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| Archaeological sites
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|  ACROPOLIS (Acropolis) ATHENS |
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Chalkotheke
Summary: Oblong hall; between the western rock-cut steps of the Parthenon and the shrine of Artemis Brauronia.
Date: ca. 450 B.C.
Period: Early Classical
Plan:
Oblong hall opened north. Interior colonnade of 6 columns created 2 aisles. Possibly 3 double doors in the north wall, opening on to a later exterior Doric colonnade which cut into the western steps approaching the Parthenon. The area west of the steps and north of the Chalkotheke is known as the West Forecourt of the Parthenon.
History:
First phase of construction is dated to ca. 450 B.C. Later colonnade added in the early 4th century B.C. An inscription dated to ca. 353/52 B.C. lists items, such as armor and bronze vessels that were stored in the Chalkotheke.
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Propylaia
Summary: Gate building; west end of the Acropolis.
Date: ca. 437 B.C. - 432 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Central section of Propylaia: 2 parallel walls terminating in antae with Doric hexastyle prostyle porches; cross-wall, nearer the eastern than the western end, pierced by 5 doorways of 3 different widths. Central of the 5 doorways broadest; the other 4 are approached from the west by 5 steps. Double doors on each of the 5 doorways. Six Ionic columns, 3 on each side of the central ramped passageway. Northwestern wing: a rectangular chamber lined with stone dining couches. A door with windows on either side opened onto a Doric porch with 3 columns in antis. Southwestern wing: Doric porch with 3 columns in antis to match that of the northwestern wing, but no enclosed chamber behind. A free-standing double anta at the northwestern corner and a unique form of roof were employed to allow access to the Nike Sanctuary. The spaces between the central columns on the east and west fronts are so broad they require the unusual architectural detail of 2 triglyphs over the middle intercolumniations. Eastern pediment nearly 1.5 meters higher than the western due to rise in ground.
History:
Replaced an earlier structure known as the Archaic Propylon. Built by Mnesikles, construction was begun in 437 B.C. and completed in 432 B.C. Two great porticos flanking the Propylaia and fronting eastward were planned and commenced, but apparently abandoned: one, probably because it would have encroached upon the precinct of Artemis Brauronia; the other perhaps in consequence of the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. The northwestern wing is often called the Pinakotheka by modern writers because paintings were displayed there. Portions of the main structure were unfinished, e.g. the rough bosses on the exposed surfaces of the marble blocks.
The Archaic Propylon
Summary: Gate-building with a stepped forecourt; western end of the Acropolis, approximately the same location as the later Propylaia of Mnesikles.
Date: ca. 600 B.C.- 437 B.C.
Period: Archaic
Plan:
According to Dinsmoor, both east and west ends had facades of 4 columns in antis. Behind the east columns, 4 piers in antis created a narrow aisle between the facade and the piers. The middle 2 piers were more widely spaced to allow for double doors, and the middle 2 columns of both facades were spaced to match. Inside the west end was a large rectangular area, with 2 rows of 3 columns flanking a ramped approach. Outside the west end, on either side of the ramp, 2 steps led up to the entrance; at the interior end of the ramp, 3 more steps rose to the aisle between the piers and the eastern facade. Other interpretations of the plan include: Dorpfeld 1885, Michaelis 1901, Choisy 1899, Weller 1904, Stevens 1946 and Bundgaard 1957.
Dorpfeld: small square plan with no columns.
Michaelis: small square plan with 2 columns in antis at both ends.
Choisy: wide plan, rectangular, wide openings at both east and west ends, no columns.
Weller: narrow plan, rectangular, with narrow east and west ends, 2 columns in antis at both east and west ends.
Stevens: wide plan, 4 columns in antis at both ends, 4 piers in antis and colonnaded approach, much like Dinsmoor's plan.
Bundgaard: large plan, 4 columns in antis at both ends, 4 piers in antis, no colonnaded approach, again much like Dinsmoor's.
History:
According to Dinsmoor, there were several phases in the construction of the Archaic Propylon. First, in the pre-Propylon period ca. 489 B.C., there was an L or odd Z shaped, stepped forecourt. Between 489 B.C. and 480/79 B.C. (year of the Persian sack) began construction of the walls, front steps and stylobate. Also portions of the Pelasgian Wall were removed and the bedrock was hewn into horizontal planes. By 480 B.C., antae near the ends of the facades and some columns had been erected. finally, there was a rebuilding after the Persian invasion, probably under Kimon in the 460's B.C.
