Greek & Roman Cities

UntitledStrategic Partnership Ancient Cities
The creation of these resources has been co-funded by the ERASMUS+ grant programme of the European Union under grant
no. 2017-1-DE01-KA203-003537 (funding period 2017-2020; total grant 364.923,00 €). Neither the European Commission nor the project's national funding agency DAAD are responsible for the content or liable for any losses or damage resulting of
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Greek & Roman Cities
Intellectual Output 7
International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Strategic Partnership Ancient Cities
Module 1: Why does it matter
Introducing the topic
"Here it is. This is my city, this is where civilization was really born!" Herodes gestured
wildly, pointing out the window at the stunning view of the whole city, lying outside with the
acropolis as its heart. Regilla forced a smile as she studied the city before her. The pride of
her husband was so obvious. She did not dare to admit that she missed Rome and the shade in
the garden of her father’s house. “That over there, down from the acropolis is the agora. It is
the forefather of your Roman forum. Before you Romans came, this was the place of
democracy!” Regilla was surprised that her husband suddenly did not refer to himself as a Roman. In Rome he could hardly be Roman enough. Here, in Athens, he was Greek through
and through. She wondered what else was different now they had left Italy. She pushed the
thoughts away and let herself be caught up by his happiness and pride.
"That over there is where I plan my aqueduct! I was thinking of maybe adding a great
fountain or something right about here...” He pointed. “Maybe you could help me with the
project? It would be fitting since you are now a priestess of this city.” Regilla felt warm all over. He wanted to build something with her? He valued her opinion! Maybe her stay in the
city would turn out just fine after all. She looked at the city again. Maybe this could be her
city as well. “It is gorgeous, Herodes. Amazing! And what is that over there?” She pointed to an monumental area further away. “That is Kerameikos. In front is the potter’s quarters and outside the old walls is our old necropolis. Many heroes of the Greek world are buried there.
The memorials there are as grand as any Roman monuments!" She smiled warmly,
completely won over by his enthusiasm. “Maybe we could discuss the fountain tonight at the
dinner?” “Don’t be ridiculous, Regilla.” He stepped away from the window, suddenly all the joy was drained from his voice. His eyes cold. “You are not attending that dinner. Ladies do
not dine with men in civilized society. You are not in Rome anymore.” He swept out of the room, leaving her with burning cheeks and the hidden giggles of her slave girls.
Voices from the past and present
The quotes below relate to cities, especially ancient cities, and how they affect us:
“A city isn’t so unlike a person. They both have the marks to show they have many stories to tell. They see many faces. They tear things down and make new again.”
(Rasmenia Massoud, contemporary American author, from “Broken Abroad”.)
“Men make the city and not walls or ships without men in them”
(Nicias, Athenian general, second half of the 5th c. BC, according to Thucydides in History of
the Peloponnesian War, book 7, chapter 77, paragraph 7)
“I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.” (Augustus, Roman emperor, 63 BC-14 AD, according to Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars,
Divus Augustus, book 28, chapter 3)
“Rome has grown since its humble beginnings that it is now overwhelmed by its own greatness.”
(Livy, Roman historian, 59 BC – 17 AD, in From the Founding of the City, preface line 4)
Relevant maps for this module
The maps below can help you get an overview of the location of the ancient Greek and
Roman cities mentioned in the MOOC.
A first look at Greek and Roman cities
The images below are of some key sites in Athens and Rome, namely the Athenian Acropolis
and the city square, also called forum in Latin and agora in Greek. Click on the image to go to
the website and get additional information.
What will I learn
After taking this module you will be able to
1. Compare ancient and modern cities and identify similarities and differences.
2. Reason archaeologically for investigating in cities.
3. Define what the ancient city was.
4. Identify key elements of the ancient city.
5. Get a preliminary understanding of the research history of Greek and Roman Cities
Key words of this module
Urbanization, impact of ancient cities on later urban development, resilience and problems of
cities, defining a city, urban societies vs non-urban societies.
Important to know
Acropolis
Early Greek settlements, which were often placed on natural high grounds. These later often
developed into the centres of larger settlements. The most well-known is the acropolis in
Athens where the famous Athena Parthenos temple still stands today.
Forum
The forum was the grand public space in every Roman city. Here gods were worshipped,
politics were made, and trades of all sorts were found here. The most known Roman forum
today is Forum Romanum in Rome.
Agora
The agora was the central public space in the ancient Greek cities. As in the forum here gods
could be worshipped and political life thrived alongside trade.
