Dinocrates of Rhodes (also Deinocrates, Dimocrates, Cheirocrates and Stasicrates; grc-gre, Δεινοκράτης ὁ Ῥόδιος, fl. last quarter of the 4th century BC) was a Greek

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and technical adviser for

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

. He is known for his plan for the city of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

, the monumental funeral pyre for

Hephaestion Hephaestion ( grc, Ἡφαιστίων ''Hephaistíon''; c. 356 BC – October 324 BC), son of Amyntor, was an ancient Macedonian nobleman and a general in the army of Alexander the Great. He was "by far the dearest of all the ...

and the reconstruction of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, as well as other works.

City proposal of Mount Athos

Dinocrates is noted by Vitruvius, in the only surviving architectural treatise from Antiquity, for his plan to sculpt in the flank of Mount Athos a colossal image of Alexander, holding a small city in one hand and with the other, pouring from a gigantic pitcher a river into the sea. Alexander dropped the proposal as Dinocrates reportedly did not consider the living conditions of the residents when he admitted to not planning for grain to be grown near the city; instead, it was to be transported by sea. The site of the current Alexandria was much more fertile and open than the harsh terrain of Mount Athos.

Plan of Alexandria

In 332 BC, Alexander appointed Dinocrates as director of the surveying and urban-planning work for the city of

(on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt), which was laid out on a Hippodamian grid plan that was influential in

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...

city planning. He was aided by

Cleomenes of Naucratis Cleomenes (Greek: Kλεoμένης ''Kleoménes''; died 322 BC), a Greek of Naucratis in Ancient Egypt, was appointed by Alexander III of Macedon as nomarch of the Arabian Nome (''νoμoς'') of Egypt and receiver of the tributes from all the ...

and by Crates of Olynthus, an esteemed

hydraulic engineer Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the mov ...

who built the

waterworks Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

for the city and the sewer system demanded by the low-lying site.

Pyre of Hephaestion

In Babylon, he designed the funerary monument to Alexander's general

(died in 324 BC), which was described by Diodorus Siculus,

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best so ...

, Strabo, Plutarch and others. It was built of stone (unavailable locally) in imitation of a Babylonian temple, six stories tall, and entirely gilded.

Second Temple of Artemis

Dinocrates was involved in reconstructing the Temple of Artemis—one of the ''

seven wonders of the world Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, in order to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural features and human-built structures. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the o ...

''—which had been destroyed by

Herostratus Herostratus ( grc, Ἡρόστρατος) was a 4th-century BC Greek, accused of seeking notoriety as an arsonist by destroying the second Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (on the outskirts of present-day Selçuk). The conclusion prompted the creat ...

in an act of arson on July 21, 356 BC, the same night, it was said, that Alexander was being born.

Other works

Dinocrates also worked on an incomplete funerary monument for Alexander's father,

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

. Other works include several city plans and temples in Delphi, Delos and other Greek cities. According to preliminary findings by archaeologists he may have been the architect of a vast Hellenistic tomb found at

Amphipolis Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is Rodolivos. It was an important ancient G ...

Greek tomb at Amphipolis is 'important discovery'
BBC News Europe. in 2012.

Notes

References

Technology Museum of Thessaloniki. archived 24 February 2007.

External links

* {{Authority control Architects of Alexander the Great Ancient Greek architects Ancient Greek urban planners Ancient Rhodian scientists 4th-century BC Rhodians Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown