorities in all towns with more than 10, 000 inhabitants to prepare ten-year development plans. An indirect result of the Housing Act was H. P. Berlage's plans for the enlargement of South Amsterdam (1917). In 1915 the City Council elaborated its own housing construction plan.

The city raised buildings of central importance: the Central Station (P. J. H. Cuypers and A. L. van Gendt, 1879-89); the Rijksmuseum (P. J. H. Cuypers, 1885); the Stedelijk Museum (A. W. Weissman, 1892-5) inspired by the Dutch and French Renaissance architecture of the 17th century. The Concertgebouw (A. L. van Gendt, 1883-6) was reminiscent of contemporary Viennese architecture.

As in the other European countries in the 19th century, the Neoclassical, Neogothic, and later Jugendstil (art nouveau) became dominant in Amsterdam. The squares and parks of Amsterdam were mainly laid out in the igth century. Dam Square is the oldest and best-known square in Amsterdam, near the dam across the River Amstel. At the beginning of the 20th century it was decided to give the square a more grandiose air; several older buildings were demolished and office buildings and department stores put up in their stead. The square gained a more monumental air but also emptied, since many pubs and small shops disappeared. Of the other squares, the Leidseplein, Wecsperplcin and Haar-lemmerpleinwere old stage-coach stations, the Rembrandt plein was originally the buttermarket. The first gradually developed into an amusement centre. The Waterlooplein came into being in 1882 when the Leprozengracht and Houtgracht were filled in. Till 1977 a famous flea market was held there until it had to make way for the future building of the city hall, to the designs of the Viennese architect Holzbauer.

The Museumplein, originally a vacant area between the Rijksmuseum and the Concertgebouw, was created in the 19th century and received its present form in 1952.

In the first half of the 19th century, the stadsrooimces-ters were in charge of inspecting building and demolition work by private builders. In 1858 the bouwopzichters (building superintendents) took their place. In 1901 a special City Building and Housing Inspectorate was set up. The Inspectorate, until 1915, also supervised the housing associations, the oldest of which dated from 1852.

To prepare extension plans for the city, the public works department set up a city development department in 1928 with the task of designing new extensions of the city. Basis for Amsterdam's expansion was provided by the Algemeen Uitbreidingsplan (General Extension Plan) of 1934.

In the 20th century the old centre ha changed both in outward appearance and function. Living and working, which existed side by side in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, have become separated by increasing distances. The residential houses along the canals were transformed into offices, while the population living in the narrow streets between the canals and in the older residential areas like the Jewish Quarter and the East and West Islands decreased. In 1928 a Voorlopige Monumentlijst (Register of Monuments) was introduced and symbolized a different, more positive appraisal of the old city. But it was only a schedule - owners were under no obligation to apply for planning permission from the city before pulling a historic monument or building down. The situation changed only after the bombing of Rotterdam in 1940. Thereafter scheduled historic monuments and buildings, and even their entire environment, enjoyed state protection. Some parts of Amsterdam were sched­uled as Beschermd Stadsgezicht (Protected City Area). Seven thousand dwelling houses and 200 public buildings were scheduled in the Monumentenlijst van Amsterdam (List of Amsterdam Monuments), to which have now been added the most important buildings of the I9th and 20th centuries.

Since 1953 the independent City Bureau Monumen-tenzorg (Office of Monument Protection) has been in operation, with its own budget for restoration work. A third of Amsterdam's monuments have been restored. In 1969 Parliament passed a Monuments Act. Neverthe­less, between 1945 and 1970, the pattern of some streets in the eastern part of the city, like Weesperstraat and Jodenbreestraat, were altered to improve traffic flow. The preparations for the building of the new City Hall at Waterlooplein and the construction of the first underground railway led to many streets being pulled down. Several hundred houses were demolished to make way for a new cross-town highway, the Haarlemmer Houttuinen, but it was decided to modify the project after the climate of public opinion changed. The loss of so many buildings in the old quarters since 1970 has brought a greater emphasis on the protection of architec­tural monuments; it has been decided to build narrower streets and to restore many houses. It has also been decided to abandon plans for a complete underground railway system, since it would have involved too much demolition.

The small scale of the inner city cannot handle large volumes of traffic, which has led some industrial and commercial concerns to move to the new southern and western parts of the city, nearer to the highway that encircles the city. A number of separated traffic-free tram-lanes have been made in the city.