Hippodamean system
This system was developed by Hippodamus of Miletus in the 5th century BC. It is a plan for
founding a city from a grid.
Urban Revolution
The Australian archaeologist V. Gordon Childe introduced the term “Urban Revolution” to describe the emergence of the cities. This transition marked an important step in the history of
humankind.
Why do ancient cities matter today?
Today, cities are more important than ever: for the first time in human history, most of us are
living in cities. By looking at ancient Greek and Roman cities, we can learn more about the
variety of urban experiences. How could people with different cultures, languages and
religions coexist, and even flourish? And how come some of these ancient cities did not
survive, while others remain major cities today, having stood the test of time?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ8MUbuxpmc
What is a city?
What is a city? This video deals with a seemingly simple question. But is it really that simple?
You will hear about attempts to define urbanism and the emergence of the first cities in
human history.
What did an ancient city look like?
We admire and appreciate ancient monuments, but what about the overall city’s layout of which they were once an integral part? In this video we are going to examine the urban form
and urban design principles of ancient Greek and Roman cities.
https://youtu.be/4ROxkA3tNJ8
Chronology and geography of the ancient world
The story we will tell you through this video and the topics we will discuss together are part
of an extensive chronological framework, spanning nearly two millennia (from the 8th
century BC to at least the 5th century AD), and a vast geographical area centred on the
Mediterranean, ranging from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Indus, from the North Sea to
Arabia, from the Danube to North Africa.
https://youtu.be/t2Lc4klmc7g
Why do you know it?
Where does our knowledge of Greek and Roman cities come from? Where do the scientists
studying ancient cities work? In this video you will get a brief insight into the history of the
exploration of Greek and Roman cities.
https://youtu.be/oH7OBxVSHKQ
Bonus video: Rome: A Centre for the Study of Ancient Cities
Rome has been continuously important since antiquity, so it was natural that Rome became a
centre for the study of ancient urbanism. Rome offers a rich research environment through its
many universities and foreign academies. So why are these institutions important today for
the study of ancient cities?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5KBmxYIH5Q
Selecting assignments
The assignments are not mandatory, but we suggest that you dedicate some further time to
complete at least one of the assignments, to become more acquainted with Greek and Roman
cities. Don’t hesitate to post your assignments on your favourite social network and share the
link with the community in our forum. We invite you to actively respond, evaluate and
provide feedback to other participants’ assignments. The forum will be moderated.
Assignment: Think as an archaeologist
This assignment is of low difficulty level (easy) and should not take more than 1 hour.
Take a map of a modern city (you decide which) and compare it to a map of an ancient city.
(Find maps of one of the cities treated in this course online). Try to identify similar areas of
the city (public area like forum, sanitary areas, areas of fun/games, areas of commerce,
domestic areas, etc.).
Read the information on the websites indicated below, if you need inspiration.
Upload your thoughts as a text, an audio file or a short movie clip in one of your social media
accounts. Post the link to it in the DGRC forum (at the bottom of this page) so that others can
comment on it. It is encouraged to use modern apps such as snapchat or the like.
Questions to consider
• Where would you like to excavate and why?
• What would you hope to gain from this?
• What can you say about the modern/antique city from this area of the city?
• Does it make sense to compare ancient and modern cities? Why? Why not?
Websites to use
• Does it make sense to compare ancient and modern cities?
• Comparing Roman and Japanese culture and cities
• Comparing Rome and London
Assignment: Create your own Greek or Roman city
This assignment is of average difficulty and should not take more than 2 hours.
A city has been defined as ”an inhabited place of greater size, population, or importance than
a town or village” or ”an area in which a large number of people live fairly close together”, but cities are much more than that.
Read the information on the websites indicated below about how to build a city and what is
needed in a modern city and compare it to what you know of the ancient city.
Now draw a city map of an ideal Greek or Roman city.
Consider the following questions in formulating your response and give reasons for your
choices.
Upload your thoughts as a description or image (photo, drawing) in the forum of DGRC (at
the bottom of this page). Furthermore, it is encouraged to use modern apps such as snapchat
or the like.
Questions to consider
• Where would you place the agora/the forum?
• Where are the sanctuaries and temples located, where are the living quarters?
• Does your city need a harbour?
• What would be your city deity?
• What do you need for an ancient city to function?
• What did it have to contain?
• Where does it differ from our modern ideas of a city?
• Would you be able to define an ancient city in two or three sentences?
