Impact of Greek Town Planning upon Indigenous Settlement of Pont-Euxin

This paper deals with the influence of Greek town planning upon indigenous settlement out of Greece. The analysis of three examples of the local centers - Seuthopolis in Thrace, Scythian Neapolis, Crimea, and Vani in Georgia - shows the differences between various peoples and territories in adoption of the layout of a Greek town: sometimes the city plan to a nicety imitates the Greek pattern (Seuthopolis), in other cases only some elements in the town's layout and architecture were taken after the Greeks (Neapolis, Vani). In general, building techniques and the system of fortifications were easier to adopt than, for instance, the agora and communal edifices that were connected with the specific institutions of a Greek polis. The Greek town planning was very attractive for indigenous peoples and widely adopted from the 4th cent. B.C. onwards.