The Effects Of Different Levels Of Access And Provisions Of Infrastructures On Experiences In Athens

In this essay, I shall be discussing the effects of different level of access and provisions of infrastructures on experiences in Athens and shall be concluding on whether this would be democratic.

During the establishment of Rome, various structures had been established to maintain peace and prosperity of the people with democratic structures to allow the voice of the few to be heard by the many which allowed for important political debate regarding issues of the state.

Beginning at around 500BC, the Pynx was one such area. The Pynx was a hill that was in Central Athens to allow people to gather for assemblies and was a mandatory aspect of life. As it was mandated for citizens, this allowed for accountability of what was said.

Originally, this wasn’t always the case, during the Bronze Age a dominant Mycenaean city was created. During the reign, there had been a defensive structure that was erected on the Acropolis. This was the first structure that allowed the city to obtain potable water, which at the time was considered precious.

Although it is unclear, is had been said that Theseus had instigated the movement that incorporated the communities within Athens under one authority which would have come to be the one responsible for the politics of the city. Once the kingship had been abolished the Acropolis became the centre of the city as it had various structures.

The structures were constructed with a militaristic and religious mindset in mind. The militaristic side came from the area being constructed at the highest point of the city which would allow for easier defence through having a higher vantage point and with the requirement of it to be a citadel too meant that the location was ideal.

Within the Acropolis there was also religious mindset while the construction was taking place. The religious aspect came from the site being at the highest point of the city which meant that this would symbolise the respect the citizens had for their Gods, putting their temples at the highest points in order to signify the presence and the status of their Gods.

From these two ideas behind the development of the city, allowed the fortification of the city to protect the citizens whilst having structures in place such at the Parthenon which was the former temple of the Goddess Athena. This ensures the wellbeing of the citizens within Athens. The establishment of these two ideas allowed the governing body to work with the citizens of Athens, establishing the basis of democracy.

During the Rule of Emperor Augustus, there was a new market that was constructed nearby the old one which was connected by a marble paved street.

The introduction of this infrastructure allowed more merchants and craftsmen to move into the market which later allowed the settlement of these people.

In this case the growth was done through the support of emperors and the wealthy. This action allowed for better circulation of people and vendors as this created more space for vendors to settle down and move back into the area as this helped revive the market which further benefited the state through increased income coming in due to the revitalisation.

This loosely fits into a democratic ideal as this decision would have been made with the agreement of the senate at the time however this would mean that Athens was going through radical democracy, which meant that people were held accountable for what they voted for as voting was a public affair unlike today. This meant that each one of the decisions that were made by the citizens held weight with the governing body at the time.

During this, the Pynx was considered an important political platform, however as this was the platform where what was spoken was taken seriously there had to be somewhere within here to practice speeches in public without the consequences it would carry.

This is where the Theatre of Dionysus came into play. This became the central platform where people would project their voice through performance and may have been without consequences as it would have been classed as public entertainment.

The experience this would put forward would allow the performer to play the crowd and project their voice in an entertaining manner.

The central stages as shown in this plan allowed for the performer to be at the focus of the show as the positioning and shape of the structure allowed for optimum acoustics, similar acoustics which allows greater vocal projection over a distance, so the speaker can be heard, like the Pynx.

This introduction of this was important as Athens would have been relying on the citizens to solve political disputes, this idea was further implied with rotation of the governing body as to minimise the chances of corruption within the republic.

When it came to urban planning however, one name was the most prevalent, Hippodamus of Miletus. Although his direct involvement is yet to be proven his name is permanently known with the Hippodamian Plan.

Hippodamaus had arranged the building and the streets of Miletus so that they would have optimum airflow so that it could provide cooling during the hotter days of the year which in turn would boost the morale of the citizens as they wouldn’t be stuck in a hot climate with no way to cope.

This plan became the best example and fell in line with Aristotle’s method of thinking.

Aristotle had agreed with this method of planning as it would have made general life more pleasant due to this method of planning put the needs of the citizens forward.

This was important as the citizens are what made the city what it was through their involvement with the governing body. The ideas and principles and issues that were brought forward allowed for transparency between the everyday citizen and the members of the senate allowing a gauge for everyday living in the city.

This would then allow for any changes to be agreed and acted upon.

The one downside to this method of construction was mainly militaristic as a standardised urban plan of a city would cause the city to fall under siege easily.

Should it be planned in the opposite manner with different layouts, this would provide a better defensive strategy as this would ensure any foreign attacker would not understand the layout of the city. This would theoretically qualm attacks from any foreign body.

The Agora was another example of democratic implementation.

The Agora in its earlier history was an area where free citizens would report for their military duty or to hear statements of the ruling leader. This then later was transformed to a marketplace where merchants would come and sell their goods. The most important thing about the Agora was that it was the centre for Athenian life, it was laid out in the 6th century B.C. northwest of the Acropolis and populated with public buildings.

As Athens started gaining traction as a trading outpost, there became the need to improve and invest into the infrastructure of the city. Not only for the efficiency of the trade but to also maintain the fortification of the city.

According to Aristotle’s ideas, this would mean improving the infrastructure to allow for maximised mobility for the military first as prioritising this would ensure that whatever was planned for the commerce of the city would be able to be easily defended should it be necessary. As the Agora thrived with the influx of people, especially after the involvement of Emperor Augustus the state had also implemented taxes as to maintain an economy of the city. This allowed the Athenians to expand to the sea as they used ships to work and defend the city.

The fruition of the city however started changing through the Byzantine era of Athens mainly due to Paul the Apostle who had disavowed the Gods of the Athenians which led to him being met with little enthusiasm. During this time, Churches were being erected around the outskirts of the city. The damage to the culture of Athens was further made irreparable with the decree of Emperor Justinian wo prohibited the operation of philosophical schools which also led to the economic status of Athens falling.

One of the most popular forms of infrastructure were the Roman aqueducts, also known as Hadrians Aqeuducts.

Emperor Hadrian of Rome was an admirer of Athens and during his reign, he had put forward works that would help the prosperity of Athens. Many of the works that were undertaken had left their mark on Athens, the Hadrian Aqueducts were one such project that had left its mark on Athens.

The basis of the aqueducts were to allow water to be transported in and around nearby territories to allow the areas to have easier access to water. This implementation allowed development of more structures such as the communal baths to maintain cleanliness and to reduce the spread of disease through unsanitary contact.

The implementation of this infrastructure made an incredible impact in day to day living because this solved the issue Athens had with its water supply keeping up with the demand of the people. As Athens is also in an area where infrastructure such as this is vital, this quickly became one of the biggest weaknesses from a militaristic perpective, the perpectove which Aristotle was adamant about.

This became evident during the Ottoman empire where the aqueduct was l;eft to deteriorate, leaving the city with the urgency of water.

Looking at this, it seems that Athens is a good example of containing democratic infrastructure. This is mainly due to principles that the city fell into a democratic state after the kingship dissolved. With the development of the city, the urban planning seemed to have started on the militaristic and religious perspective of the city allowing for transparency between the governing body and the citizens of the city. I believe this was the better way forward as the city was designed for this with the site it was founded on. Free citizens had a voice in political matters which allowed the Athenians to maintain a balanced relationship between the governing body of the city and the public. This transparency that both parties had was key in order for the advancement of their civilisation. This also allowed the implementation of the tax system as the city could rely on it’s citizens to maintain the economy through its trade. This was done through the introduction and implementation of money and taxation as this would allow for a circulation of money which would support the people contributing to the city whilst also having the city have income to pay for any works that needed to be implemented such as roads for better mobility.