Hippodamos of Miletos

1
Hippodamos of Miletos

• Ancient Greek Architect, Urban Planner and
  Philosopher.

2
Urban planning pre-hippodamus

• There were several urban planners prior to
  Hippodamus, but we only know some names.
• Hippodamus and Plato, both being urban planners
  were late in the game, yet the best documented.
• Hippodamus, inventor of gridiron plan?

3
History of Greek cities.

• Cities were constantly being founded, destroyed,
  expanded, relocated and re-built.
• Presumably, by the 4th century B.C. 1/3 of all
  cities had been newly founded since the 8th cent.
  B.C.E
• The development of the polis as a
  characteristically Greek institution relates to
  the re-design of a city.

4
Hippodamus Overview

• He was not a politician
• Saw city planning from the theoretical side,
  rather than the practical side of things
• He was concerned not solely with the physical
  layout of cities, but in the ordering of an ideal
  society.
• Planned several cities that we know of,
  influenced many.

5
Hippodamian Theory

• Hipodamus was a philosopher.
• We know few details of his full ideal, but based
  on what he proposed and created at other sites,
  we get the idea
• Tripartite system
• Citizens were divided into three categories
  Farmer, artesian and solder
• Land was to be divided into three parts equally
  one for public use, private use and religious
  use.
• Aristotle credits him with the discovery of the
  poleis (polis)

6
Miletus

• An ancient city, in its archaic form it was
  irregularly built.
• Was invaded by the Persians in 494 B.C.E
• Returning survivors planned a new modern city
• Rectangular networks of streets.

7
Modern Miletus

• After the Persian invasion, this grid-iron was
  created.
• It is debatable whether or not Hippodamus
  invented the layout.
• Although it is certian he was definitley
  influenced by it.

8
Miletus v.s. Athens
9
Priene

• Ancient city of up to 5,000 inhabitiants.
• 16 miles north of Miletus
• Originally on the sea coast, now a steep terrain

10
Priene
11
Ancient Priene

• Agora
• Stadium
• Theatre
• Main streets
• Temple
• Insulae

12
Priene

• Fortified and built in to the southern slope of a
  large hill
• Streets traveling east to west were level, while
  the north to south streets were steep

13
Piraeus

• 9 miles S.W. of Athens
• Has been inhabited since the 26th century B.C.
• Because of its seaside location, Piraeus
  harbors were used by
• the Athenians as a prosperous shipyard,
  eventually the town was
• fortified and began to grow.
• Hippodamus came in around
• the 5th century B.C.E to arrange
• the growing city.
• Boundary stones Nemeses

14
Hippodamus

• Inventor of the gird layout.
• Greek emphasis on individual glory
• Major contributions to the world or urban planning

15
Hippodamus

• Richard Tomlinson From Mycenae to Constantinople.
  Pgs. 56, 70-75
• Ferdinando Castagnoli Orthogonal Town Planning in
  Antiquity. Pgs. 10, 1297-102
• Nicholas Cahill, Household and City Organization
  at Olynthus. Pgs 37-42