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4 - City Streets, Walls, and Gates

from Part I - The Urban Fabric

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2021

By
Leda Costaki  and
Anna Maria Theocharaki
Edited by
Jenifer Neils  and
Dylan K. Rogers
Jenifer Neils
Affiliation:
American School of Classical Studies, Athens
Dylan K. Rogers
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
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Summary

City streets, fortification walls, and gates were key elements of Athenian topography that structured urban space throughout the history of the city, directing circulation both under urgent circumstances and in everyday life. With their continuous repairs and modifications, they remained a fixed point and the backbone of the urban fabric.

Keywords

streetsfortificationsgatesLong Wallscity planning
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Athens , pp. 47 - 62
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Further Reading

A web-mapping platform with all published archaeological remains revealed in rescue excavations in Athens from the nineteenth century onwards will be launched in 2020 by the Dipylon Society for the Study of Ancient Topography (https://dipylon.org). Costaki 2006 and 2009 offers a comprehensive study of Athenian streets, discussing technical matters and urban planning issues. Information on stretches of the city walls and the streets excavated in rescue excavations can be found in the reports of the Archaeological Service published annually in the Archaiologikon Deltion (in Greek).

For fortifications in Athens, Theocharaki 2020 provides the definitive study of the city walls throughout the centuries, assembling literary sources and archaeological evidence. The study of the fortifications in the Kerameikos has been recently enriched by the final publications of the Dipylon and Sacred Gates (Gruben and Müller 2018 and Kuhn 2017, respectively). Conwell’s 2008 monograph throws new light on the Long Walls, arguing that they were effective whenever the Athenians were confident in the safety of their fleet. Judeich 1931 and Travlos 1960 and 1971 provide the best overview of the location and names of the city gates and a general discussion of the city streets.

Bibliography

Additional resources to accompany this chapter can be found at: www.cambridge.org/NeilsRogers

Conwell, D.H. 2008. Connecting a City to the Sea: The History of the Athenian Long Walls. Leiden.Google Scholar
Costaki, L. 2006. “The Intra Muros Road System of Ancient Athens.” PhD dissertation, University of Toronto.Google Scholar
Costaki, L. 2009. “Οδικό δίκτυο των Αθηνών.” In Αττικής Οδοί: Αρχαίοι δρόμοι της Αττικής, ed. Korres, M., Athens, 96–111.Google Scholar
Frantz, A. 1988. Late Antiquity: ad 267–700. Agora 24. Princeton.Google Scholar
Gruben, G., and Müller, K.. 2018. Das Dipylon. Kerameikos 22. Wiesbaden.Google Scholar
Judeich, W. 1931. Topographie von Athen. 2nd edn. Munich.Google Scholar
Katsianis, M., Lampraki, S., Theocharaki, A.M., Pigaki, M., Costaki, L., and Papaefthimiou, E.. 2018. “Reconnecting a Fragmented Monument through Digital Mapping: The City Walls of Athens.” Studies in Digital Heritage 2.2: 177–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korres, M. 2009. “Οδικό δίκτυο γύρω από την Ακρόπολη.” In Αττικής Οδοί: Αρχαίοι δρόμοι της Αττικής, ed. Korres, M., Athens, 74–95.Google Scholar
Kuhn, G. 2017. Das Heilige Tor. Kerameikos 19. Wiesbaden.Google Scholar
Parlama, L., and Stampolidis, N.C., eds. 2000. Athens: The City beneath the City: Antiquities from the Metropolitan Railway Excavations. Athens.Google Scholar
Theocharaki, A.M. 2011. “The Ancient Circuit Wall of Athens: Its Changing Course and the Phases of Construction.” Hesperia 80: 71–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Theocharaki, A.M. 2020. The Ancient Circuit Walls of Athens. Berlin.Google Scholar
Thompson, H.A. 1982. “The Pnyx in Models.” In Studies in Attic Epigraphy: History and Topography Presented to Eugene Vanderpool, Princeton, 133–147.Google Scholar
Thompson, H.A., and Scranton, R.L.. 1943. “Stoas and City Walls on the Pnyx.” Hesperia 12: 269–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Travlos, J. 1960. Πολεοδομική εξέλιξις των Αθηνών. Athens.Google Scholar
Travlos, J. 1971. Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Athens. New York.Google Scholar

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