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Periclean Entrance Court Propylon
Summary: Small gateway; in the north wall of the Parthenon West Forecourt, to the west and slightly north of the Parthenon, and directly north of the Chalkotheke.
Date: ca. 450 B.C. - 425 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Two Doric columns in antis on both ends formed 3 openings, with the center passage wider than the side passages. Existence of doors uncertain. The Periclean Entrance Court was an open space defined on the west by the Propylaia, on the south by the walls of the Sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia and the north wall of the Parthenon West Forecourt, on the east by the Mycenaean wall backing the statue of Athena Promachos, and on the north by the wall of the Acropolis.
History:
Dating to the time of Pericles. Other similar restorations possible with central piers or caryatids instead of columns.
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House of the Arrephoroi
Summary: House; on the north side of the Acropolis, east and north of the Erechtheion.
Date: ca. 500 B.C. - 400 B.C.
Period: Archaic/Classical
Plan:
Square building constructed in the Doric order. Large room with a colonnade of 4 columns in antis at the entrance which opened south. On the east side, a large rectangular court. There was a concealed staircase northwest of the square building, in the court, leading down to the grotto of Aglauros.
History:
The Arrephoroi were young girls of noble birth who lived on the Acropolis and served Athena. Plutarch writes about a hand ball court on the Acropolis and G.P. Stevens has assigned this function to the court east of the House of the Arrephoroi. The building may have had a hipped roof.
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| | ARDITOS (Hill) ATHENS |
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Panathenaic Stadium
It was originally a natural hollow part of the ground between the
two hills of Agra and Ardettos, over Ilissos river. It was transformed into a
stadium by Lykourgos in 330-329 BC for the athletic competitions of the Great
Panathinaea Festivities. Between 140 and 144 AD, Herodes Atticus restored the
Stadium, giving it the form that was found at the 1870 excavation: the horseshoe
construction with a track 204,07 meters long and 33,35 meters wide. It is believed
that the Stadium had a seating capacity of 50.000 people. Separating scales were
built between the tiers and on the base of the sphendone there was a portico with
Doric-style columns; another portico was placed in the stadium's facade. Herodes
possibly restored also the Ilissos river bridge on the Stadium's entrance, making
it larger and adding three archways on its base. The bridge was standing there
up to 1778 and a part of it was excavated in 1958. At the Roman times, the Stadium
was used as an arena, with the addition of a semi-circular wall on the north that
was corresponding to the sphendone of the southern side.
The modern times restoration of the Stadium was conducted by G. Averof
by the end of the 19th century for the first Olympic Games that were reborn again
in 1896.
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| | ACROPOLIS (Acropolis) ATHENS |
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Temple of Athena Nike
Summary: Temple, tetrastyle amphiprostyle with altar; located on a bastion to the south of the Propylaia.
Date: ca. 427 B.C. - 424 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Cella with 4 Ionic columns at the front and back.
History:
The Nike (Victory) Temple stands on the remains of a Mycenaean fortification of Cyclopean masonry, originally several meters higher than the present bastion. By the 6th century B.C. a cult worshipping Athena as goddess of victory, had been
established in the same location, and by ca. 490 B.C. a small poros temple and several altars had been built. The temple described above in the Plan description was begun in 427 B.C. and completed in 425/424 B.C. Ca. 410 B.C. the famous carved
parapet was constructed around the temple, and the entire area is sometimes referred to as the Nike Parapet. Also on the bastion were shrines of the Graces and Artemis Epipyrgidia (on the Tower).
Nike Parapet Frieze
Collection: Acropolis Museum
Subject:
Procession of Nikai leading sacrificial animals, erecting trophai, or bringing offerings to Athena Nike.
The Nike Parapet Frieze decorated three sides of the parapet surmounting the bastion on which the temple of Athena Nike was built. The virtuous style of the Nike parapet frieze has been attributed to at least five different sculptors--perhaps Paionios,
Alkamenes, Agorakritos, and Kallimachos. Carpenter has identified at least six different artists' hands among the fragments.
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The Parthenon and its predecessors
The Old Temple of Athena
Summary: Peripteral temple; on the Acropolis, between the Parthenon and the Erechtheion.
Date: ca. 529 B.C. - 520 B.C.
Period: Archaic
Plan:
A Doric peripteral temple, 6 x 12 columns, double cella, with Ionic tetrastyle prostyle pronaos and opisthodomos. In the east cella was an interior colonnade of 6 columns, 3 on each side, dividing the cella into 3 aisles. The west cella was divided into 3 chambers, with 2 approximately square rooms at its east end leaving a 3rd, larger rectangular anteroom entered directly from the opisthodomos.