Several associations have been founded for the preservation of monuments, and the restoration of old housing has gathered momentum since 1950.

 

 

 

Athens

 

Athens, the capital of Greece, lies at latitude 37⁰58^/ north and longitude 23⁰43^/ east, across a plain starting about 6 km. from the sea, at a height of 100 m. above sea level.

The city is surrounded on three sides by mountains and opens towards the sea only on the western side. The surrounding mountains are Parnes( 1, 440 m.), Pentelicon (1, 108 m.), Hymettos (1, 026 m.) and Aigaleos (476 m.), with four passes giving access to the rest of Greece.

The present area of Greater Athens is 433 sq.km. with a population of about 2, 540, 000, which is about 38% of the population of Greece. Greater Athens belongs to the Nomos of Attica and consists of 99 demes (munici­palities) and communities.

The green belts of Greater Athens now cover only 1.8% of the total area. Most of the mountains are barren rock with no vegetation. The water output of the small rivers known since ancient times (the Kephissos and the Ilissos) is today insignificant; water supplies come primarily from the reservoire created by the Marathon Dam and from Lake Hyliki and, in the near future, will also be supplied from the Mornos River.

The earliest signs of human habitation on the site of the present city date back to around 4000 BC, the late Neolithic Age.

The ancient nucleus of the city, the fortified dtadel on the Acropolis, later known as the Upper Town, is still the symbol of Athens. Little is known about the extent and layout of the settlements de­veloped around it in the Neolithic Age. Apparently the inhabitants engaged in agriculture, cattle-breeding, manufacture of pottery and trade. Traces of Neolithic settlements have also been found in the area which later became the site of Plato's Academy, on Strephi Hill and in the Olympieion region. There are also traces of 30 Neolithic settlements all around Attica (Nea Makri, Palaia Kokkinia and others).

In the Early Bronze Age (also known as the Early Helladic period, 2600-2000 BC) the population of Athens increased steadily and there is evidence of strong influence from the Cyclades.

In the Middle Bronze Age (the Middle Helladic period, 2000-1600 BC) the area of the city grew con­tinuously. Traces of dwellings have been found on and around the Acropolis, on the hill of the Areopagus, and at the sites later occupied by the Ancient Agora, the Kerameikos and the Olympieion area.

Several important routes developed in Athens itself. One of them led from the area of the Agora, the later civic center, to the site which later became Plato's Academy. A second route, the ancestor of the later Panathenaic Way, connected the southern part of the later Agora with the approach to the Acropolis, while another road branched off towards the south slope of the Acropolis. Other roads along hilltops and river valleys were destined to link Athens with the surrounding settlements of Attica. Since the roads followed the contours of the terrain, they remained essentially unchanged during the centuries.

Athens' importance grew in the Late Bronze Age (Late Helladic or Mycenaean Age, around 1600-1100 BC). The Mycenaean fortification wall on the Acropolis, 4-6 m. wide, the remarkable Mycenaean Spring Stairway in the Acropolis' North Slope and a second outer forti­fication wall protecting the western approach to the Acropolis were built between 1240 and 1200 BC. The fortification walls together and separately were called the Pelargikon. In the i3th century BC Athens was surely the centre of a Mycenaean-type kingdom. Judging by the tholos tombs excavated at Thorikos, Spata,

Marathon and Achamai, it may be assumed that the territory of Atdca comprised several kingdoms. In the Mycenaean period the royal palace of Athens and houses were built on the Acropolis.

The area occupied by Athens expanded during the last phase of the Mycenaean period. Settlement continued on the site of the Olympieion and new residential districts developed to the south, at the end of present-day Dimitrakopoulou St. The unification of Attica into a single homogeneous state was ascribed to Theseus in the mythical tradition. This probably happened at the end of the 8th century BC. Even so, it is thought that in the 13th century BC the inhabited area (the Acropolis and surroundings) already amounted to about 90, 000 square metres. At this time there were about seventy settlements throughout Attica. In all probability, the endeavours to centralize had led to wars and Athenian myths preserve numerous instances of conflicts. However, the Athenians attributed the unification of the scattered settlements to their favourite hero, Theseus, and cel­ebrated the event with the Synoikia festival and the Panathenaic festival. According to legend, Athene or Kranaa or Kekropia, the later city of Athens, was the most important of the twelve small Attic states. The town was named Athinai (Athens) in the plural after the merger of the different kingdoms. Today the city still goes by the ancient name.

