Glossary of Terms -- Greek City Planning

Mycenae

Bronze Age "castle town" in Southern Greece; gives its name, Mycenaean, to the period 1600-1200 BC.

acropolis

"upper city" or citadel (The "Acropolis" usually refers to the citadel of Athens).

Kavousi

a remote refuge settlement of the Dark Ages on Crete.

Lefkandi

one of the earliest sites to show a resurrection of wealth and social structure after the Dark Ages (ca. 11th c. BC).

synoecism

process by which a group of villages join politically to form a city-state (8th c. BC)

polis

Greek word for "city", understood to include all the surrounding lands and the people, its form of government, etc. A city-state.

Megara Hyblaia

8th c. BC colony on Sicily which shows very early use of grid plan.

Panathenaic Way

route of the quadrennial procession to the Athenian acropolis to dress the statue of Athena.

Parthenon

temple of Athena the Virgin on the Athenian acropolis; also a treasury of the Delian League.

Pnyx and Areopagus

lesser hills where Athens' law court and assembly met.

agora

central public space of a Greek city, literally "marketplace".

stoa

roofed colonnade for shops, informal gathering

Dipylon Gate

a main gate in Athens; just outside was a major cemetery, gymnasia, philosophical schools, etc.

Propylaia

the ceremonial gate at the entrance to the acropolis of Athens.

Piraeus

port of Athens, connected to the city by "Long Walls" in 5th c. BC; laid out by Hippodamus.

Attica

rural component of the city-state of Athens.

andron

party room for the men of the household and their friends; constituted a public area within the private space of the home.

Erechtheion

temple on the Acropolis where Athens' first king was buried, the statue of Athena to be dressed was kept, sacred olive tree, etc.

Nike temple

tiny temple outside gate of acropolis of Athens commemorating the "victory" over Persia; Mycenaean walls visible under its bastion.

Oynthus

colony in northern Greece founded c. 430 BC; laid out on grid with many pastas houses.

pastas

long, narrow, partially enclosed porch on the interior court of a certain style of house.

Miletus

city in Asia Minor rebuilt by Hippodamus after the Persian war.

Hippodamus

formerly called the father of city planning; popularized the grid plan in the early 5th c. BC.

gymnasium

parklike area for public athletic training; a city might have several.

bouleuterion

building where city council met; theater-like plan.

fountain-house

small building around a spring where women went to draw water, do laundry and converse.

Priene and Pergamon

cities in Asia Minor laid out in the Hellenistic style.

Hellenistic

of the period after Alexander the Great and before the Romans (late 4th to lst c. BC); time of monarchy, not democracy.

Pan-hellenic

places of religious pilgrimage, athletic games, etc., attended by all the sanctuaries Greek cities. e.g. Delphi, Olympia.

leskhe

clubhouse.

exedra

semi-circular bench provided for rest in a public place, often elaborated into architectural area.