History:
On the same location as probable earlier Geometric and late 7th century temples of Athena. This temple of 529 - 520 B.C. was damaged by the Persians in 480/79 B.C. and much of the material was reused (and is still visible) in the Themistoklean wall on the north of the Acropolis. Dinsmoor suggests that the western cella and opisthodomos remained and were used as a treasury until ca. 450 B.C. Travlos has reconstructed the pronaos and opisthodomos as distyle in antis.
The Pre-Parthenon
Summary: Peripteral temple; slightly east of center of the Acropolis, under the remains of the Parthenon.
Date: ca. 488 B.C. - 480 B.C.
Period: Archaic
Plan:
Doric peripteral temple, 6 x 16 columns. Double cella with long cella at east end and smaller cella at west end, with opisthodomos and pronaos, both prostyle. East cella, 2 rows of interior columns, 10 columns in each row. West cella, 4
interior columns arranged in a square in the center.
History:
Never completed past lower column drums and cella courses. Construction interrupted by the Persian invasion of 480/79 B.C., and the Parthenon was built over its ruins.
ิhe Parthenon
Summary: Peripteral temple; slightly south and east of the center of the Acropolis.
Date: ca. 447 B.C. - 432 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Doric peripteral temple, 8 x 17 columns. Double cella with pronaos and opisthodomos, both with 6 prostyle columns. The smaller west cella had 4 interior columns. Inside the east cella was a U-shaped colonnade of 9 columns and a pier on each long side,
and 3 columns between the 2 piers on the short side. (Travlos reconstructs columns in place of the piers.) Toward the west end of the interior colonnade was a statue base for the cult statue of Athena Parthenos with a large shallow rectangle cut to create a reflecting pool in front of it. Bronze doors are postulated for both eastern and western cellas.
History:
This temple replaced an earlier temple in the same location, the Pre-Parthenon, built before the Persian War and destroyed by the Persians in 480/79 B.C. The Parthenon was created by Iktinos, Kallikrates and Pheidias. The eastern cella was dedicated to Athena Polias (Dinsmoor says it was known as the Neos Hekatompedos, or cella of 100 feet) and the western cella was dedicated to Athena Parthenos, "the Virgin," from which the whole building became known as the Parthenon. It is likely that the doors of the western cella were strengthened with bronze bars and that the western cella was used as a treasury. The eastern doors were probably hollow bronze. Lawrence differs with Stevens on the reconstruction of all the doors in that Steven's doors have rectangular grilled areas above the lintels to reduce weight and to allow light to enter the sanctuaries. The Classical Parthenon seems to have been damaged by fire but the exact date of the fire and subsequent repairs is debated, with suggestions ranging from 150 B.C. to 267 A.D. (during the invasion of the Herulians). In any case, repairs included the exact reconstruction of the colonnade of the eastern cella, a new statue base and repairs to the capitals on the columns of the western porch. The Parthenon was converted to a Christian church ca. 600 A.D., and in 1687 a small mosque was built in the cella.
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Erechtheum (Erechtheion)
Summary: Ionic temple with a complex, multiple level plan; on the north side of the Acropolis, slightly north of the Old Temple of Athena.
Date: ca. 421 B.C. - 406 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Eastern part of the building is a hexastyle prostyle pronaos to a cella with windows on either side of the door which opens east. Western part of the building is a cella with a floor 3 meters lower than the eastern section but with identical ceiling height. Western cella has 3 entrances. On the north of the western cella, a great door and step lead to the lower Ionic prostyle tetrastyle porch of 6 columns. East of this north doorway, an underground opening leads to a crypt under the north porch with a den for snakes. On the south of the western cella, an L- shaped staircase leads to the higher Porch of the Maidens (Caryatid Porch), a prostyle tetrastyle porch having 6 caryatids as roof supports, all facing south and standing on a low wall. The only entrance to Porch of the Maidens is a stairway leading up from western cella. On the west end of the western cella, a door and step lead
to the walled open air Sanctuary of Pandrosos. At the 2nd story level, the outside west wall of the western cella has an engaged base molding with 4 engaged pilasters topped by Ionic columns, spaces between the columns were of open grillwork; thus,
from the outside, the western facade gives the appearance of having a floor at the same level as the eastern cella.