During the Mycenaean period the burial ground of the inhabitants of the Acropolis was on the north-eastern dope of the hill named Areopagus. Material excavated from the rich chamber tombs is exhibited in the Agora Museum. There were other burial grounds at the northern foot of Philopappos Hill, south of the Acropolis and along still surviving roads leading to the sea.

The most important remains of the Mycenaean period are on the Acropolis. The huge dimensions of the forti­fications made them appear impregnable and the ancient Athenians later considered them to be the work of the superhuman Cyclops. Only small sections of the Cyclo­pean wall so much respected by the inhabitants of the city are extant, the most spectacular being east of the temple of Nike, from the south wing of the Propylaea to the Acropolis wall built in classical times.

After Theseus had united the city, the Acropolis became known as the polls, the Greek equivalent of the word city, while another Greek word: asty, was used to denote the Agora and other parts of the lower town.

At the very end of the Mycenaean period (the turn of the 12th-11th centuries BC), a large burial ground devel­oped in the Eridanos river valley in north-west Athens in what is now the Kerameikos Excavations. The Sub-Mycenaean, Protogeometric and Geometric finds from graves excavated here represent the most important sources for the history of the city between the end of the Bronze Age and the archaic period (around 1100-700 BC). Attica was spared the devastations of the socalled Doric migration. The population of the city increased rapidly and the unification of the Attic settle­ments under the leadership of Athens at the end of the 8th century BC greatly contributed towards this development.

As an institution, the kingdom showed a marked decline. The king was divested of most of his powers which were transferred to nine regents (archons). The Acropolis lost its significance as a royal seat. The main organ of the aristocratic government was the Areios Pagos, a council of nobles composed of archons who had served their terms of office. The Council of the Areopagus met on the barren rocks of Ares' Hill, beside the Acro­polis.

During the 11th-8th centuries BC the foundations were laid for prosperous growth and Athens flourished economically, politically and artistically. Athenian cul­tural supremacy in Greece is exemplified by its superb Proto-Geometric and Geometric pottery.

Excavations at the Kerameikos, at the ancient Agora and in other parts of Attica have yielded rich harvests of Protogeometric and Geometric artifacts, almost without exception found in graves. Consequently, the methods and rites of burial at that time are much better known to us than, for example, architecture and sanc­tuaries and daily life.

During the 8th century BC a temple to the goddess Athena Polias was built on the Acropolis. Two stone bases for wooden columns, still visible inside the foun­dations of the Old Temple of Athena, belonged to the 8th century temple. The territory south of the Acropolis as far as the Olympieion was the nucleus of contemporary Athens. The building materials used had a very short life. Metals were scarcely available, save for iron, which was used primarily for weapons.

During this period Athens became the religious and administrative centre of Attica.

Comparatively little information is available on the settlement pattern in Athens during the Geometric period. It may be assumed that the administrative centre was north of the Acropolis at the Agora of Theseus. Though the palace still stood - we have no information about its destruction - the Acropolis was gradually becoming a religious rather than a secular centre. Historical sources point to the Olympieion area as another religious centre. The remains of a Late Geometric building (Sacred House) with a highly intricate ground-plan were found in the Academy area. An oval enclosure which dates from the 9th century BC was found on the north slope of the Areopagus. We know from written sources that in the 8th century BC high-ranking families moved from the country into the city, choosing the sorroundings of Pnyx Hill and nearby Melite as a place to live, thereby beginning the development of a residential area in the city.

During this period the city's water supply sdll came from springs on the slopes of the Acropolis or from wells. The discovery near Syntagma Square of a rock-cut aqueduct and a well point to the square having been an open-air sanctuary of some kind. Later the Lyceum and the Garden of Theophrastos may have occupied the site. The Dissos and Eridanos rivers also supplied water.

More detail is known about the Athenian constitution and political history from the beginning of the yth cen­tury BC. The first list giving the names of the annually elected archons dates from 682 BC.

The nine archons were the basileus (matters of religion), the polemarch (military leader), the eponymos (after whom the year was named) and six thesmothetai (legislators). The Areopagus (Council of Nobles) was primarily a law court but they also supervised the archons' exercise of executive power and monitored the application of the laws.

