Exploring Continuity in Secular and Domestic Architecture of Athens through 5000 Years of History
Skartsis Labros S.
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Any study involving historical aspects of a city like Athens is clearly a challenging task, due to the long and, in some cases, not fully documented history of the city. In this case, we attempt to evaluate aspects of the evolution of its built urban environment, especially the architecture of common houses and buildings (as opposed to the much more documented and studied architecture of religious and monumental structures), along with whatever else constitutes the average “architectural urban atmosphere” of the city. This is by no means a thorough research project on architectural and other details, and it admittedly expresses subjective arguments and alternative viewpoints. Nonetheless, we have utilized as many reliable sources as possible, to present a case, regarding what can be called a particular sense of continuity in the aforementioned “atmosphere”, despite the innumerable variations in the city’s life through history. A continuity that we feel is mostly connected with cultural elements, as well as natural elements that characterize the land of Athens, Attica, and Greece in general.