History:
Uncertain which end, east or west, was dedicated to Athena Polias. Travlos believed that the altars of Poseidon-Erechtheus, Boutes, and Hephaistos were in the eastern end making the western end the Erechtheion and the Sanctuary of Athena Polias,
containing adytons for the grave of Erechtheus and the xoanon of Athena. As with the Parthenon, the whole building came to be known by the name of one of its cellas, the Erechtheion. Under the southwest corner was the Rock of Kekrops, the place
where a mythical king of Athens, Kekrops, was buried. Note that the dates listed mark the date the building was begun, 421 B.C., and the date the building was completed, 406 B.C. Later, the western cella was altered and repaired to include cross walls, once in 377/76 B.C., and another repair in 27 B.C. The Erechtheion was converted to a Christian church in the 7th century A.D.
The original sanctuary of the tutelary deities of Athens, Athena Polias (the goddess of the city), Poseidon, and Erechtheus. It was situated on the Acropolis. The old temple, said to have been built by Erechtheus, was burned by the Persians in 480 BC. The restoration perhaps began as far back as the time of Pericles, but, according to the testimony of an inscription preserved
in the British Museum was still unfinished in 409. The new temple was, even in antiquity, admired as one of the most beautiful and perfect works of the Attic-Ionic style. It was sixty-five feet long and nearly thirtysix broad, and was divided into two main parts. Entering through the eastern portico of six Ionic pillars, one came into the cella of Athena Polias, with an image of the goddess, and a lamp that was always kept burning. To the solid wall at the back was attached the Erechtheum proper. Here were three altars, one common to Poseidon and Erechtheus, the other to Hephaestus and the hero Butes. Connected with this, by three doors, was a small front chamber, with seven half-columns adorning the western wall, and three windows between them. This chamber was approached through a hall attached to the north side of the temple, adorned with seven Ionic columns in front, and one on each side. Under this was a cleft in the rock, said to have been made by the stroke of Poseidon's trident during his contest with Athena for the possession of the Acropolis. Corresponding to this on the south side was a small hall, supported not by pillars, but by caryatides. This was called the Hall of Korai, and it probably contained the tomb of Cecrops. From it a step led down to a court, once walled round, in which were the Pandroseum, the sacred olive-tree of Athena, and the
altar of Zeus Herkeios. On the east side, in front of the temple of Athena Polias, stood the altar on which the great hecatomb was offered at the Panathenaea.
The Sanctuary of Pandrosos
Summary: Walled, open air sanctuary, joining the Erechtheion at the west end.
Date: Unknown
Plan:
East wall of Sanctuary of Pandrosos is also the west wall of the Erechtheion. The sanctuary was entered from a doorway at the back of the north porch of the Erechtheion, or by a door from the west cella of the Erechtheion. In the northwest corner was a small Temple of Pandrosos, opening to the sanctuary on the east and divided into a porch and cella. In the southeast corner was a stairway leading down to the Rock of Kekrops.
History:
The Sanctuary of Pandrosos is also the proposed location for the sacred olive tree of Athena and an altar to Zeus Herkeios.
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| | ATHENS (Ancient city) GREECE |
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Athens Temples
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| | ACROPOLIS (Acropolis) ATHENS |
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Theatre of Dionysos
Summary: Theater; in the Sanctuary of Dionysos Eleuthereus, against the southern slope of the Acropolis.
Date: ca. 350 B.C.
Period: Late Classical
Plan:
Cavea with stone seats facing a stage building which extended the width of the orchestra.
History:
Introduction date for the cult of Dionysos at Athens is not certain. The Sanctuary of Dionysos Eleuthereus (the Liberator), in which the theater is located, also contains 2 temples of Dionysos, the older of the 2 dating to ca. 600 - 500 B.C. The 2nd temple dates to ca. 350 B.C., but was once thought to be of the 5th century B.C. The only existing traces of the 5th century B.C. temple are a few blocks reused in the later one. It is believed that musical and theatrical performances took place in the Agora until the 5th century B.C. when supposedly the ikria (bleachers) there collapsed. According to Travlos, the 5th century B.C. theater was simple and consisted of a small number of stone and wooden benches on the hillside and a small semi-circular terrace as the orchestra. Lykourgos is thought to be responsible for the 4th century B.C. form of the theater, which is the general form of the
theater today (although there have been later alterations and additions). A peribolos wall was added to the sanctuary in the 4th century B.C.
