Plateia

Plateia ( Greek πλατεῖα, pl. Plateiai) was the name given to a main road in a ancient Greek city, especially a representative developed road, which is about of porticoes was lined. The name can be found in the inscriptions of numerous cities, especially in Asia Minor , but also in lexicographers or Artemidor von Daldis .

In cities that were laid out according to the Hippodamian scheme , the plateiai formed the broad main streets that ran along the sides of the rectangular blocks. They were connected by numerous narrow cross streets, the Stenopoi .

today

In modern Greece, the term pronounced as platía describes the main square of a place which, with cafes, taverns and playgrounds, makes up the social center of a place, especially in the evening. There are often catering establishments around the square, which place seating on the mostly rectangular square. At the corners of the Platia there are mostly the kiosks known as Periptero .

In port cities, the platia often competes with the promenade, which is also designed for strolling. Sometimes the square and the promenade merge into one another.

In large cities, the Platia has a much more special meaning, for example in Athens the Platia Kotzia for rallies and the Platia Kolonakiou in the Kolonaki district as a meeting place for the smart people .

Literature (antiquity)

• Dieter Mertens : Cities and Buildings of the Western Greeks. From colonization to the crisis at the end of the 5th century BC Chr. Hirmer, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-7774-2755-1
• Friedemann Quaß : The class of dignitaries in the cities of the Greek East. Studies on the political and social development in the Hellenistic and Roman times . Steiner, Stuttgart 1993, p. 224, note 844.
• Louis Robert : Etudes anatoliennes. Recherches sur les inscriptions grecques de l'Asie mineure . Boccard, Paris 1937, pp. 532-535.
• ders .: A travers l'Asie Mineure. Poètes et prosateurs, monnaies grecques, voyageurs et geographie . Boccard, Paris 1980, pp. 127-128.