Ark, a Plural Whole
by Konstantinos Chatzaras (MArch ’17)
Accepting pluralism as a contemporary zeitgeist and the city as its inherent expression, a model that escapes from pure historical continuity should be studied. Athens therefore serves as the battleground where this pluralism is most evident; it is a polis that incubates substantial history filled with ruptures rather than continuities, conquerors rather than interchanging rulers, and a massive shock produced by modernity due to the lack of resistance as such that was employed in other historic cities. The tragedy of histories and styles sets the stage for a peculiar dance between Classical, Roman, Byzantine, Renaissance, Ottoman, Neoclassical, and modern cultures, all performing in the same play. This combination blurs the sense of time and space: periods that were once sequential have become simultaneous. Iconographies that have remained pure invade each other.