Supervisors info:
Κανελλόπουλος Χρύσανθος, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής Κλασικής Αρχαιολογίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Ε.Κ.Π.Α
Κατάκης Στυλιανός, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής Κλασικής Αρχαιολογίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Ε.Κ.Π.Α
Ασλανίδης Κλήμης, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Αρχιτεκτόνων Μηχανικών, Πολυτεχνείο Κρήτης
Summary:
The Master thesis deals with the use of quadrilateral supports in the Greek architecture of classical and Hellenistic period. Initially, after the clarification of modern terminology the investigation of the corresponding ancient terminology, shows that the term "πεσσός" is not documented in any case. Furthermore, the unique reference for its ancient term by Pliny (Atticae columnae) is considered problematic, given its description as a support with a square rather than a rectangular cross section. Starting from a 19th-century view, which replaces the word αττικόν with the word άτοιχον, a different approach to the term is attempted.
The following chapters describe and analyze the surviving piers restored to specific buildings. In particular, in the Athenian architecture there are rectangular piers, which are mainly parts of the Acropolis buildings as innovations of the architects Mensikles and Kallikrates, and their use came as a solution to problems created by the lack of space.
In Delos, piers appear at the end of the 5th century BC in the Athenian temple, attributed to Kallikrates. The majority of them, however, are found in Hellenistic buildings influenced by the Neorion, a Macedonian construction commissioned by Demetrius Poliorcetes. The characteristics of the piers, especially the moldings of the capitals, Doric and Ionic, show impact of the Macedonian Neorion and not of the Athenian temple. In addition, the use of piers in dormers and windows, which replace wall sections, echoes the άτοιχον concept.
In Macedonian architecture, piers are widely used instead of columns in houses and public buildings, while they are absent from the official architecture of the palaces. The parallel construction of wooden and stone piers suggests the origin of the latter from the wooden architecture, possibly revealing a process of petrification of wooden structures, which took place in southern Greece much earlier.
The thesis is completed with the study of three unpublished piers, which are located at the Hadrian’s Library of Athens. The dating of the capital in the time of August, based on the peculiar molding, and the restoration of the whole with a door frame, puts the piers at the entrance of the Agrippa’s Odeion. The reconstruction of the piers in the building, based on the plans of J. Travlos, leads to a better understanding of the architectural design of the Odeion and the redefinition of the external form of the building in the center of the ancient Agora.
Keywords:
Pier, Columnae Atticae, Pliny, Kallikrates, Athens, Delos, Neorio, Macedonia, Pella, Olynthus, moldings, Agrippa's Odeion, door frame
