From Mycenae to Constantinople

The evolution of the ancient city

Plot

This book examines a selection of Greek and Roman cities, looking specifically at their architectural remains. They are chosen for their importance to our understanding of the evolution of the city form, either because they were already important in antiquity, or because the quality of the remains makes them particularly interesting. Thus the survey includes early places which failed to develop, places which were major, dominant cities in their own time, and others which were never more than ordinary but which through accident (the eruption of Vesuvius at Pompeii) have left especially significant remains.