The development of Athens as a commercial and industrial force during the yth century BC brought with it political conflicts and the old social system was thrown out of balance. The artisans and peasantry attempted to secure political rights from the nobles, who had earlier taken over the royal powers and divided the hereditary offices amongst themselves. The situation was worsened by a severe plague.

A nobleman called Kylon tried to take advantage of this popular dissatisfaction. With his adherents he oc­cupied the Acropolis in 636 BC but failed to gain sufficient support from the people to succeed in a coup d'etat. However, the class struggle continued. One basic popular demand was for codification of the law, and this was done by Dracon in 624 BC on the com­mission of the nobles. However, the severity of the Draconian Code left everyone still unsatisfied. In 594 BC Sokm was elected archon and given special powers to amend the form of government. A major grievance had been that a creditor might sell his debtor into slavery if he defaulted. Solon's first measure was to cancel all debts where this had been made and to forbid enslavement for debt. He promulgated a new constitution which consolidated the newly arisen class system called the Timocracy, based upon property distinctions and income. There were four classes: the Pentakosiomedimnoi (those with an income equivalent to 500 medimnoi of grain), the Hippeis (knights with an income of 300 medimnoi), the Zeugitai (yeomen, owners of a pair of oxen) and the Thetes. He limited the Council of the Areopagus to judicial matters and instituted a Council of Four Hundred (Boule) to take over its deliberative functions and ensure continuity of government. However, election to archonship was still restricted to the highest class - the Pentakosiomedimnoi - although an archon no longer needed to be of noble birth. Solon gave teeth to the Assembly (ekklesia) which became the supreme controller of public affairs and to which the Thetes were also admitted. To ensure impartial administration of justice, tribunals (heliaia) were set up with 5, 000 full and 1, 000 supplementary members. The Thetes were also admitted to these, while junior public office could be held by the Zeugitai. The Thetes were exempted from taxes and public works were financed entirely from levies on the richest two classes.

Solon's epoch saw the first attempt at systematic town-planning in the area north-west of the Acropolis.. The main square was transferred to the north of the Areopagus and the outlines of the Solonian Agora began to take shape. The oldest Council House (Bouleuterion) was built in Solon's time.

Several private houses were pulled down in the area allocated for the Agora and burials were forbidden there.

During the early decades of the 6th century, after the implementation of Solon's reforms, three political groups developed in Athens: the old landowners of the plains (pediakoi); the coastal inhabitants (paralioi) including the merchants and mariners; and the inhabit­ants of the surrounding hills (diakrioi), the poor people of the Attic mountains, mostly wood-cutters, charcoal burners and cattle-breeders. The latter group was headed by Peisistratos, who in 561 BC seized the Acropolis and established autocratic rule (tyrannis) over Athens. He made it his concern to remedy the wrongs of the poor; he had roads built to provide easy access to the administrative centre of the city and granted credits to the farmers. He also introduced income tax, set pu mobile courts to administer justice in the villages, gave active support to trade and the crafts, and promoted the development of shipping, so that Athens turned into a major economic and cultural centre during his time.

Under Peisistratos the Athenians had their first coins minted when the Corinthian monetary system was founded in 575 BC.

It is believed that a shrine to Athena Nike was built just outside the Acropolis gates in 566 BC. Between 560-550 BC a large Doric temple dedicated to Athena was built on the Acropolis, perhaps on the site later occupied by the Parthenon. At around 566 BC the Greater Panathenaia, celebrated every four years, became the main festival of Athens for a thousand years.

A building resembling a house, erected in the south-west corner of the Agora near the Council House in the mid-6th century BC, on the site later used for the Tholos, may have been the residence of Peisistratos himself- The temple of Apollo Patroos on the west side of the Agora was also built around the middle of the 6th century BC. Another important building was the office of the basileus. the archon whose task was to direct the state religious ceremonies and preside over certain trials. The Stoa Basileios, erected at the end of the archaic period, was also the office where the ancient laws of Athens were preserved and where the Nine Archons took the oath to observe them. The sons of Peisistratos began the building of a huge temple to Olympian Zeus which was not completed until the 2nd century AD. The Old Temple of Athena was built on the Acropolis, south of the Erechtheion, between 525 and 520 BC. Only the foundations are still in place but enough of the architec­ture and sculpture has been found to permit an accurate reconstruction.

Around 520 BC the South-east Fountain House in the Agora and the Altar of The Twelve Gods were completed.

