The Prytaneion: Its Function and Architectural Form

The prytaneion was a structure central to the civic life of the ancient Greek city-state. In it was housed the hearth of Hestia with its eternal fire symbolizing the well-being of the state. To it were invited distinguished foreign visitors for meals; citizens who had performed some special service to the state were also entertained there. The prytaneion was the 'home' of the state and the architectural manifestation of its life. The obvious ubiquity and importance of the prytaneion in antiquity is not reflected in the pages of modern scholarship, largely because only two structures have been excavated that can be firmly so identified. In this book Mr. Miller seeks to define the functions and the architectural form of the prytaneion by assembling and analyzing historical and epigraphic references to it. His analysis yields explicit references to various architectural parts of the prytaneion as well as a definition of the function of the building from which other architectural elements can be extrapolated. It provides a set of architectural elements essential to any prytaneion and usable as criteria of identification for excavated structures. This book is intended to serve both as a reference work for those interested in ancient civic life and civic architecture and as a guide to investigators of ancient cities still to be excavated.