Theatroeideis poleis. Cities and urbanization in Eastern Greece

Despite the urban experiences of the 5th century BC, the definition of the Greek city, intended as an architectural and monumental structure, occurs in the 4th century BC. In this regard, the Karian experience, which thanks to Maussollos implements a very strong urbanization process, represents a particularly meaningful episode for the definition of urban centers in the Greek world. Some of the cities established by Maussollos are called theatroeides, an adjective that could be translated as “worthy of being seen”. A particular feature of this new type of city is the presence of large public spaces and of monumental architectures that manage them. The theatroeideis cities are the first step towards the definition of the Hellenistic city in the Mediterranean world, and seem to represent the beginning of a process that was brought to completion in the western Mediterranean world, most notably in Sicily at the time of Hieron.