Perseus Digital LibraryPerseus has a particular focus upon the Greco-Roman world and upon classical Greek and Latin, but the larger mission provides the distant, but fixed star by which we have charted our path for over two decades.
Architecture of Minoan Crete by John C. McEnroeEver since Sir Arthur Evans first excavated at the site of the Palace at Knossos in the early twentieth century, scholars and visitors have been drawn to the architecture of Bronze Age Crete. Much of the attraction comes from the geographical and historical uniqueness of the island. Equidistant from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Minoan Crete is on the shifting conceptual border between East and West, and chronologically suspended between history and prehistory. In this culturally dynamic context, architecture provided more than physical shelter; it embodied meaning. Architecture was a medium through which Minoans constructed their notions of social, ethnic, and historical identity: the buildings tell us about how the Minoans saw themselves, and how they wanted to be seen by others. Architecture of Minoan Crete is the first comprehensive study of the entire range of Minoan architecture--including houses, palaces, tombs, and cities--from 7000 BC to 1100 BC. John C. McEnroe synthesizes the vast literature on Minoan Crete, with particular emphasis on the important discoveries of the past twenty years, to provide an up-to-date account of Minoan architecture. His accessible writing style, skillful architectural drawings of houses and palaces, site maps, and color photographs make this book inviting for general readers and visitors to Crete, as well as scholars.
Call Number: ebook
ISBN: 9780292792906
Publication Date: 2010
Buildings Across Time: An Introduction to World Architecture by Michael Fazio; Marian Moffett; Lawrence WodehouseBuildings Across Time offers a survey of world architecture both for students taking introductory courses and for the general reader simply interested in buildings. The authors have searched out the stories these buildings have to tell, considered the intentions of the people who built them, and examined the lives of those who used them. The text begins with prehistory and ends with early twenty-first century. It covers the Western tradition as well as works in the Islamic world, the pre-Columbian Americas, Africa, China, Southeast Asia, Russia, and Japan. Buildings Across Time is a diverse sampling of the built environment written in a straightforward but lively style that is rich with detail. The text contains extensive descriptive narrative leavened with focused critical analysis, which allows the book to stand alone and invites lecturers to impose their studied interpretations on the material without the danger of undue ambiguity or conflict. In a world that grows smaller by the day, it presents a global perspective, and in a discipline that concerns built objects that are often beautiful as well as functional, it is copiously illustrated, intelligently designed, and consistently usable. Instructors and students can now access their course content through the Connect digital learning platform by purchasing either standalone Connect access or a bundle of print and Connect access. McGraw-Hill Connect® is a subscription-based learning service accessible online through your personal computer or tablet. Choose this option if your instructor will require Connect to be used in the course. Your subscription to Connect includes the following: * SmartBook® - an adaptive digital version of the course textbook that personalizes your reading experience based on how well you are learning the content. * Access to your instructor's homework assignments, quizzes, syllabus, notes, reminders, and other important files for the course. * Progress dashboards that quickly show how you are performing on your assignments and tips for improvement. * The option to purchase (for a small fee) a print version of the book. This binder-ready, loose-leaf version includes free shipping. Complete system requirements to use Connect can be found here: http://www.mheducation.com/highered/platforms/connect/training-support-students.html
A Companion to Greek Architecture by Margaret M. Miles (Editor)A Companion to Greek Architecture provides an expansive overview of the topic, including design, engineering, and construction as well as theory, reception, and lasting impact. Covers both sacred and secular structures and complexes, with particular attention to architectural decoration, such as sculpture, interior design, floor mosaics, and wall painting Makes use of new research from computer-driven technologies, the study of inscriptions and archaeological evidence, and recently excavated buildings Brings together original scholarship from an esteemed group of archaeologists and art historians Presents the most up-to-date English language coverage of Greek architecture in several decades while also sketching out important areas and structures in need of further research
Call Number: ebook
ISBN: 9781118327609
Publication Date: 2016-06-13
The Complete Greek Temples by Tony SpawforthThis is the first complete, fully illustrated survey of Greek temples ever compiled in one volume. From the debated origins of the temple in the Greek dark ages to its transformation at the end of antiquity, this book summarizes the latest thinking, bringing to light new discoveries, and placing emphasis not only on the architecture but also its cultural and historical context. Written by a leading authority and profusely illustrated with photographs, maps, plans and reconstruction drawings, this is both an inspiring survey for tourists and travellers and an essential work of reference for all those interested in the monuments of our classical past.