The oldest theatre of which we have any knowledge is the Dionysiac theatre at Athens. It has generally been supposed that a permanent stone theatre existed in the Lenaion, or precinct of Dionysus, from the early years of the 5th cent. B.C. This belief rested on a passage in Suidas (s. v. Pratinas). He states that in the 70th Olympiad (500-496 B.C.) Pratinas was exhibiting tragedy, in competition with Choerilus and Aeschylus, when the wooden benches (ikria) on which the spectators were standing happened to fall; and, in consequence of this (ek touton), a theatre was built. But the history of the Dionysiac theatre has been placed in a new light by the recent researches of the German Archaeological Institute at Athens. The excavations, begun in 1886, have yielded the following results, according to Dr. W. Dorpfeld:
(1) In the 5th cent. B.C., and down to about 330 B.C., the precinct contained no permanent building for scenic purposes. There were in it two temples of Dionysus (Fig.
1, D, E), both to the south of the present theatre. The older of these (D), which was the more northerly, dated from a time before Peisistratus. Close to it, on the N.E., was a circular orchestra, about 78 feet in diameter, of which traces have been found under the buildings erected by Lycurgus. This orchestra was then the only permanent provision for drama. All scenery, therefore, was temporary; and the spectators sat on wooden benches. It is observed that Andocides, in the speech on the Mysteries (399 B.C.), speaks of the conspirators whom he observed within the precinct of Dionysus as apo tou odeiou katabainontas eis ten orchestran, not eis to theatron ( ง 38): and the latter word, when used by Aristophanes, always means the spectators.
(2) The first permanent building for drama in the Lenaion was that completed by Lycurgus, about 330 B.C. It consisted of a stone wall with two small wings, like towers, projecting from it on right and left (A, A); the length of the wall between them was about 65 ft. 7 in. The temporary decorations (of wood, with linen hangings) were erected in front of this wall, and supported by the wings. Behind the wall was an oblong room, extending somewhat beyond the wings, and serving for the use of the actors. A portico (C, C), opening on the precinct of Dionysus, ran along the south side of it. The new orchestra was to the north of this building. Dr.
Dorpfeld supposes that it formed, like, the older one, a complete circle, and that there was no raised stage; the actors stood on the same level with the Chorus. Rows of stone seats for the spectators were now constructed. After the time of Lycurgus no change, except of detail, took place in the auditorium.
(3) At some later date, which cannot be fixed, a permanent stone proscenium (B), adorned with columns, and about 10 or 12 ft. high, was built in front of the wall with projecting wings which Lycurgus had erected. As the wings no longer served a practical purpose (in supporting the temporary scenery), they were annexed to the new proscenium, a part being cut off the front of each, so as to bring them more nearly into line with it.
(4) An architrave-inscription found in the theatre shows that it was modified and embellished in the reign of Claudius, by whom Nero seems to be meant. It was probably at this time that the orchestra received its present pavement of Pentelic and Hymettos marble; the significance of the diamond-shaped figure traced in the centre is uncertain. To this period also is referred the erection of a raised stage, supported in front by a sculptured wall.
(5) The latest recorded changes in the Dionysiac theatre are associated with the name of a certain Phaedrus, and took place probably in the 3rd cent. (C. I. A. iii. 239). To these belong the existing front wall of the stage, adorned with sculpture of an earlier period; also the balustrade which now separates the auditorium from the orchestra, and the partial covering of the orchestra-canal with marble flags.
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The Acropolis
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The Slopes of the Acropolis
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| | ATHENS (Ancient city) GREECE |
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Athens, Altar of the 12 Gods
Site: Athens
Type: Altar
Summary: Altar enclosed in a peribolos wall; near the north end
of the Agora.
Date: ca. 522 B.C. - 425 B.C.
Period: Archaic/Classical
Plan:
Rectangular altar. Peribolos wall of stone posts and slabs supported by a poros
sill. Entrances on east and west.
History:
Identified by an inscribed marble statue base found in situ on west side of the
peribolos wall. Original altar was built in 522/21 B.C. by Peisistratos. Rebuilt
ca. 425 B.C. to repair damage suffered in the Persian invasion of 480/79 B.C.
The altar was used as the central point for measuring road distances. From the
5th century B.C., the altar became associated with the Goddess of Pity, probably
because the enclosed area served as a place of asylum. A round marble altar of
the 4th century B.C. may also have been in the sanctuary.
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Athens, Arsenal
Site: Athens
Type: Hall
Summary: Large rectangular building; north of the Temple of Hephaistos
and Athena in the Agora, on the Kolonos Agoraios.
Date: ca. 320 B.C. - 280 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
Rectangular with buttressed walls, door opening east. Inside there were 2
rows of 8 supports forming 3 aisles. Large cisterns under the foundations held
run-off water from the roof.
