URBAN SPACE AND ARCHITECTURE AS A HISTORICAL SOURCE IN FOREIGN CLASSICAL STUDIES AT THE EARLY 21st CENTURY

To date, a vast amount of material has been accumulated on the history of cities, which increasingly attracts the interest of archaeologists, histo-rians, sociologists, economists, and cultural scientists. Special attention is paid to the emergence of ancient cities. This article analyzes English-language works by foreign authors from the past two decades, dedicated to the architecture and spatial development of Hellenic settlements from the Homeric era to the end of Hellenism. The breadth and complexity of the topic have necessitated the inclusion of works that employ a thematic rather than a regional approach. The extensive body of foreign research on archaeologically documented settlement structures of the ancient Hellenes allows for the identification of priority areas. During the period under review, the primary focus has been on the initial stages of the spatial structure formation of ancient Greek communities. In the reviewed works, space is treated as an independent object of study. Archaeologically documented settlement structures are interpreted from the standpoint of their social significance. Th e research objects include public buildings and spaces (temples, necropolises, the agora, domestic architecture). At the same time, these studies are interdisciplinary, extending beyond historical and archaeological analysis. They present a series of generalizations and conclusions that enhance knowledge about specific regions or historical periods. Th e research is concentrated around several themes: urbanization and genesis of a complex political system, city planigraphy and demography, interdependence of settlement structure formation and the socio-political development of the community, ways of urban development, and approaches to studying urban territorial organization. Th e obtained data allow for the conclusion that the issue of space organization is considered in English-language historiography from the perspectives of functionality and the nature of the population’s activities. It is important to note the significant degree of independence and variability in the formation of social space, and its gradual hierarchization depending on the purpose of objects. It is also necessary to emphasize the ongoing debate regarding the interpretation of settlement objects due to the peculiarities of the early stages of the urbanization process (criteria for defi ning a town), the fragmentary nature of evidence, and the diversity of specific historical conditions of Hellenic political genesis.