Interstices between polis and necropolis

Abstract

Where does the city of the living end and where does the city of the dead – the necropolis – begin? Cities like the fictitious Eusapia exemplify both antagonism and fluidity between the two types of polis. These conceptual interstices between spaces for the living and spaces for the dead tend to be overlooked in mainstream urban studies research. After all, urban scholars conceive of the necropolis as a spatially-bounded area separated from residential areas. The city of the dead is referred to as a ‘cemetery’or‘graveyard’to underscore its distinct status, in which homes for the dead cannot be con- fused with homes for the living.