Page 6 - Court: The Place of Law and the Space of the City

6 Court

1 2
1 & 2

An extended threshold
choreographs a ritual
transition to the place of the
trial; a ceremonial route from
the territory of the public body
to a Court of the state.

3 4
3 & 4

The square perimeter wall of
the Heliaia delineates between
‘within’ and ‘without’; the
place of Law and the space of
the city.

5 6
5 & 6

Within the colonnade of the
Heliaia’s interior, the figures of
the defence and prosecution
define an oppositional axis,
while the dikasts move freely
throughout the plan.

7 8
7 & 8

A square aperture in the roof
opens the Court to the sky;
dissolving the line between
Court and city by allowing the
voices of the crowds outside to
be heard within.

9 10
9 & 10

Open colonnades throughout
the Agora accommodate
multiple trials in parallel,
inculcating the public body by
virtue of their occupation of the
space ‘between.’

Deconstructing the Heliaia
Figure 3: Elements and symbols of the Helliaia.