Centre Of Greek Cities example essay topic

"What gave rise to urbanization in the Mediterranean region?" What is urbanization? To 'urbanize' is to 'make (a rural area) more industrialized and urban', urban meaning 'of or living in a city or town'. Marja C.V. Vine argues that "The word urbanization was used for the first time in Spain a little more than one hundred years ago" to show the "quantitative and qualitative growth if cities". The degree of urbanization is quite different when comparing towns or cities of antiquity to the modern understanding of an urban centre; however, essentially it is the same process. When talking about the rise of urbanization in the Mediterranean region 3 main civilisations spring to mind, firstly the Greeks who were inspired by advanced civilisations of the Near East. Secondly, the Etruscans who ruled central Italy from the eighth century to the third century B.C. when the last Etruscan cities fell to Rome.

Etruria was bordered to the south by the River Tiber and to the north by the River Arno. City states developed in Etruria in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., and "by the last decades of the eighth century B.C. the centres which had undergone the process of urbanization and social diversification had acquired some of the status of cities". Etruria flourished until the Gauls invaded in the fourth century B.C. From 616-509 Etruscan kings ruled over Rome. Finally, the Romans dating back to 753 B.C. with the founding of Rome by Romulus. Urbanisation is synonymous with cities.

It seems impossible to consider a civilisation 'urbanized' if it does not have urban centres. So what is an urban centre? And why were these urban centres needed? Looking at what the cities consisted of can help one answer these questions. In Greece the most obvious choice for studying the process of urbanization is Athens.

I have chosen Marzabotto as the example of an urban centre for Etruria and finally, for the Roman Empire I have chosen Rome. These three cities all adapted to the needs of their population and the one thing common to all three is a cult centre. The first urban centres were certainly not Roman, however once urbanized Rome surpassed any of the Greek or former Etruscan cites in terms of. The Neolithic & Dark Age sees the beginning of domestication of plants and livestock, as well as the emergence of weaponry.

With cultivation now possible people were able to settle in one place and not move once the food sources were exhausted. Subsequently, first in the Near East and later in the Mediterranean region there was the development of 'pole is' (city states) and urbanization. During the Dark Age worship was done in the open air however after the eighth century B.C. temples and sanctuaries were built and the "character of the architecture. Was to some extent dictated by the needs of the cult" Religion was the main factor with respect to deciding on an urban centre". the city was a political, religious and to a lesser extent social centre for the community" Most cities would have a centralised cult and the temple or church or sacral building would be the central building around which urban centres would grow. Then as the urban centre grew more temples and altars would be built to cater for the growing population. It seems that at early stages of development few public buildings were established except for temples.

In the case of Athens for example the Parthenon was built before the political and social buildings of the agora, this is the Parthenon, dedicated to Athena, the warrior maiden. In Etruria, the city of Marzabotto is where we find the oldest stone building in the whole of Northern Italy, "pottery found during the excavations shows that it dates from the end of the 6th or the beginning of the 5th century B.C". This was a small sanctuary which signifies that Marzabotto was initially a cult centre and that people chose to live near the sanctuary. That Marzabotto urbanized mainly as a cult centre is also suggested through the fact that "beside it stood the Monteguragazza sanctuary, the most significant relic of Etruscan culture in the Apennines". Rome encompasses 7 hills, at the centre of political, social and most importantly religious life is Capitoline Hill, the highest of the seven hills and the major cult centre that would symbolism the main state of Rome and, every city thereafter would have a Capitoline Hill. Rome "was replete not only with its many official cults and an increasing number of imported ones".

Religion also concerned burial, generally outside the city walls. 'like the romans, the Greeks disapproved of burial within the city walls' however, 'for heroes the prohibition did not obtain. ' Through excavation, archaeologists have discovered an increase in the number of burial sites. Burials were increasing either due to population growth or more people being buried rather than left to rot. The latter is backed up by the fact the valuables people were buried with were decreasing in value". The colonisation movement not only assisted the development of regular town planning but must also have been a stimulus to the process of Greek urbanization in general". Colonies are being set up by settlers and what were small trading centres were now being made into flourishing urban centres as the populations got bigger and towns expanded.

Cities were a common feature of Near Eastern civilisations with monumental palaces, temples and public buildings. When Greek settlers came into contact with these rich civilisations they adopted their practices of urbanization and planning. Miletus in Ionia was initially established for trading and commercial reasons, situated on rocky mountainous landscape for purposes of defence and exploiting the regions natural landscape, but in the seventh and sixth centuries it became a fully functioning city. In turn, through expansion northwards into the Po valley and Southwards into Campania the Etruscans came into contact with the Greeks and were first introduced to the idea of regular town planning and urban design. The Orthogonal planning method is demonstrated in the Etruscan town of Marzabotto. It is suggested that there were two phases to the urbanization of Marzabotto, the first being the pre-urban where the main street running north to south most likely existed with a few wattle and daub houses resembling a nucleated settlement had been built.

