Epirus, a region located on the extreme outskirts of northwestern Greece and on the border with southern Illyria, is characterized by a population living in scattered villages and by a political structure with minor and main ethne organized in a federal or confederal manner. In this context, the development of the first indigenous urban centers is a rather late phenomenon that took place between the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. in relation with the emergence of the Hellenistic culture. The birth of cities shows the progressive construction and the monumentalization of the agoras and civic buildings which has reached its peak after the establishment of the Epirote koinon, between the end of the 3rd century and the first decades of the 2nd century B.C. However, Epirus has so far not been adequately represented in studies of Greek agora and public architecture. The book aims to fill this gap by reconstructing the architectural and functional development of civic public spaces in relation to historical events and the social, political and economic organization. Thus, the leading role played by the urban centers within the federal political structure of the region emerges and the public architecture, with its singularities and original characteristics, is perfectly integrated in the framework of the cultural Hellenistic koine shared throughout the Mediterranean basin.
L’Epiro, regione situata alle estreme propaggini della Grecia nord-occcidentale e ai confini con l’Illiria meridionale, è caratterizzato da un popolamento sparso in villaggi e da un’organizzazione per piccoli ethne e comunità “tribali” maggiori (Caoni, Tesproti e Molossi) guidati da magistrati annuali o sovrani. In tale contesto, l’evoluzione in senso urbano dei principali insediamenti indigeni è un fenomeno alquanto tardivo che si compie tra IV e III sec. a.C., in coincidenza con l’affermarsi della cultura ellenistica. Con la formazione delle città si assiste anche al progressivo sviluppo e alla monumentalizzazione delle piazze e degli edifici civili, centrali per la vita associativa delle nuove comunità urbane, che raggiunge il suo apice negli anni a cavallo tra III e II sec. a.C., in seguito alla nascita del koinon degli Epiroti. La regione, tuttavia, fino ad oggi non è stata adeguatamente rappresentata negli studi sull’agora e l’edilizia pubblica greca. Il volume si propone di colmare tale lacuna ricostruendo l’evoluzione architettonica e funzionale dell’architettura pubblica civile in rapporto agli eventi storici e al quadro sociale, politico ed economico. Emerge così il ruolo di primo piano ricoperto dai centri urbani all’interno delle compagini “tribali” e dell’assetto politico federale della regione e si delinea un paesaggio pubblico che con le sue tipicità e i suoi tratti originali è perfettamente inserito nel quadro di una koine artistica e architettonica ellenistica condivisa in tutto il Mediterraneo.
Agorai ed edilizia pubblica civile nell'Epiro di età ellenistica
Elia Rinaldi
2020
Abstract
Epirus, a region located on the extreme outskirts of northwestern Greece and on the border with southern Illyria, is characterized by a population living in scattered villages and by a political structure with minor and main ethne organized in a federal or confederal manner. In this context, the development of the first indigenous urban centers is a rather late phenomenon that took place between the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. in relation with the emergence of the Hellenistic culture. The birth of cities shows the progressive construction and the monumentalization of the agoras and civic buildings which has reached its peak after the establishment of the Epirote koinon, between the end of the 3rd century and the first decades of the 2nd century B.C. However, Epirus has so far not been adequately represented in studies of Greek agora and public architecture. The book aims to fill this gap by reconstructing the architectural and functional development of civic public spaces in relation to historical events and the social, political and economic organization. Thus, the leading role played by the urban centers within the federal political structure of the region emerges and the public architecture, with its singularities and original characteristics, is perfectly integrated in the framework of the cultural Hellenistic koine shared throughout the Mediterranean basin.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