At this time Athens had three gymnasia: the gymna­sium at the Academy; the Lykeion (Lyceum) named after Apollo Lykios; the Kynosarges gymnasium with a sanctuary of Herakles near the present-day church of St Panteleimon.

We know little about how Athens was laid out as a city at that time. Traces of private houses have been found south-west of the Agora by the modern road Leophoros Apostolou Pavlou. These finds clearly show that the streets were irregular and unauthorized building often took place as the strict building regulations issued later by Hippias confirm. The Peisistratid aqueduct served the Athenians for several hundred years. The residential area soon spread beyond the city walls, where the richer. citizens built their homes.

The tyranny took a turn for the worse under the sons of Peisistratos. One of them, Hipparchos, was murdered at the Panathenaic festival of 514 BC, which spurred the other son, Hippias, to still greater despotism. The fight for power ended with victory for the people of Athens who in 510 BC drove Hippias into exile; he went to the court of the king of Persia.

With Kleisthenes' rise to power in 508 BC Athens entered upon a period of democracy: his constitution put an end to the rule of the aristocracy. Most of the civic buildings needed for the legislative and administrative functions of the democracy were put up in the Agora. The Assembly met on nearby Pnyx Hill.

The city flourished, trade and the crafts developed and there were plenty of opportunities open both to Athenians and immigrants. However, the new democracy soon had to fight for survival against the despotic eastern empire of Persia.

During the Persian Wars Athens leading statesman was Themistocles, who put comprehensive military plans into action, gave Athens a strong fleet and developed the harbour of the Piraeus. When the Persians advanced in 480 BC he ordered the evacuation of the dty. The Persians entered Athens and devastated the Acropolis. After their defeat at Salamis in 479 BC a new dty wall was built. Piraeus and its harbour were also fortified. The debris of private houses and public buildings and even tombstones were used as building material. Besides providing for the defence of Athens, the idea was to ensure uninterrupted communication between Athens and Piraeus in case of war, and so the Long Walls - the North Long Wall and the Phaleron Wall - were started to provide safe access to the port of Athens. However, the implementation of the project extended well into the second and even into the third quarter of the 5th century BC. It is estimated that the walls around Athens and Piraeus endosed an area of 15 million square metres.

While Themistocles gave top priority to fortifying the dty, Kimon, the leading statesman of the second quarter of the century, concentrated on reconstruction. He built the Tholos and Stoa Poikile in the Agora and also the Theseion, the shrine containing the bones of Theseus.

After Kimon's expulsion from Athens in 462 BC, the administration of the dty passed into the hands of Pericles. Under his government democracy in Athens reached the peak of its development. In 448 BC Pericles set about his main building project on the Acropolis.

The main gateway of the dtadel, the Old Propylon, may have been built around 500 BC; it was replaced by the Periclean Propylaia built in 432- 427 BC.

The Older Parthenon had begun after 490 BC and was destroyed by the Persians while it was under con­struction. In 448-432 BC it was replaced by the new Parthenon, a votive temple dedicated to Athena Polias, the architectural culmination of the Doric style. The Erechtheion, an Ionic temple with the old cult statue of Athena Polias, was built after the death of Pericles. The graceful Ionic temple of Athena Nike was the last building erected on the Acropolis in the 5th century BC. At the same time important building operations were in progress within and outside Athens.

In the age of Pericles Athens was the scene of bustling artistic activity. Outstanding personalities like Pheidias, Agorakritos, Kallimachos, Iktinos, Thukydides, Anaxa-goras, Kallikrates, Mnesicles and Hippodamos lived and worked in the city.

The Acropolis was decorated with votive statues and steles. New public buildings were erected in the Agora. The surroundings of the Acropolis and the Agora were so densely populated that dwelling houses occupied almost all the area enclosed by the city wall. Outside the dty wall every road radiating out of Athens was flanked by grave monuments; the State Burial Ground was in the Kerameikos. A meeting-place for the Assembly was laid out on Pnyx Hill at the beginning of the 5th century BC. Towards the end of the 5th century BC Athens had a population of about 36, 000 living in some 6, 000 private houses; the area within the city wall amounted to 2.15 sq.km. and there must have been but little open space within this area.

In 431 BC the Peloponnesian War broke out. It con­sumed the power reserves of the opposing sides and in the Battle of Aigospotamoi, 404 BC, the Athenian fleet suffered a crushing defeat. The victorious Spartans and their allies destroyed the walls of Athens and Piraeus, seized all but ten ships of the fleet and put the harbour out of use by filling it up with earth.

In 394 BC, with Persian aid, the general Konon destroyed the Spartan fleet and rebuilt the fortification walls of Athens and Piraeus. Building operations were restarted in the Agora. The Panathenaic Stadium was built on the left bank of the Hisses around 330 BC. The stone Theatre ofDionysos was erected on the south slope of the Acropolis about the same time. Plato's Academy was founded in the sacred grove of the Hero Akademos.

During the second half of the 4th century BC the city walls were restored and fortified on several occasions. An outer defence wall known as the proteichisma and a dry moat strengthened the defences of the city wall. At the end of the 4th century BC the city wall and the Long Walls were rebuilt; the Dipylon Gate, the largest gate in Greece, was completely reconstructed. The line of the city wall was shortened by means of a cross-wall, the diateichisma, running from the Hill of the Nymphs, along the ridge of the Pnyx, to the top of Philopappos Hill.

In the 4th century BC internal strife sapped the strength of the city-state. In the second half of the century King Philip II of Macedonia pushed himself into the league of the Greek city-states and came into conflict with Athens. In the Battle of Chaironeia in 338 BC Philip defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes. After the Lamian War of 322 BC the Macedonians placed a garrison in Athens.

Between 317 and 307 BC the philosopher Demetrios ofPhaleron ruled the city with the support of the Mace­donians and the economic situation of Athens improved temporarily. Drama, philosophy, painting and sculpture flourished again.

Athens then entered into an alliance with Sparta and Egypt against Macedonian rule. As a result of the Chremonidean War (267-261 BC) the city was again garrisoned by the Macedonians. The archons were replaced by a Macedonian governor known as the epistate. It was not until 229 BC that the Athenians succeeded in regaining their independence with the aid of an alliance with Achaia.

The expansion of the Roman empire began in the 2nd century BC. At this time Athens was going through a period of economic recession, although it was still the centre of scholarship and its schools were attended by many foreigners including Romans. New public buildings and temples were erected.

On the Acropolis the votive offerings of the kings of Pergamon decorated the south wall. The most famous of them represented the victory over the Celtic Galatians.

Attalos II, king of Pergamon, donated a large stoa built on the east side of the Agora. The Middle Stoa, East Stoa and South Stoa II closing off the south side of the Agora also date from this period, as does the Metroon, the sanctuary of the Mother of the Gods, and the Stoa of Eumenes of Pergamon on the southern, slope of the Acropolis.

The ruins that survive are scarcely sufficient to give even an approximate idea of the ancient city nor does Pausanias' Periegesis (itinerary) provide a full picture. The pre-Roman endeavours of the Athenians to fortify their city proved futile: they were unable to protect it from invaders.

Under Roman rule Athens at first enjoyed many privi­leges. However, in the ist century BC the situation changed -when in 87 BC the sophist Athenion took power with the aid of Archelaos, the commander under King Mithradates IV of Pontos, and rose up against the Roman general Sulla who besieged and occupied Athens in 86 BC. He gave his soldiers leave to plun­der the city and had a section of the city walls pulled down. Athens remained unfortified for the next three hundred years.

At around 15 BC a concert hall, the Odeion of Agrippa, was built in the middle of the Agora. The earlier Odeion of Pericles, which had been destroyed by Sulla, was also reconstructed. The temple of Rome and Augustus was erected east of the Erechtheion and the Roman Agora east of the Agora of classical times. Next to it stood the Horologion of Andronikos, commonly known as the Tower of the Winds after the reliefs on each of its eight sides.

It was probably in the ist century AD that the temple of Ares, originally built on an unknown site in the 5th century BC, was moved to the classical Agora. The first monumental stairway leading up to the Acropolis dates from about the same time. South-east of the Tower of the Winds stood the colonnaded building dedicated to Athena Archegetis and Augustus.

The philhellene emperor Hadrian visited Athens in the 2nd century AD. This was to become a period of rebirth for Athens. New buildings sprang up, the city acquired an aqueduct named after Hadrian, and a whole new and prosperous'suburb stretching eastwards, dotted with fine new villas. It became known as Hadrianopolis, the city of Hadrian. Hadrian's arch separated the old city from the new. Hadrian also built the Pantheon, the library that bears his name and a basilica situated east of the Roman Agora.which was, perhaps, the temple of Hera and Zeus Panhellenios.

