Ancient Town-Planning by F. (Francis John) Haverfield
page 28 of 128 (21%)
page 28 of 128 (21%)
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_Rhodes_.
A third city assigned to Hippodamus is Rhodes. This, according to Strabo, was laid out by 'the architect of the Piraeus'; according to others, it was built round its harbour like the seats of an ancient theatre round the orchestra, that is, fan-fashion like Karlsruhe. However, this case is doubtful. Rhodes was laid out in 408 B.C., thirty-five years after the planting of Thurii and seventy years after the approximate date of the birth of Hippodamus. It is conceivable but not altogether probable that Hippodamus was still planning towns in his extreme old age, nor is it, on political grounds, very likely that he would be planning in Rhodes. As, however, we do not know the real date of his birth, and as Strabo does not specifically mention his name, certainty is unattainable.[18] [18] On Hippodamus see K.F. Hermann, _de Hippodamo Milesio_ (Marburg, 1841) and Erdmann, _Philologus_ xlii. 193-227, and _Programm Protestant. Gymnasium zu Strassburg_, 1883. As will be seen, I do not accept all Erdmann's conclusions. For the Piraeus see Aristotle, _Politics_, II. 8 = p. 1267 and IV. 11 = p. 1330. For Thurii see Diodorus XII. 10. For Rhodes see Strabo 654 = XIV. ii. 9: E. Meyer, _Gesch. des Alt._ iv. pp. 60, 199 rejects the tale. For plans of the Piraeus see Wachsmuth, _Stadt Athen im Alterthum_, ii. 134, and Curtius and Kaupert, _Karten von Attika_ (1881), plan II_a_ by Milchhöfer. Foucart has adduced epigraphic reasons for dating the work of Hippodamus here to 480-470 B.C. (_Journal des Savants_, 1907, pp. 178-82); they are not conclusive, but, if he be right, the difficulty of assigning the Piraeus and Rhodes to the same architect becomes even greater. The town-plan of Piraeus given by Gustav Hirschfeld (_Berichte |
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