Humphrey Davey Findley Kitto (6 February 1897 – 21 January 1982) was a British classical scholar of cornish ancestry. He was born in Stroud, Gloucestershire. He was educated at The crypt school, Gloucester, and St. John’s College, Cambridge. He wrote his doctorate in 1920 at the University of Bristol. He became a Lecturer in Greek at the University of Glasgow from 1920 to 1944. On that year, he returned to the University of Bristol where he became Professor of Greek and emeritus in 1962. He concentrated on studies of Greek tragedy, producing also translations of works of Sophocles. His 1952 general treatment The Greeks [1] covered the whole range of ancient Greek culture, and became a standard text.

1. ARCT421 - Introduction to Urban design & Planning
Spring semester 2015
Instructors : Dr. Anna Grichting
TA : Arch. Luzita ball
QU - Qatar University
CENG - College of Engineering
DAUP - Department of Architecture and Urban Planning
Student name : Somaia El-Sherif
Student ID : 201104604
The Polis
By: H.D.F. Kitto

2. 1. Author background
• Humphrey Davey Findley Kitto ( 1897 –
1982 )
• British classical
scholar of Cornish ancestry
• He Wrote a book called "In the
Mountains of Greece",
• Explains his trip in That Country With
Unimportant Mino reference to the
ancient times in 1952.
• He published “The Greeks“ that
became a standard text.
• This book covered the ancient Greek
culture and traditions.

3. 1. Author background
• Date: 1951
• Period: Modernization
• Summary: More Than a City-State
• For the Greeks, the inhabited, ‘civilized’ world
had certain essential features: the use of Greek
language, a recognizable religion giving
offerings to the gods, and a host of civic
customs and institutions summed up in the
notion of the polis, the Greek city-state. It
included the idea of a centrally organized place
where social life was carried out publicly before
the human community and the gods. It evolved
in some cases to include ideas of citizenship
whereby most adult males were recognized as
part of the polity and had both obligations and
rights. It often included the use of a central
agora, or market place, the use of gymnasia for
general education, athletics, and military
training, and most poleis (plural of polis) also
had a central citadel or defensible area near
the main city.

4. 2. Terminology
We usually translate “ Polis” as “ City-state”
The Real Polis wasn’t much like a city and was much more than a state
A “ Self-governing-community” is a closet translation to Polis
In order to be able to understand the real meaning of a “ Polis” , We have to
be able to understand the Greek history, mind & achievements

5. 2.A. History
The classical Greek Polis came of age in the 5th century BCE
Fifth-century Athens is the Greek city-state of Athens in the time
from 480 BC-404 BC. This was a period of Athenian
political hegemony, economic growth and cultural flourishing
formerly known as the Golden Age of Athens

6. 2.B. Polis physical form
The physical form stressed Public spaces
They emphasized public temples, stadiums and agora (a combined market
place and public forum)
Private houses were usually away from streets
In Athens, Public spaces were beautifully constructed of Marble, which shows
that the community devoted a lot of it resources to it

7. 2.B. Polis physical form

8. 2.B. Polis physical form
How did the Polis arose in Greece ?
Geographic
explanation
Economic reasons
Greek character
( Human Qualities )

9. 2.B. Polis physical form
1. Geographic reasons
Physical nature of the country ( Mountainous terrain ) which acted as physical
barrier
> Sub division helped but wasn’t a major reason. There were some neighboring
Poleis which didn’t have interaction
2. Economic reasons
Transport of goods was difficult except by sea, when people weren’t so confident
about it.
> There was no great economic interdependence or reciprocal pull between the
different parts of the country , strong enough to counteract the desire of Greek to
live in small communities
3. The Greek character
“Acropolis” meant for Greek the stronghold of the whole community and the
center of public life which later meant Citadel .
The difference between Territory and towns as centers

10. 3. Confusing size with significance
Ancient Greek philosophers and size of the Polis:
In Plato’s Republic or Aristotle’s politics, We find that the ideal city shall have
5000 citizens, where people can know each other by sight
Only 3 poleis had more than 20,000 citizens, two were in Sicily, and the third was
Athens
Scale of Polis to scale of our cities today , Aristotle’s Philosophy

11. 4. State and Community
Polis then originally Citadel may mean as much as “ The
whole communal life of people, political, cultural, moral
even economic”
As to the author, It’s equivalent to saying “ Our national
wealth” in present day global societies

12. 5. Social life and coherence
The polis was a living community based on kinship, and a kind of extended
family
Religion, art, games, and discussion of things were people needs that had to
be satisfied only through the Polis
For us, it’s as voluntary associations or entrepreneurs appealing to
individuals
This partly can explain the difference between the Greek drama and the
modern cinema