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Arts & Communication Constructing the image of ancient cities

2. The meaning and image of ancient cities by other scholars in another way. In his book “The
Architecture of the City,” Aldo Rossi believes that the city
An ancient city conveys dual meanings to its ancient as an urban artifact has associations with its surroundings.
inhabitants and modern society. Some ancient people saw These associations must be located in the object’s envelope
their cities as a sacred urban environment where their (surface) which corresponds to the enclosure in Rykwert’s
sacred king erected his own house, the palace. Thus, the theory. Therefore, the city wall is a crucial element that
city was a real representation of their social composition secures the city, represents its character and power, and
and beliefs. On the other hand, modern society and gives a clue about the level of the cultural system.
scholars see different meanings embedded in these cities;
for example, Amos Rapoport summarizes three main levels Like John Lydus, Rykwert believes that the city has
at which the meanings of the city are categorized. These are three attributions, which are secret, priestly, and public.
the high-level (symbolic), the middle-level (identity), and Rykwert regrets that this notion is lost in current urban
the low-level (urban-social interaction) meanings. 22,23 design principles and that planners are today mainly
focussing on the public dimension. Therefore, both
The high-level meaning considers encoded significance
in the buildings and city layout. It expresses the potential scholars consider it very important that the study of urban
aspects of ancient cities considers the social, sacred, and
image of the city based on its structure and the relationship ritual aspects of the city to avoid the abstraction of the
between its urban elements. Kevin Lynch supports this city’s characteristics into its physical materiality (the city’s
statement through his Theory of Magical Correspondence: conceptual poverty, according to Rykwert). These aspects
some fundamental social values can be constructed using are substantial in building a comprehensive and sensible
urban principles. Consequently, these values are presented image of the city. Furthermore, it is essential to recall
in spatial forms, such as order, stability, dominance, and the ancient people’s perception of their city and transmit
continuity between function and form. 23,24 These values, it to present and future generations. Thus, the urban
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Lynch advocates, contribute to the final image of the city. environment (town or city) can be presented in its totality,
The middle-level meaning focuses more on ancient where its symbolic meaning is preserved and transmitted
people’s identity and power, as it is manifested in the and, consequently, the mentality and the urban experience
architectural and urban features of the city. However, it of ancient inhabitants are reconstructed. In this sense, the
is very important to avoid the persistent connection or enclosure is also a sacred element that encompasses the
equation between monumentality and power. Joyce Marcus ancient people’s rituals and beliefs and unfolds the city’s
contends that some outstanding valuable monuments could external image.
have been built without the existence of a strong political The site also poses dual dimensions. Rykwert supposes
power. She uses Stonehenge as an example to support this that the choice of site is associated with people’s rites and
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opinion. Influences (meanings) of monumentality should beliefs, so it was never arbitrarily chosen. Furthermore, the
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be transmitted to the modern-time visitors of the ancient city’s morphology and associations with the surroundings
city; after all, they are part of the collective memory of are very important variables that would contribute to a
ancient people.
proper choice of its location. Thus, abstracting the whole site
Finally, the low-level meaning manifests the relationship into one component is a useful principle for understanding
between the urban environment and its inhabitants. its characteristics and relationships. Consequently, for the
It focuses on people’s judgment and reaction to the sake of a clear representation of the city, the site should be
surrounding architectural and urban settings. Overall, in studied with its structure and interior urban environment
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most cases, the three levels of meaning are not separated using the same theoretical framework. In another vein, the
from each other. city is a changeable urban artifact over time; its structure

The symbolic meaning, as Joseph Rykwert emphasizes, and image are faithful representations of the historical
is one of the most important characteristics. He proposes phases through which the city has gone during its lifetime.
that three main elements constitute the concept of the city: This principle is strongly manifested in Aldo Rossi’s
site, enclosure, and material. The relationship between these thoughts, particularly in his book “The Architecture of The
three components expresses the urban dynamic of the city City,” where he regards the city as an urban artifact which
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and its associations. Since ancient people perceived their transforms over time.
urban environment and landscape as sacred elements, they Rykwert emphasizes the importance of investigating
established strong relationships with their surroundings, the urban rather than the cosmological symbolism in the
whereas the enclosure protected the city’s sacred interior city’s layout. Subsequently, the city’s rituality, namely the
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urban environment. Rykwert’s thoughts are expressed ancient people’s experience of their city, will be intelligibly
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Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 4 doi: 10.36922/ac.4239