Epic Space: Toward the Roots of Western Architecture

What can the epic writings of Indo-European and European cultures tell us about the evolution of spatial concepts and architectural forms? The distinguished architectural educator and theorist Anthony C. Antoniades takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the ancient landscapes, ceremonial places, intimate rooms, and beautiful gardens of epic writings to get to the very roots of western architecture.
Based on the idea that each epic represents a crystallized statement of the culture and civilization that generated it, and contains the earliest examples of human architecture, Antoniades argues that the epics are critical to an informed understanding of contemporary architecture. He further suggests that the spaces of the epics are the earliest architectural archetypes, whether they be single buildings, complexes, towns, landscapes, or simply ideas about space and form.
This fascinating book begins with Indo-European epic writings - many not readily accessible in English translation. Antoniades illustrates the highly "inclusivist" preference and appreciation of the tangible and intangible dimensions of architecture in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. He also explores the Romans' concept of outdoor space, including town construction and town design, in the Aeneid of Virgil.
Continuing with the Northern and Central European epics, Antoniades looks at Scandinavian ideals of scale and transformation, and examines in Beowulf the fundamental battle of people versus the elements, leading to heroic works of engineering and even to the creation of new lands (Holland). He explores Milton's concepts of eclecticism, mythical and biblical themes, and the first record of environmental psychology, as well as the psychological significance of space in Paradise Lost. Concluding with the Finnish epic, the Kalevala, he explains its dramatic and long-lasting impact on recent architectural excellence.
Throughout, Antoniades parllels the earliest spatial concepts discovered in the epics with modern epic spaces. He enhances his probing insights with analytical drawings and remarkable photographs. Here is a landmark work in architectural theory, bringing together centuries of architectural evolution through epic poetry and literature, and explaining today's theories of space and environmental design from a brilliant historical perspective. It is stimulating and thought-provoking reading for architects and students, who will gain a deep, highly useful understanding of the cultural roots of their art.

Anthony C. Antoniades is Professor of Architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington.