2. AT H E N S
• The geography of ancient Greece was divided into three regions: the coast, the lowlands,
and the mountains. The rocky and uneven soil on the peninsula of Greece allowed for less
than 20 percent of the land to be farmed, so the Greeks relied heavily on imports of grains
and other foods from other regions around the Mediterranean.
• Athens grew from its focal point, the Acropolis, which became the ceremonial
center of the city-state, decked with temples including the Parthenon.
• It has organic plan.
• Propylea, is the main entrance gate at Athens.
• Agora was the center of Athenian life. Laid out in the 6th century B.C., northwest
of the Acropolis, it was a square lined by public buildings, which served Athens'
needs for commerce and politics.
• The streets of Athens as narrow and tortuous, unpaved, unlighted, and more like a
chaos of mud and sewage than even the usual Greek road.
3. ACROPOLIS
The Acropolis hill, so called the "Sacred originated from thethe most important
The entire development of Athens has Rock" of Athens, is acropolis. It is the
site ofpoint of Athens.
focal the city.
4. Neolithic Era - 6000BC-1600BC
Early settlements
chose to stay on
top of the hill
SEA
the people kept in
close contact with
the coasts
Gradually they
descended
down the slope
towards the
northern and
southern sides
5. The early Bronze Age (3200–2000 BC)
InDuring this age feudalthe northern parts also
the later bronze age system existed.
The settlements started expanding over wider area . They
started developing and expanding.
started moving towards the sea.
SLAVES
FREEMEN
KING
FARMERS
6. DARK AGES (1.150 BC/1.100 BC – 900 BC)
Invasion of Peloponnesse which came as a blow and the Athenians took time to
stand up again. The attack resulted in the reduction of population.
7. GEOMETRIC PERIOD
(900 BC – 800/750 BC)
Athens suffered a heavy blow, perhaps on account of a
drought followed by famine and epidemic diseases.
8. ARCHAIC ATHENS
(800 BC/750 BC -494 BC)
No concrete town built the
Peisistratos planning
appears Forhavefirst timethe
first wall around thean
to the existed;
streets of the city were in
city. This wall was
underground aqueduct
their majority narrow and
almost constructed to
was circular and had
irregularbring water fromthe
eight gates. Many mount
in shape, while
inhabitants built their houses
monuments were built
Hymettus.
arbitrarily Acropolis
on the
The city was again attacked destroyed, this time by Persians
9. Classical Athens(494 BC -478 BC)
• City rebuilt
according to plan
devised by
Hippodamus
• Themistocles
wall was built
around the city.
Athens soon
prospered again.
10. • Hippodamos devised an ideal Peiraeus grew in importance. Ship sheds and dry
The port of the harbour-town city to be inhabited by 50,000 people
docks were constructed for the warships. He planned the arrangement Peiraeus
• HeAthens in the middle ofproblemscentury BC. linked them to the state
at studied the functional the fifth of cities and
administration system.
• As a result he divided the citizens into three classes (soldiers, artisans and
'husbandmen'), with the land also divided into three (sacred, public and
private).
Broad, straight
streets
Right angles
Open space for
development
of agora
11. • The placement of buildings were decided on natural factors such as the
morphology of the land
• For eg. The theatres were generally built around a slope to provide
natural seating.
• The Agora was built over a flat surface.
• The houses were generally placed along the southern slope and part of
Acropolis facing the sea.
12. Hellenistic Athens
(339 BC - 168 BC)
• Demand for regularity.
• Acropolis was the initial
core. Some main streets
started at its entrance, as
well as from the road
immediately surrounding
it, proceeded radially
throughout the city and
came to an end at the
city wall gates. In doing
so, they left some free
areas, the most
important of which was
Agora.
13. Roman Athens
(183 BC-BC 31)
ACROPOLIS
NEW ROMAN
CLOSED AGORA-
HOUSES AND
BUILDINGS HERE
NEW
WERE
DEMOLISHED.
ATHENIAN
AGORA- NEW
BUILDINGS
BUILT HERE
14. The Last Roman Century and
Medieval Athens 330 - 1000 & The
first period of the Byzantine/Greek
Empire & The Athenian renaissance
(1000-1205) & and Ottoman Empire
(1456-1689)
The Athenian empire was limited to the post roman fortification with
development of smaller towns around it. These merged later to form Athens as we
see today.
15. The road network was elaborated in part as spokes with hubs at circular
• The New City was as horizontals and verticals in thetriangle,and not peak
•• plazas, and in part maintainedwouldasthe Old one, while extendingits as a
The Old City included about half ofbe an isosceles direction of the main
The shape of the main axes only a geographical space, with from
ATHENS IN THE 19th CENTURY
•Kleanthes and Schaubert and the East. capitalby Piraeus city of Akropolis,
• axes, the West,zone, Square, was anticipatedotheritsfor ofandthe35,000 to at
to always orientation was aimed at Piraeus and primarily Old City,
Its entire
itat today’s OmoniaNorth it its sides definedthat half a the Stadiou
construction the since developed a The plan largest section would
with absolute regularity.
40,000 be expropriatedroads andbase. embrace.
wasdivided up by new for in its open
whoseand Ermou Street archaeological excavation.
streets, feet it spread out as an in 1833 Athens had only 4,000 citizens.
be to inhabitants even though standard rectangular building lots.
PIRAEUS
HORIZONTAL
& VERTICAL
SPOKES AT
CIRCULAR PLAZAS
ACROPOLIS
17. • Strict planning and grid patterns are less necessary to the southern
city.
Leo von Klenze’s plan (1834)
• They are more organic inconceptandthe the south in his plan.
Expansion was directed the development.
This planner believed in to the west of to 'southern city'.
• Streets and squares are smaller in size. Thus he left the existing city,
especially its residential parts, untouched.
18. WE SEE THE GROWTH IN THE CITY OF ATHENS (1870) IN THE KAUPERT PLAN
19. ATHENS IN THE 20th CENTURY
• In 1960-64 the first Athens Regional Plan was created to remedy
problems stemming from the vast population increase of 4,000 in
1833 to 1,490,000 in 1959.
• There was a lot of revising of such plans, under the fascist
government, but not much implementation. In 1982 the socialist
government set up local and national planning boards but they
were ineffective
20. SOURCES
• INTERNET:
• http://www.athens-today.com/
• http://www.eie.gr/archaeologia/En/chapter_more_9.aspx
• http://athang1504.blogspot.com/2011/01/ancient-athens.html
• http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=23182822
• http://ancientathens3d.com/ottomanathensEn.htm
• BOOKS:
• HISTORY OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT
• TOWN PLANNING REPORTS FROM SPA LIBRARY
