Editore: Athens, Greece: Melissa Publishing House, 1983., 1983
Da: David Hallinan, Bookseller, Columbus, MS, U.S.A.
TWO VOLUME SET. Presumed first editions (no direct edition/printing statements provided). Hardcovers: H 30.5cm x L 24.75cm. Dust jackets lightly rubbed with some bumping at edges; slender sun fading at flap margins. White boards bumped at their top fore-edge corners. Some soiling to text blocks' top edges. Interior pages are clean. Bindings are firm. Color and b/w photographs and illustrations throughout. *** VOLUME I - EASTERN AEGEAN, SPORADES, IONIAN ISLANDS. 283 pages. Introductory text: "The Social and Economic Background to Vernacular Architecture; The Economic Framework" and "The Approach to Vernacular Architecture: A. General Introduction; B. Historical Retrospect; C. The Methodological Problem Today." Reviews Lesbos [Lesvos], Samos, Chios [Scio], Skyros, Corfu (Kerkyra), and Kythera [Kythira]. *** VOLUME II - AEGEAN: CYCLADES. 313 pages. Reviews Andros, Mykonos [Mikonos], Nakos [Naxos], Paros, Santorini, Sifnos, Syros, Tzia (Keos), and Tinos. *** Please note that this two volume set has an approximate shipping weight of 10.5 pounds (4.76 kg) and will require additional postage for any postal class other than domestic Media Mail.
Editore: "Melissa" Publishing House, Athens, Greece, 1983
Da: Ground Zero Books, Ltd., Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A.
Prima edizione
Hardcover. Presumed First Edition, First printing. 313, [1] pages. Text is in English. Decoration on the front cover. Illustrated endpapers. Illustrations (drawings and photographs, some in color). Index of Names and Terms. No dust jacket present. A 2 inch by 1.25 inch rectangle has been cut out from the title and Contents page, resulting in a small lost of material from the map on the verso of the contents page, and from the index and rep (resulting in a small loss of index text). Spine label has been removed. Presumably an institutional stamp or identification has also been cut out. Dimitri Philippides holds two degrees, one from Athens University and another from Cambridge University. He has spent his professional life in academia and industry. Contributors include Angeliki Kharitonidou, Aristeidis Romanos, K. Kouroupakis, E. Savvaris, M. Stathakis, Spilopoulou, V. Tsamtsouis, Maro Philippas, Apostolou, Anastasia Tzakou. Anastasios Kartas, R Kloutsiniotis, N. Farakla, and N. Alexandrou. Greek Traditional Architecture unites medieval and modern Greece (15th to 20th century), and is a valuable point of reference in the quest for modern Greek identity. The objective of this publication is the collection of relevant scattered material and the presentation of unpublished one, so as to give a complete picture of traditional architecture, and thus to contribute to the understanding, appreciation and preservation of the architectural wealth of Greece. Color photographs of exteriors and interiors, original drawings of traditional neighborhoods and houses reflect the wealth of architecture all over Greece. This volume covers Andros, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Santorini, Sifnos, Syros, Tzia (Kea) and Tinos. Greek architecture is concerned with simplicity, proportion, perspective, and harmony in buildings. Greek architecture includes some of the finest and most distinctive buildings ever built. Examples of Greek architecture include temples, theaters, and stadia, all of which become common features of towns and cities from antiquity onwards. Greek architects would go on to greatly influence architects in the Hellenistic period and in the Roman world, providing the foundation for the classical architectural orders which would dominate the western world from the Renaissance to the present day. There are five orders of classical architecture - Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite - all named as such in later Roman times. Greek architects created the first three and hugely influenced the latter two which were composites rather than genuine innovations. An order, properly speaking, is a combination of a certain style of column with or without a base and an entablature (what the column supports: the architrave, frieze, and cornice). The earlier use of wooden pillars eventually evolved into the Doric column in stone. This was a vertical fluted column shaft, thinner at its top, with no base and a simple capital below a square abacus. The entablature frieze carried alternating triglyphs and metopes. The Ionic order, with origins in mid-6th century BCE Asia Minor, added a base and volute, or scroll capital, to a slimmer, straighter column. The Ionic entablature often carries a frieze with richly carved sculpture. The Corinthian column, invented in Athens in the 5th century BCE, is similar to the Ionic but topped by a more decorative capital of stylized acanthus and fern leaves. These orders became the basic grammar of western architecture and it is difficult to walk in any modern city and not see examples of them in one form or another. Considering more modest structures, there were fountain houses (from the 6th century BCE) in many Greek cities where people could easily collect water and perhaps, as black-figure pottery scenes suggest, socialize. Regarding private homes, these were usually constructed with mud brick, had packed earth floors, and were built to no particular design. One- or two-storied houses were the norm. Later, from the 5th century BCE, better houses were built in stone, usually with plastered exterior and frescoed interior walls. Also, there was often no particular effort at town planning which usually resulted in a maze of narrow chaotic streets, even in such great cities as Athens. Colonies in Magna Graecia, as we have seen in Selinus, were something of an exception and often had more regular street plans, no doubt a benefit of constructing a town from scratch. In conclusion then, we may say that ancient Greek architecture has provided not only many of the staple features of modern western architecture, but it has also given the world truly magnificent buildings which have literally stood the test of time and continue to inspire admiration and awe. Many of these buildings - the Parthenon, the Caryatid porch of the Erechtheion, the volute of an Ionic capital to name just three - have become the instantly recognizable and iconic symbols of ancient Greece. Fair [due to cutouts on four pages] Otherwise very good.