Websites to use
• How to build a modern city in 10 easy steps
• How to build a modern city from scratch
• Wikipedia on the history of cities (remember to be critical here. Wikipedia is not
always right!)
How to implement new buildings in an old city?
This assignment is of high difficulty level (hard) and should not take more than 1 hour.
Study the maps and aerial photos of Aphrodisias – a well-preserved Roman-period city in
ancient Caria, SW Turkey. Aphrodisias was laid out on a new plan in the later Hellenistic
period but the major public buildings of the city were built during the Roman period. How
were the public buildings adjusted to fit this plan? Explore the website of the excavations at
Aphrodisias and consider the ways in which the topography and pre-existing settlements were
considered in the laying out the city’s orthogonal grid of urban blocks.
Upload your thoughts as a text, an audio file or a short movie clip in one of your social media
accounts. Post the link to it in the DGRC forum (at the bottom of this page) so that others can
comment on it. It is encouraged to use modern apps such as snapchat or the like.
Instructions for quiz
On this page you will find a self-assessment quiz to test your knowledge gained in module 1.
The quiz is provided in three languages.
This quiz consists of 9 questions. Difficulty level has been indicated for every question.
Answer each question and submit the quiz to see your score.
Quiz module 1
9 points possible (graded)
Question 1 (easy). What kind of activities took place on a Greek agora or a Roman forum?
• The space was reserved for politics and voting.
• The space was reserved for politics, voting and a great deal more.
• Only trade and religious rituals.
Question 2 (easy). Where and when have scholars identified the first cities?
• In France in the 3rd millennium BC.
• In Egypt in the 6th millennium BC.
• In Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC.
Question 3 (easy). What can we learn from the study of ancient cities?
• We can learn everything we need to successfully found a modern city.
• Nothing as such, but historically, they are interesting.
• We can learn about the variety of urban experiences, their resilience, and the problems
these cities faced. Furthermore, we can study how they managed these challenges, and
also sometimes could not cope with them.
Question 4 (easy). What sources do we have available when studying Greek and Roman
cities?
• Archaeology, literary sources, and wikipedia.
• Only archaeology.
Question 5 (average). Mention two different systems cities could be developed from in
antiquity
• The Hippodamean system and self grown.
Question 6 (average). What was the advantage of an organically developed city?
• It was better for the environment and therefore not increasing global warming.
• It was difficult to conquer them as the irregular layout was full of surprises to the
enemies.
• It was easier to navigate.
Question 7 (average). What was the disadvantage of an organically developed city?
• Since these cities were developed with no preconceived plan, their streets were narrow
and could not accommodate heavy traffic.
• Since these cities were developed with no preconceived plan, they did not have any
beautiful monuments.
• Since these cities were developed with no preconceived plan, they were prone to be
more dirty than other cities.
Question 8 (average). Besides the acropolis, what are the three gravitational points around
which a city develops?
• The religious, political and administrative, and the commercial points.
• The political and administrative, the commercial, and the production points.
Question 9 (average). What was the most important cause for people deciding to live in
cities/villages, also labelled the “neolithic revolution”?
• The ability to use stone tools.
• A shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture and domestication of animals.
• The introduction of iron.
Reading
• Article in the Ancient History Encyclopedia about “The Ancient City”
• Article discussing the role of geology in the success of Rome and Naples
• A blog on “critical classical reception studies”
• Khan Academy: About digging Roman cities
• Khan Academy: Visualizing Imperial Rome
Advanced reading
• Camp, J. M., The Archaeology of Athens, 2001 (a good introduction to the city of
Athens)
• Claridge, A., Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, 2010 (a good introduction to
the city of Rome, also a useful glossary)
• Kolb, F., Die Stadt im Altertum im Altertum, 1984 (a comprehensive presentation of
the history of cities in Mesopotamia and in the Greek and Roman Mediterranean).
• Laurence, R. et al., The City in the Roman West c. 250 BC-c. AD 250, 2011 (a good
introduction to Roman cities in western Europe)
• Nicholas, D., The Growth of the Medieval City: From Late Antiquity to the Early
Fourteenth Century, 1995 (presents the development from ancient to medieval cities)
• Wallace-Hadrill, A., Herculaneum: Past and Future, 2011, pp. 65-87 (a chapter on
restoring and reconstructing the ancient city of Pompeii)
• Zuiderhoek, A., The Ancient City, 2017 (up-to-date introduction to the evolution,…

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