On Architecture by Pollio Vitruvius; Frank GrangerVitruvius (Marcus V. Pollio), Roman architect and engineer, studied Greek philosophy and science and gained experience in the course of professional work. He was one of those appointed to be overseers of imperial artillery or military engines, and was architect of at least one unit of buildings for Augustus in the reconstruction of Rome. Late in life and in ill health he completed, sometime before 27 BCE, De Architectura which, after its rediscovery in the fifteenth century, was influential enough to be studied by architects from the early Renaissance to recent times. In On Architecture Vitruvius adds to the tradition of Greek theory and practice the results of his own experience. The contents of this treatise in ten books are as follows. Book 1: Requirements for an architect; town planning; design, cities, aspects; temples. 2: Materials and their treatment. Greek systems. 3: Styles. Forms of Greek temples. Ionic. 4: Styles. Corinthian, Ionic, Doric; Tuscan; altars. 5: Other public buildings (fora, basilicae, theatres, colonnades, baths, harbours). 6: Sites and planning, especially of houses. 7: Construction of pavements, roads, mosaic floors, vaults. Decoration (stucco, wall painting, colours). 8: Hydraulic engineering; water supply; aqueducts. 9: Astronomy. Greek and Roman discoveries; signs of the zodiac, planets, moon phases, constellations, astrology, gnomon, sundials. 10: Machines for war and other purposes.
Shaping Ceremony by Mary B. HollinsheadOffering a fresh approach to ancient Greek architecture, Shaping Ceremony focuses on the overlooked subject of monumental steps. Written in a clear and readable style, the book presents three complementary ways of studying steps: examining how the human body works on steps; theoretical perspectives on the relationship between architecture and human behavior; and the socio-political effects of steps' presence. Although broad steps are usually associated with emperors and political dominance, Mary B. Hollinshead argues that earlier, in Greek sanctuaries, they expressed and reinforced communal authority. From this alternate perspective, she expands the traditional intellectual framework for studying Greek architecture. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The heart of the study is a close reading of thirty-eight sites with monumental steps from the sixth through second centuries B.C. Organized by century, the book tracks the development of built pathways and grandstands for crowds of worshippers as evidence of the Greeks' increasing awareness of the power of architecture to shape behavior and concentrate social energy. With photographs and illustrations of plans, Shaping Ceremony offers a clear account of how Greeks' adaptation of terrain for human use promoted social cohesion and integrated architectural compositions.
Assessing the Role of Architecture in Conspicuous Consumption in the Middle Minoan I–II PeriodsSummary. This paper uses Middle Minoan architecture to explore the degree to which the conceptualization and reconstruction of the First Palaces on Crete have been unduly influenced by the model of the Minoan palace as the centralized political, economic and religious authority. It is generally assumed that this model, first formulated on the basis of the LM II–III palace at Knossos,
also serves to explain the First Palaces despite the fact that relatively little attention has hitherto been paid to their external and internal characteristics. Detailed reassessment of the available data strongly suggests that the First Palaces differed from their Late Bronze Age counterparts in several important ways. Particularly striking is the absence of so-called ‘palatial’ architectural features (e.g. ashlar masonry, Minoan Hall, Lustral Basin, etc.), which hitherto had been thought to form an integral part of the First Palaces. Rather, the earliest evidence for these architectural features seems to be found in elite residences in settlement contexts (e.g. Malia). This observation urges a reassessment not only of the term ‘palatial’ architecture but also of the nature and location of power in Middle Bronze Age Crete and the role played by
architecture as a medium of elite conspicuous consumption.
Communicating with the Gods in Ancient Greece: The Design and Functions of the ‘Thymele’ at EpidaurosAbstract: Rituals that enabled communication between mortals and immortals were critical to the ancient Greeks as a means of improving relations with their seemingly capricious gods. Our study
reaches well beyond textual evidence — the traditional bastion of classical scholarship — to recover another way that the Greeks used technology, in this case architectural engineering, to improve communication with the gods. Studies of the acoustics of ancient Greek structures have focused almost entirely on theaters. But before the acoustically stunning theater at Epidauros was constructed, its architect had designed a round marble building encircled by a colonnade (diameter ca. 22m) and placed it in the very center of this same sanctuary. According to building records from Epidauros, this building, called the thymele, was by far the most expensive structure erected there in the fourth century BCE during a major expansion program. Despite its centrality both physically and presumably also ritually, the thymele continues to baffle scholars because its function remains unclear. We argue that one of the functions of this building was an acoustic sound box to amplify music sung to the healing gods Apollo and his son Asklepios, whose sanctuary this was. As we will demonstrate, the design and decoration of the building, its name (thymele), and the textual evidence of the hymns themselves, some of which were inscribed on marble blocks at Epidauros, all indicate that this building was a locus for
songs accompanied by a lyre and sung to Apollo and Asklepios to request their assistance with healing individual bodies as well as the body politic. The thymele broadcast these songs to other worshipers
in the sanctuary and, more importantly, to the ears of the gods.
