ABSTRACT
Hippodamos of Miletos not only dominates the history of Classical town planning but, as the first recorded town planner of antiquity, he is the source of endless debate and confusion. The city-state, with its urban centre and surrounding territory, is seen as the dominant political form in Greece in the Classical period. The changing political, military and economic fortunes of the Greek city-states in the Classical period provided continuing opportunities for the town planner. Many of the new towns of Greece in the Classical period were laid out in much the same way, although the actual size of the grids varied. The career and conquests of Alexander the Great brought the Classical period of Greece to an end and transformed the Hellenic world. Grid planning in the Classical period remained essentially functional and Hippodamian methods seem to have had little direct influence on the development of other Classical towns.
