Civil Settlement

The layout of an ancient Hellenistic settlement was a product of centuries of haphazard evolution. As the needs of the occupants changed over time they demolished, constructed and re-purposed their city without sparing a thought for its overall organisation. City layouts were often confusing and, in an effort to correct this, new settlements were constructed to a grid plan. This featured well-spaced, right angled streets which converged on the agora, the centre of civic life in the Greek world. The man credited with this idea, Hippodamus of Miletus, argued that its benefits were more than merely practical, its adoption ushering in a more ordered and balanced society for people to live in.