History:
Probably used for storage, possibly of military equipment, thus the name "Arsenal."
Construction dated to late 4th or early 3rd century B.C.
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Athens, East Building
Site: Athens
Type: Hall
Summary: Rectangular building; in the southeastern section of the
Agora, between the Middle Stoa to the north and the South Stoa II to the south.
Date: ca. 150 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
Rectangular. Stoa-like colonnade opened to the east. Five rooms lined the
west wall, all opening west at a lower level than the colonnaded hall. Middle
of the 5 rooms had steps and was a passage from the South Square to the colonnaded
hall. The 3 middle rooms may have had columns in antis. Southernmost room opened
west into the South Stoa II. The East Building was the eastern side of the area
known as the South Square.
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Athens, Enneakrounos (SE Fountainhouse)
Site: Athens
Type: Fountainhouse
Summary: Rectangular building; in the southeast corner of the Agora.
Date: ca. 530 B.C. - 520 B.C.
Period: Archaic
Plan:
Divided into 3 sections, a central large room with a rectangular basin at
its west end and a rectangular area at its east end where water could be taken
directly from a spout. Colonnaded entrance of 3 columns opening north.
History:
This building may have been the Enneakrounos, or nine-spouted fountainhouse,
built by the Peisistratids. On literary evidence Camp locates the Enneakrounos
south of the Acropolis, but agrees this is a fountain of the same period.
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Athens, Eponymous Heroes
Site: Athens
Type: Statue Base
Summary: Rectangular statue base; in the Agora, 14 meters east of
the Metroon and roughly parallel to it.
Date: ca. 350 B.C.
Period: Late Classical
Plan:
Supported 10 bronze statues, and had tripods at either end. Surrounded by
a fence of stone posts and wooden rails.
History:
The Eponymous Heroes were the legendary heroes whose names identified the
10 tribes of Attica, into which the Attic population was officially grouped by
Kleisthenes in 508 B.C.
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Athens, Eschara
Site: Athens
Type: Altar
Summary: Ground altar; on the northern side of the Agora, to the
south of the Altar of the 12 Gods.
Date: ca. 525 B.C. - 500 B.C.
Period: Archaic
Plan:
Area bounded by a stone curb, surrounded by a paved area enclosed by a wall.
History:
This type of altar was often associated with a particular hero. May have served
as a shrine to the Aeginetan hero Aiakos.
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Athens, Heliaia
Site: Athens
Type: Court
Summary: Large square enclosure; in the southwest corner of the
Agora.
Date: ca. 550 B.C.
Period: Archaic
Plan:
Originally no internal divisions or rooms and no roof. Opening on the north
side. Possibly a later inner colonnade and rooms.
History:
Originally the enclosure may have been a simple fence or rope. Early 5th century
B.C. the boundary was changed to a stone wall, and small rooms, probably offices,
were added on the south side, but the meeting place remaining unroofed. The Heliaia
was the name of the largest court in Athens and this building was of appropriate
size, date and type for its meetings, but the identification remains tentative.
Travlos has suggested it was a precinct of Theseus, but the votives commonly excavated
in such sanctuaries have not been found here.
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Athens, House of the Marbleworkers
Site: Athens
Type: House
Summary: Irregularly shaped building; just southwest of the Agora,
and west of the Triangular Shrine.
Date: ca. 475 B.C. - 275 B.C.
Period: Late Clas./Hell.
Plan: A complex of several rooms. Two cisterns in the largest room.
History:
The house is referred to as the House of the Marbleworkers Mikion and Menon
and was in use from 475 to 275 B.C. A bone tool inscribed with the name Mikion,
ca. 475 B.C., and pottery dating to ca. 275 B.C. bearing the name Menon, were
all found at this location. Excavation has revealed tools, marble dust and unfinished
sculpture, supporting the belief that this area, just to the southwest of the
Agora, was a location for marble working.
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Athens, Kallirrhoe (SW Fountainhouse)
Site: Athens
Type: Fountainhouse
Summary: L-shaped building; in the southwest corner of the Agora,
near the Heliaia.
Date: ca. 350 B.C. - 325 B.C.
Period: Late Classical
Plan:
From a small square courtyard one entered the L-shaped colonnaded porch. A
2nd interior L-shaped colonnade divided the building into 2 parts: the L-shaped
colonnaded porch and the L-shaped draw basin. Water was drawn from over a low
wall which filled the spaces between the columns.
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Athens, Law Courts
Site: Athens
Type: Hall
Summary: Halls, complex of 3 buildings; all in the Agora, beneath
the Square Peristyle, beneath the Stoa of Attalos.
Date: ca. 420 B.C. - 380 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Group of 3 buildings around an open triangular space. Law court A, roofed colonnade;
Law court B, rectangular hall; and Law court C, a rectangular hall. The northernmost
building, Law court B, was a large rectangular hall with a door and 2 columned
portico on the south side. Sharing Law court B's eastern wall was Law court A,
an open colonnade of 11 columns opening south, with a door and 2 columned portico
opening off its north eastern corner. Across from these buildings and to the south
was Law court C, a rectangular Hall, probably opening north, with a line of basins
at ground level on its north side.
History:
The excavated finds in this area of the Agora indicate the buildings' use
as law courts. A ballot box containing dicasts' ballots was found near the eastern
end of Law court B. Also in the area were found bronze jurors' identification
tags, water clocks, juror payment tokens and other such court furnishings.
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Athens, Law Court (Square Peristyle)
Site: Athens
Type: Court
Summary: Square roofed colonnade; in the Agora, beneath the Stoa
of Attalos.
Date: ca. 338 B.C. - 300 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
Walled square enclosure with entrances on east and west. Inner Doric colonnade
of 14 x 14 columns.
History:
Size and location would have made this an appropriate meeting place for the law
courts. Travlos dates this building to the time of Lykourgos, 338 - 326 B.C.,
and states the building was carefully constructed. Camp dates the building to
300 B.C. and considers its construction to have been "shoddy," with the west side
unfinished.
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Athens, Leokoreion
Site: Athens
Type: Peribolos Wall
Summary: Small shrine surrounded by a wall and associated with a
well to the north; in the northern part of the Agora, across from the south wing
of the Stoa Basileios.
Date: ca. 400 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
An enclosing wall around an outcrop of native rock (a sacred area from earlier
times). There was originally a door, perhaps with rail barrier, in the northern
side of the wall.
History:
Named the Leokoreion after the daughters of Leos, who were sacrificed to save
the city from a terrible plague. Votives (5th century B.C.), such as loom weights
and jewelry, commonly associated with shrines of females were found here. Also
known as the Crossroads Enclosure, because the date of ca. 400 B.C makes this
shrine later than the Leokoreion of literature, which would have been in use in
the 6th century B.C. The Leokoreion had a prominent position in the Agora and
consequently was a noted landmark. Silted in by the 4th century B.C.
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Athens, Metroon
Site: Athens
Type: Metroon
Summary: Chambered building, with front colonnade; on the west side
of the Agora, north of the Tholos.
Date: ca. 150 B.C. - 125 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
Four chambered building. Outer front colonnade of 14 Ionic columns linking
the 4 chambers and opening to the Agora on the east. Southernmost chamber and
the 2nd chamber from the south were equal in size. Second chamber from the south
is believed to have been the Temple of the Mother of the Gods (Metroon) with a
pronaos distyle in antis. Next chamber was slightly larger than the previous 2.
Largest and northernmost chamber had a square inner colonnade of 12 columns with
2 others in antis at the entrance.
History:
Built over earlier Bouleuterion and earlier limestone foundations of Temple
of the Mother of the Gods. The distinct units of the later Metroon would have
accommodated the Sanctuary of the Mother of the Gods, a council house and state
record storage. building including a temple
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Athens, Middle Stoa
Site: Athens
Type: Stoa
Summary: Stoa; approximately in the middle of the Agora and dividing
it into north and south areas.
Date: ca. 175 B.C. - 150 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
Doric, two-aisled stoa, completely surrounded by unfluted Doric columns. The
center colonnade of 23 columns, may have been Ionic, and the center columns may
have been connected by screens to divide the stoa into halves. The Middle Stoa
was the northern side of the area known as the South Square.
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Athens, Mint
Site: Athens
Type: Mint
Summary: Large, square building; in the Agora, near the South Stoa
I and west of the Enneakrounos.
Date: ca. 400 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Northern half was a courtyard. Furnaces located in a large room on the southwest
corner. Two small rooms in the southeast corner were possibly used for storage.
History:
This building is identified on the basis of excavation finds which included
coins and blank coins (flans), industrial debris, and the remains of furnaces
and slag basins. In the 2nd century A.D., a temple and Nymphaion were built on
the ruins of the Mint, and later, ca. 1000 A.D., a Christian church was built,
which is still standing.
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Athens, North Houses
Site: Athens
Type: House
Summary: Irregular units sharing walls; on southern edge of the
Agora, north of the Areopagus.
