ARCHITECT

Life
Deinocrates accompanied Alexander the Great on his expedition, as a technical advisor. He is cited by Vitruvius, Diodorus, Plutarch, Strabo and others.


Work
He is best known for his plan for the:

- Urban Structure of Alexandria (Egypt)

332 - 331 BC: In 332 BC Alexander the Great appointed Deinocrates to direct the surveying and urban planning work for his new city of Alexandria. The city was laid out on a regular grid pattern, and served as a model for many cities in the Near East. The town plan showed the principal streets, the position of the walls, the harbour, the palace grounds on the Lochia promontory, and the main public and religious buildings. Deinocrates worked closely with Crates of Olynthus, the finest hydraulic engineer of the period, who designed and built a magnificent system of canals and waterworks for the city. Many Greek architects and engineers took part in the construction of Alexandria, including Parmenio and Hero of Libya.

Other works include:

- Urban planning in other cities.

- Temples in Delphi, Delos and other Greek cities.

- The funerary monument he designed for Philip of Macedonia - a majestic pyramid - was never built, partly because of the excessive cost, according to Diodorus Siculus, and partly because of the intervening death of Alexander.

- The Conversion of Mount Athos

Alexander himself rejected the plan, described by Vitruvius, to convert Mount Athos into a gigantic monument. Deinocrates' design called for Alexander to hold an entire city in one hand and in the other an enormous wine pitcher, from which a river would pour down to the sea.

- The Second Temple of Artemis in Ephesus

334 BC. One of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. (In collaboration with Paeonius of Ephesus and Demetrius).

- The Pyre of Hephaestion

This monumental work, described by Diodorus Siculus, Arrian, Strabo, Plutarch and others, was built in Babylon as a funerary monument for Hephaestion, Alexander's regent, general and closest friend, who died late in 324 BC. Built of stone in imitation of a Babylonian temple and six storeys tall, its entire surface of 380 square metres was covered with sheets of gold.