The language of Coan architecture between Sinecism and Late Hellenism

Archaeological documentation concerning the architecture of Kos does not provide homogeneously distributed data: while the information about 3rd and 2nd cent. BC architecture is significantly rich and abundant, the evidence from the Late Classical and proto-Hellenistic period shows a lesser degree of consistency. For the first post-synoicistic phase, the few available elements indicate the persistence of Doric canonical forms and the substantial absence of hybridizations with Ionic elements, which make their first appearance in the 3rd cent. BC, with the first systematic exploitation of the marble quarries of Mount Dichaios; thereafter this phenomenon seems to increase and consolidate during the 2nd cent. BC in accordance with the parallel architectural developments of the main centres of the opposite coast. But, apart from the common features that characterize the Carian-Ionic koiné, the architecture of Kos shows peculiarities that constitute the clearest evidence of the existence of a local school of architecture. I believe that, for the knowledge of the architecture of the Hellenistic age, the research in the coming years should be directed to the identification and the study of the different regional schools that characterize such a relevant context. In fact, in order to obtain a better knowledge of the architecture of the period it is necessary to delineate a precise overview of an area whose centrality, between 3rd and 2nd cent. BC, can be in many respects attributable to the expansionist ambitions of some of the most relevant Hellenistic reigns.