2. Antecedent: the Greek city

The origins of the city Defining the early city: monumental building complexes, city walls, density of occupation, specialized craft production, urban functionality. IV millennium BCE: the world’s first cities originated in Mesopotamia. Urbanization cycles: the peak in the III millennium. Some methodological issues. «Western city» and «Eastern city».

Mesopotamian cities Planned and unplanned urban spaces. Temples and palaces. Residential neighbourhoods. Culture’s cosmology and value system. Urban logistics: water, rubbish, hinterland. The idea of city-state.

Mediterranean urbanization Formation and exploitation of several networks of cities: Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. Sizes of cities and movements of populations. Different typologies of city: local exchange, industry, political administration, services, cultural activities. The construction of an ordered space.

Greek cities City as state. The idea of polis. The different ideas of citizenship. V-IV centuries BCE: about 60 per cent of the population of the Greek world must have lived in cities. The characteristics of the sites. Sparta, Athens, Corinth. The colonies. New cities founded in Hellenistic times. Alexandria.

Greek cities. The main centres

Urban morphologies The absence of planning in continental Greece. The regular division of the land in the colonies. The example of Mileto. The role of Ippodamus. Social values and urban form. Order, justice and equality. Private and public spaces. Civic and sacred spaces.

Athens The city without a palace. The agora. Market places, tribunals, theatres. The relationship with the rural territories. The Acropolis. The sacred spaces. The Panathenaia. The role of rituals and the civic identity.