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 Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

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 and the reconstruction of the

Temple of Artemis The Temple of Artemis or Artemision ( gr, Ἀρτεμίσιον; tr, Artemis Tapınağı), also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to an ancient, local form of the goddess Artemis (identified with Diana, a Roman go ...

at Ephesus, as well as other works.

City proposal of Mount Athos

Dinocrates is noted by

Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...

, 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 ...

city planning. He was aided by Cleomenes of Naucratis 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. Thes ...

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

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

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

—one of the '' seven wonders of the world''—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 Gr ...

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