Recherche par auteur > Tsiolis Vassilis

The archaeological research of the public areas of the three main cities of southern Arkadia has provided important data that allow to glimpse the political-institutional and ideological orientations underlying the implementation of the corresponding city-planning projects. The initial configuration of the agorai and their immediate surroundings denote the concerns of these poleis by reflecting their socio-political dynamics, both in terms of the organization of the institutions and the development of the activities of the civic body, as well as in the public manifestation of their specific social, cultural and identitary character of each polis. The topographical situation of the civic centres, the functions and architectural characteristics of the buildings and their evolution over time allow a reliable approximation to regional or local peculiarities, although the research carried out has not always led to convergent conclusions. Along with the crucial role of religion and religious architecture in the consolidation of political projects and the legitimization of institutions, there is no doubt that the typological features of the spaces in question provide a glimpse of the character of the corresponding political systems of each polis. The analysis of the configuration of the agorai, theatres and other buildings of various typologies, linked to the performance of institutional functions of the Arkadian poleis contributes to a better understanding of the ancient reality, which should be updated by incorporating the results of the most recent research. In fact, some of these spaces and buildings continue to raise questions that invite to be approached from different analytical perspectives and more comprehensive historical-archaeological approaches. The present contribution aims to provide a succinct critical overview of the current state of studies on civic spaces in the cities of southern Arkadia and to relaunch updated working hypotheses concerning some of them. We will discuss, among other issues, the topographical and architectural organization the agorai-theatres complexes and their civic functions, the role of the hypostylle halls, as well as some questions raised from certain minor singular constructions in the surroundings of the agorai, such as the probable civic thesauri.