The Art of Building in the Classical World

John R. Senseney is Assistant Professor of Ancient History in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His research has ranged from ancient methods of surveying and planning to Plato and book culture, with publications appearing in Hesperia, Sacred Landscapes in Anatolia and Neighboring Regions, the International Journal of the Classical Tradition, and the American Journal of Archaeology.

• Introduction: challenges of analysis and interpretation; 1. The ideas of architecture; 2. Vision and spatial representation; 3. The genesis of scale drawing and linear perspective; 4. Architectural vision; Excursus: envisioning cosmic mechanism in Plato and Vitruvius; Appendix A: analysis of the dimensions of the blueprint for entasis at Didyma; Appendix B: analysis of the hypothetical working drawing for platform curvature at Segesta; Appendix C: analysis of the hypothetical working drawing for platform curvature in the Parthenon.

'This is an ambitious book, carefully edited and profusely illustrated. It is hard not to be stirred by the questions [Senseney] raises: what were the origins of Greek and Roman architectural drawings? How did drawings determine the actual outcome of a building and a city? And, did architectural drawings affect aspects of intellectual life beyond architecture?' Bryn Mawr Classical Review