Ερέτρια—Νέα Ψαρά. Το χρονικό μιας πολιτείας by Ferdinand Pajor (review)

Originally published as a research thesis (Pajor 2006) in the series ERETRIA issued by the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece (heretofore SSAG), this study is now available to a wider audience thanks to its Greek re-publication in a concise, richly illustrated coffee-table version from Melissa Books, a publishing house with a long tradition of popularizing important architectural studies.

Pajor’s study, however, is neither an archaeological treatise nor a purely architectural one. Rather, it is a quasi-historical account of how a new town came into being in the early stages of Greece’s statehood, as a result of economic necessity, political considerations, and the aspiration of leading intellectuals (both Greek and Bavarian ones who accompanied king Otto I) to link the newborn nation-state with Classical antiquity. As such, it adds significantly to recent research on early town-planning in Greece under the impact of Neoclassicism (for references see “Πρόλογος” [Preface] by Alexandros Papageorgiou-Venetas), but also provides valuable material for study to those interested in the ideological uses of antiquity for the construction of Greek national identity (e.g., Yalouri 2001; Hamilakis 2007; Damaskos and Plantzos 2008).

The book begins with a methodological introduction (16–21) and continues with a review of the ancient history of Eretria (Ι. Ιστορική επισκόπηση [Historical review] 23–39) and the history of archaeological research (ΙΙ. Η αρχαία Ερέτρια: ανακάλυψη και εξερεύνηση [Ancient Eretria: discovery and exploration] 40–65). Inhabited since the Final Neolithic (3500–3000 bc), Eretria evolved into a typical Greek polis in Archaic and Classical times (7th–4th c. bc). It continued to flourish in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, when many of the surviving monuments were erected. After that, the city started to decline, and by the early 6th c. bc, it was abandoned. The next reference to this area comes from Ciriaco de’ Pizzicolli (Cyriacus of Ancona) who visited the site in 1436 and described visible monuments and inscriptions (44). Among the few European travelers who visited Eretria in the following centuries, the most extensive account comes from William Martin Leake (1805–1806), who described in detail its topography and “remains of antiquities” (46). In 1814, the first systematic recording and drawing of ancient monuments was made by a team of architects and antiquarians (46–51), providing a useful background for the subsequent planning of the modern town.

In chapter III (Η επανίδρυση πόλεων στην Ελλάδα μετά τον αγώνα της ανεξαρ-τησίας και ο σχεδιασμός της νέας Αθήνας [The re-establishment of towns in Greece after the War of Independence and the planning of the new city of Athens] 66–77), Pajor summarizes the situation in Greece concerning the establishment of new urban settlements shortly after the declaration of Independence (1827). Special emphasis is laid on the planning of Athens by Stamatios Kleanthis, Eduard Schaubert, and Leo von Klenze (1831–1834), whose work became a reference work for future projects. Chapter IV (Το σχέδιο της Ερέτριας/Νεων Ψαρών του 1834 [The plan of Eretria/Nea Psara] 78–97) describes the planning of a new settlement at the site of ancient Eretria, named New Psara because it was meant to house refugees from the island of Psara, which had been destroyed by the Ottoman navy in 1824. The planning of the new town was commissioned in 1834 to Schaubert and the topographer J.B. Beck, who drew an entirely new topographical plan of the site so precise that it is still used for archaeological research (52). Chapter V (H εφαρμογή του σχεδίου πόλης της Ερέτριας/Νέων Ψαρών [The implementation of the urban plan of Eretria/Nea Psara] 98–105) describes the difficulties that arose during implementation—among others, fiscal strains, speculation in real estate prices, the unhealthy conditions of marshy Eretria, and the fact that the old inhabitants of Psara, trained as they were in seamanship and commerce, were reluctant to leave the thriving harbor of Ermoupolis, Syros, where they had meanwhile settled.

The next two chapters describe the development of the new town, focusing on urban planning, streets, plazas, and public buildings (VI. H πολεοδομική εξέλιξη της νέας πόλης [The urban development of the new town] 106–123) and on Neoclassical architecture both for public and private structures (VII. Τα ιστορικά κτίσματα της Ερέτριας/Νέων Ψαρών [Historical buildings of Eretria/Nea Psara] 124–157). It is in...