Another benefactor of the city in the 2nd century BC was Herodes Atdcus whose generosity is still visible in buildings like the Odeion on the south slope of the Acropolis.

On the ridge of Ardettos, Herodes Atdcus built a temple to Tyche above the Panathenaic Stadium for which he provided marble seating arrangements, and in front of the Stadium he had an arched bridge built over the Ilissos.

In the mid-3rd century AD the emperor Valerian attempted to prepare Athens for attacks from the Goths by rebuilding the old Themistoclean city wall with an eastward extension around Hadrianopolis. A supply of fresh water for the Acropolis was assured by making the Klepsydra spring accessible solely via a tunnel from the Agrippa Monument terrace which was now fortified by walls and a gate known as the Beuld Gate.

The walls did not stop the Heruli from sacking Athens in 267 AD. The city was burnt down and numerous buildings completely destroyed. The Acropolis, however, was not taken by the barbarians. Soon after the departure of the barbarians, the Athenians retracted their line of defence and withdrew behind a new city wall, the Post-Herulian Wall, which enclosed only the Acropolis slopes, perhaps only the north slope. In order to build this wall fast, the Athenians tore down and re-used the ma­terial of their public buildings, temples, sculpture and inscriptions.

Few significant edifices were built in the later part of antiquity. One was a large gymnasium completed around 425 AD occupying the site of the classical Agora and re-using the Tritons and Giants from the Odeion of Agrippa, the Gymnasium of the Giants. South of the y- Stoa of Attalos a water mill was built c. 450 AD. A large gymnasium was built in the Academy area. The north room of the Metroon was, possibly, a synagogue at that time. From the 3rd century onward renowned Christian philosophers also came to teach in Athens, but their schools were outside Athens at places like Hymettos, where hermitages and monasteries were built later on.

The last outstanding pagan philosopher of the 5th century AD was Proklos who taught in a school on the south slope of the Acropolis.

In 529 AD Justinian closed the schools of pagan philosophy including Plato's Academy. Fearing barbarian invasions, he strengthened the defences of his empire, including the walls of Athens.

Numerous temples and monuments of ancient times were converted into Christian churches, perhaps starting in the 6th century, for example, the Parthenon, the

Erechthdon, the Hephaistcion; the Tower of the Winds was used as a baptistry and several buildings in the Asklepieion were used for a basilica.

From the 7th to the 9th century, referred to as the Dark Ages, Athens declined, but recovered again in the loth to 12th centuries, known in Byzantine art as the Athenian period. A new wave of building activity occurred and a complete Byzantine suburb has been unearthed. Surviving monuments of this period include churches such as Kapnikarea, the Panagia Gorgoepekoos (the Little Metropolis), Haghioi Theodoroi, Soteira Lykode-mou (Russian Church), Haghioi Apostoloi and several monasteries outside of Athens. Two schools functioned on Hymettos; they were later turned into monasteries.

In 1040 Attica was devastated by the Normans and in 1154-82 by the Saracens. The city is described by various medieval travellers, such as the Arab geographer Idrisi, Benjamin of Tudela, and the metropolitans Michael Akominatos and Michael Psellos. After the capture of Constantinople in 1204, the whole Byzantine empire disintegrated into small states, most of which came under the control of the crusaders.

The medieval wall around the Acropolis slopes was named the Rizokastron, but nowadays the name serves to designate only the quarter lying north of the Acropolis. The old Acropolis circuit wall and the Post-Herulian Wall were still in use.

The Frankish occupation which began in 1205 was the cause of general decline. The new rulers treated the Greek population with ruthlessness or indifference. French was introduced as the official language and the Athenians were excluded from all public office.

Building on the Acropolis caused great damage to ancient monuments especially to the Propylaia which the reigning dukes turned into their residence; two churches were built, one in the southern wing of the Propylaia, the other in the centre of the building. The Parthenon became a Catholic church. The so-called Frankish Tower was built in the south-western wing of the Propylaia and the Belvedere at the east wall. It is thought that the in­habited area of the city amounted to about 400, 000 square metres and did not extend beyond the Post-Heru­lian Wall; a traveller who visited Athens in 1395 asserts that there were only about 100 dwellings.

Decline and depopulation continued

⇐ Предыдущая123456789

Поделиться:

Популярное:

1. Charles Dickens - Чарльз Диккенс