LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE IN ANCIENT GREECE

OWN CIVILIZATION HAS PRODUCED NOTHING ABOUT GREEK GARDEN CULTURE LESS ROOM FOR GARDENS. INDICATIONS OF GARDENING ARE DUBIOUS

GREECE MAINLAND FOTRESSES, DENSELY PACKED HOUSES, CASTLES

GREEK GARDENS
GREEK ART WAS MOST SPECIFIED TO THE DESIGN AND LAYOUT OF THE CITIES

OTHER ARTS WERE RAPIDLY ADVANCING TO THEIR HIGHEST POINT OF DEVELOPMENT

NO SPACE EVEN AT THE TIME OF GREATEST EXPANSION FOR THE CULTIVATION OF PRIVATE GARDENS

EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
MAGNIFICENT PARKS OF EASTERN RULERS ORIENTAL AND EGYPTIAN GARDENS

INTERNAL INFLUENCES

Political System
Philosophy Climate Geology Religion

Mountains cover 70 to 80 percent of Greece, divide land into regions Rugged landscape, lack of large rivers made transportation hard
made it difficult to unite Greece under single government

Rocky land; only 20 to 30 percent good for farming; mostly in valleys

but over half of Greeks were farmers, herders

MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE

Mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers about 50 degrees Fahrenheit in winter, about 80 degrees in summer Climate encouraged outdoor activities, like athletic competitions

RESOURCES

Greece lacked natural resources and metalshad to be found elsewhere Had stone for building and plenty of good harbor sites

ACROPOLIS

AGORA

AMPHITHEATRE

SACRED GROVE

PEDESTRIAN ZONES

 Central to every Greek city and town was the agora, a marketplace and meeting place. Busy and bustling, the agora was a vital area for a community.

Public fountains in agoras

A sacred grove is a grove of trees of special religious importance to a particular culture. Sacred groves were important features of the mythological landscape and cult practice in ancient greece.

 SOUND PRINCIPLES GUIDED THE DESIGN OF GREEK AMPHITHEATRES. GREEK THEATRES WERE BUILT OUTDOORS AND INTO HILL SIDES FOR SEATING. ROMANS RAISED THE STAGE WALLED IT AT THE BACK AND MADE SEATS HIGHLY TIRED

 AROUND 1500BCRECTANGULAR ARENAS OF STONE SEATING AT SAME LEVEL. 500BC- SEMI CIRCULAR AMPHI THEATRE WITH CONCENTRIC ROWS OF MARBLE SEATS OFTEN RAISED ON A LOWSLOPE.

500 B.C. Kitchen Gardens

324 A.D. Shift of capital to Constantinople

350 A.D. Roman Garden techniques wane

100 B.C. Ornamental gardens

150 A.D. Increase in private Gardens

490 A.D. Western Empire collapses

27 B.C. Fall of Roman Republic

80 A.D.
Widespread imperial and aristocratic gardens

 Narrow water canals/rills graced many ancient Rome gardens. The best known example is in the garden of Lorieus Tiburtinus in Pompeii.

Principal Greek influence was on exterior architecture. The art of ornamental garden was also imported from Greece. Romans used a lot of Greek inspired statuary.

GREEK

A symmetrical layout with water features Brightly painted pavilions Terraces Avenues of trees internal courtyards

PERSIAN

EGYPTIAN

PLEASURE
Cultural activities, dining and relaxation took place in pavilions. Pavilions square/circular in shape.

HEALTH & EXERCISE

Gymnasiums for walking Stadiums for horse riding Private baths

FOOD PRODUCTION
Fallowing and crop rotation practiced. Grafting and cross pollination were also popular.

SHRINES

GROTTO

FENCING/ BALUSTRADES
BELVEDERE

BUILDINGS GARDEN WALLS

PERGOLA /ARBORS

ROMAN GARDENELEMENTS
DRIVEWAY/ PAVING WATER FEATURES

PLANTING

Formal gardens of Pliny, the Younger

GROTTO

SYMMETRICAL LAWNS REMINISCENT OF EGYPTIAN GARDENS BOWL FOUNTAIN

Court of the Lions, Alhambra, Spain, Granada, features a colonnade and fountain, reminiscent of the peristyles of Roman gardens.

Villa dEste, Tivoli Tall cypresses and evergreen hedging flank the central walk of this Renaissance garden, which leads to a grotto like fountain niches similar to those found in Roman gardens

Stourhead Garden, Wiltshire, England (18th c.) Inspired by the painting of Roman Campagna by Claude Lorrain. The design of the domed temple of Apollo was derived from the Temple of Venus at Baalbek.

Temple of Apollo, England

Temple of Venus, Baalbek