ABSTRACT

The enormous impact of Constantinos Doxiadis' theory of the organization of space in ancient Greece was justified because its topic alone foreshadowed absolute success. According to Doxiadis' theory, the primary principle of spatial planning for the ancient Greeks was visual perception. Through a geometric order, through angles, arcs, axes, lines, tangents, the hidden mathematical harmony of space was reflected in the eyes of the observer. When Doxiadis referred to the pre-Socratics, he cited the standpoint of Anaximander and the Pythagoreans on the spherical shape of the universe. He also referenced what Archytas had said about the relationships of angles among stars, relationships that Doxiadis would use unaltered to support his theory. In the book entitled Stadtebau by Werner Hegemann, Doxiadis recognizes, in the ground plans of the ideal towns of the Renaissance, a circular or polygonal structure with a centre and ten or twelve identical sections perimetrically.