Priene

The Ionian city of Priene, the most extensively excavated Hellenistic city in western Asia Minor, was in its day a model of town planning. It was sited according to principles enunciated in Aristotle's Politics of the ideal city of 5,000, laid out on a grid of the type developed by the famous Hippodamus of the nearby city of Miletus, and ornamented with buildings designed by Pythius, known for his holistic approach to architecture. Priene provides the researcher with an unusually clear and complete picture of life in an ancient Greek city of the late Classical and Hellenistic period. This study, a collaboration of Greek scholars directed and coordinated by Nikos A. Dontas (Foundation of the Hellenic World, www fhw.gr) and Wolfram Hoepfner (University of Berlin), now in its second edition, presents for the first time a comprehensive look at the architecture of the city, combining material from the first excavation of 1894 and more recent work at the site. It is lavishly illustrated with redrawn architectural plans and reconstructions of the major public buildings and spaces as well as residential and commercial structures. The second edition includes a new introduction by Fritz Graf (University of Ohio), an expanded historical introduction, and a glossary of technical terms.