The second phase 'Marzabotto II' where planning was introduced, most likely as a result of influence from the Greeks. Marzabotto demonstrates the earliest employment of orthogonal planning of Etruria. As in Athens one main street, 15 metre's wide, is intersected at right angles. These main streets are 15 metre's wide with the side streets measuring 5 metre's wide. The acropolis and temples are linked to the centre of the city by the northern most east to west Main Street.

People that lived in these urban centres also did in the cities thus it was necessary to provide sites for burial. Numerous sarcophagi have been found in cemeteries outside the city gates of Marzabotto. "The sarcophagus is a luxurious coffin - a long vessel hollowed out of stone" In Marzabotto they were found with an oval stone to show that this was a burial site. Consequences of colonisation meant increases in trade volume which in turn saw the development of pottery and statue styles and even the emergence of writing, introduced originally to Greece by the Phoenicians as a result of trade.

The role of trade was a major factor in the development of cities. Cities allowed craft specialization, meaning that citizens could live and trade with others within that community therefore making self-sufficiency a thing of the past. Surpluses from the craft such as pottery could then be traded amongst different communities. "No city in the ancient world developed and flourished relying entirely on its own resources" The Mediterranean Sea was vital to the colonisation of the Ancient world, which stretched from the Black Sea (Borysthenes) in the East to the Straits of Gibraltar in the West (Tartessus).

These took the form of trading posts (emporia) or cities (pole is). The growth of pole is in the ancient world concentrated wealth, thus creating a market for trade, as well as being places more likely to have a port. Mycenaean and Minoan trading posts were around in pre-historic Greece, whilst those present in the early 8th century were from mother-states of Chalcis and Euboea as well as from Corinth and Eritrea. From the 10th century onwards, trade in the Mediterranean was dominated by Phoenicians, from Lebanon and Syria.

These controlled a monopoly of purple ink, which they harvested from the rare murex shell. In the 9th century the Phoenicians founded the colonies of Cithium and Carthage in North Africa. The 9th century also saw the emergence of Greek trade in competition with the Phoenicians. Specific areas of Athens, Marzabotto and Rome were allocated to different craft workshops; being planned from the start with zoning for particular activities. "The city plan shows well the urban Mediterranean penchant both for grouping together workshop areas of similar trades (metalworking) ". Artisan quarters are found in Athens, with areas of specialised crafts such as metal working, pottery and especially vase making.

With respect to communication many earlier colonisation sites were established on the coast and were now becoming urban centres. Marzabotto was established inland, however it has excellent communications located on the road between Tuscany and Bologna in the middle of the Reno valley. Thus Marzabotto had excellent trading opportunities and they exploited this and were able to through the possibilities of craft-specialization. Archaeologists have found black-figure Greek pottery at this site, "pottery and metal industries which were the city's mainstay" The growth of pole is in the ancient world concentrated wealth, thus creating a market for trade, as well as being places more likely to have a port. Aristotle in 'Politics' 1252-3 states that he believed that men came together out of necessity.

Cities were needed as a means of controlling the citizens of a country or Empire, the "city was still the natural unit of local administration, the most tangible and direct point of contact between ruler and ruled". Thus a civilisation would run much more efficiently if united by a single leader. For example, King Theseus' of Attica was a sign of his ingenuity and reflected the desire of certain leaders to have there populus around them and effect power from a court thus increasing their status. At the centre of Greek cities is the agora with public and administrative buildings such as The senate House (Bouleterion) and law courts. With its many altars, sanctuaries and temples the agora also served as a major religious centre. It also incorporated large market buildings and small private shops.

With its 'large open square reserved for public functions' the "Agora was the effective focal centre of Athens", combining political social and religious functions, a place of assembly and the setting for ceremonies and festivals. It originated as an open space near the centre of the city, usually near the acropolis or established cult centre. Buildings were added such as temples, stops, law courts and council buildings (Bouleuterion) the "theatre like place of assembly" and the "agora remained the heart of the city and the focus of civic activity" The Forum became the focal point of Roman urban centres just as the agora had done for the Greeks. The Roman Forum started in the seventh century BC by Julius Caesar and completed by Emperor Augustus. This was the site of all major political and religious buildings, sanctuaries and temples including the Temple of Saturn, the first Temple of the Roman forum built in 498 BC. Cities also emerged for defensive reasons as it is easier to protect a nucleated rather than scattered settlement.

Owens suggests that "The Romans colonized primarily for military and strategic reasons" This is reflected in the case of Rome where the city wall was regarded with huge importance, so much so that Romulus killed his brother Remus due to him building the wall wrong and 'turned some pieces of work into ridicule'. "Until the reality of pax Romana the largest and most expensive monuments were city walls". City walls built for protection and were standard until modern cities. Although new urban centres had well planned streets the unplanned streets of Rome and Athens were thought by many to be an advantage from a military point of view as the ill arranged streets confused enemy troops. Reasons for urbanization in the Mediterranean were complex and numerous and differing with each civilisation. However, the provision of a cult centre remains a major factor to the rise of urban centres of the Mediterranean.

No matter how small the city or sanctuary, such as the temple found at Marzabotto or large for example the Parthenon or Temple of Saturn found in Athens and Rome respectively; a sacred centre is always found in the city and was usually existing before town planning or the agoras and Forums.

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