The Conglomerate Quarry at the Mycenaean Site of Vapheio-Palaiopyrgi in LaconiaABSTRACT: Although many studies have been published on Minoan quarries, few details have ever been published on Mycenaean quarries. Here we present a conglomerate quarry discovered at the Bronze Age site of Vapheio-Palaiopyrgi in
Laconia, best known for its tholos tomb. The quarry preserves many unusual features, including a column base in situ and curved cuttings indicating the removal of additional blocks of stone. It is proposed that the quarry should be associated with Late Bronze Age Mycenaean culture based on its topography,
the importance of the Eurotas Valley in this era, and the material—namely conglomerate—that characterized and became symbolic of Mycenaean prestige architecture.
The Fall of the Tektōn and The Rise of the Architect: On The Greek Origins of Architectural CraftsmanshipThe origins of architectural craftsmanship in ancient Greece are to be found in the archaic arts of tectonics. The first Greek architects, appearing under that name around the 6th century BC, rose out of and based their work on this age-old tectonic tradition, which semantically underwent a transformation during the time from Homer to Plato, the latter relegating the tektones to a lower rank in the order of craftsmanship. Through a detailed reading of the ancient Greek testimonies of the tectonic tradition, the paper demonstrates that in the Homeric tradition the tektones were hailed as versatile, first-rate craftsmen who created wonders out of matter, but in classical times they fell from their high status of old. In
Plato’s writings tectonics ends up at the lower end of the epistemological and ontological scale.
Rethinking the Sacred Landscape Minoan Palaces in a Georitual Framework of Natural Features on CreteAbstract: The present work diverges from visual extension relationships between architecture and landscape features as
described in Scully's The Earth, the Temple, and the Gods (1962). In contrast, symbolic landscape frameworks on Minoan Crete are
investigated as an a priori means of locating ceremonial "palaces," a process here called intension. Using custom software called Geopatterns, several remarkably accurate geometric patterns among natural and built points in the landscape are identified and described. The computer application allows these actual patterns to be compared to those generated by large numbers of sets of equivalent random points. Statistical analyses demonstrate the high probability of design. The formalized landscape structure of highest mountains and most prominent caves that creates the geometric context for the four major palaces—Knossos. Mallia, Zakros, Phaistos—appears to have evolved from an earlier pattern created coincidentally by natural features alone. The orientations of the four palaces integrate with this original
framework.
The Saronic Harbors Archaeological Research Project (SHARP)ABSTRACT: This article describes the initial phase of investigations at Kalamianos, a recently discovered Mycenaean coastal settlement on the Saronic Gulf in the southeastern Corinthia. To date 50 buildings and 120 rooms of Late Helladic IIIB date have been identified at the site, which is unique for the excellent preservation of above ground architectural remains. Beyond the site is another large Mycenaean architectural complex, as well as small fortified enclosures and terrace walls also dating to the Bronze Age. The evidence indicates that Kalamianos was a significant center of Mycenaean activity in the 13th century b.c., and possibly served as Mycenae’s principal harbor on the Saronic Gulf.
“Why” Building: The Layers of Architecture and Iconography and their Sociological Relevance for Minoan SocietyAbstract: The nature and possible function(s) of Minoan palaces became in the past few years a matter of lively debate. This paper tries to make an attempt to move away from the traditional dichotomy whether or not the Minoan palace did serve as an elite residence or functioned solely as the ceremonial centre of the community, as both can exist perfectly parallel next to each other. By the application of performative theory, this paper focuses on the role of the Minoan Palace as a backdrop for large scale ritual events, whereby the layers of architecture and iconography are used as major media for expression. It seems that the fundamental concept behind the construction of the Palaces was to restrain
and structure peoples’ movements and interactions, with a focus on making transitions from the public outside towards the more private inner world of the Palaces’ proper. The Central Court with its highly
sophisticated façades was accessible only to members of the elite. Such an area of restricted access, which was certainly invested with profound symbolic meanings, should not be downgraded to a simple
place of assembly for any social group.