Date: ca. 450 B.C.
Period: Early Classical
Plan:
Groups of rooms organized around a courtyard (each house organized in a different
fashion). The house forming the northeast corner is nearly square, with small
rooms around a rectangular court. A chamber on the east side of the court had
one column in its west opening forming a small portico. Large room on the south
was probably the main living area, with smaller rooms for storage, weaving and
other activities.
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Athens, Prytanikon
Site: Athens
Type: Prytanikon
Summary: Irregularly shaped building; on the west side of the Agora,
formed an architectural unit with the Old Bouleuterion.
Date: ca. 550 B.C. - 525 B.C.
Period: Archaic
Plan:
Many internal irregularly shaped divisions, grouped around a colonnaded court.
Two cooking pits on the north side.
History:
Also known as Building F, Camp postulates that it may have been a palace for
the Peisistratids. Because the later Tholos was located on the same spot as the
Prytanikon and included the same area in its enclosure, it has also been suggested
that this structure served as a state dining hall.
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Athens, South Stoa I
Site: Athens
Type: Stoa
Summary: Stoa; on the south side of the Agora, between the Heliaia
and the Enneakrounos (SE Fountainhouse).
Date: ca. 425 B.C. - 400 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Two-aisled stoa opening north, with a Doric outer colonnade, an inner
colonnade of unknown order, and 16 rooms lining the southern wall. One narrow
room, and 15 square rooms which served as dining rooms and places of relaxation.
May have had a 2nd story.
History:
The 15 rooms apparently were outfitted as dining rooms and may have been used
by the city officials who were fed at public expense. The building was in use
until ca. 150 B.C., when it was displaced by South Stoa II.
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Athens, South Stoa II
Site: Athens
Type: Stoa
Summary: Stoa; on the southern edge of the Agora, on the approximate
location of the South Stoa I, between the Heliaia, and the Middle Stoa.
Date: ca. 150 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
Doric single-aisled stoa opening north. On the north, 30 columns in antis;
walls on the south, west and east sides. East wall had door communicating with
southern end of the East Building. Off-center in the south wall was a small rectangular
niche, possibly an exedra or fountain. The South Stoa II was the southern side
of the area known as the South Square.
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Athens, State Prison
Site: Athens
Type: Prison
Summary: Almost rectangular building; just off the southwest corner
of the Agora.
Date: ca. 450 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
A long hall that led back to a courtyard. Five almost square rooms off the
west side of the hall and 3 off the east side. At the northeast corner near the
entrance, was a group of 4 rooms, possibly with a 2nd story.
History:
The location of the building near the law courts, its plan of separate cells with
an easily guarded single entrance, and its provisions for bathing provide all
the necessities for an ancient prison. The excavation of a small statue of Socrates
and a quantity of medicine bottles, likely vessels for the poisons used to execute
prisoners, have led to the identification of this building as the State Prison,
where Socrates was executed in 399 B.C.
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Athens, Stoa Basileios (Royal Stoa)
Site: Athens
Type: Stoa
Summary: Stoa; in the northeast corner of the Agora.
Date: ca. 525 B.C.
Period: Archaic
Plan:
Small two-aisled stoa opening east, 8 Doric columns in antis on the east, 4 Doric
interior columns.
History:
After construction ca. 525 B.C., much of the stoa was rebuilt in the 5th century,
probably to repair damage suffered in the Persian invasion of 480/79 B.C. Ca.
300 B.C., 2 small prostyle wings were added. The stoa is named for the office
of the king archon, who was responsible for many of the city's legal and religious
matters, and copies of the law codes were displayed in the building. Immediately
east of the building is the large, rectangular oath stone, 2.95 m x 0.95 m, where
council members took an oath to guard the laws of the city.
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Athens, Stoa of Artemis Brauronia
Site: Athens
Type: Stoa
Summary: Stoa with wings; the south boundary of the Sanctuary of
Artemis Brauronia, on the Acropolis, southeast of the Propylaia, west of the Chalkotheke.
Date: ca. 440 B.C. - 430 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Four-part building. Main stoa, one-aisled opening north, running nearly parallel
to the south wall of the Acropolis. Two small projecting wings on the west and
east ends, with doors opening north. Both wings had 2 engaged columns on the walls
which faced onto the sanctuary. There is slight evidence that later a small stoa
was added on the northeast side, opening west and extending the line formed by
the earlier eastern wing.
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Athens, Stoa of Attalos
Site: Athens
Type: Stoa
Summary: Two-storied stoa; on the eastern side of the Agora.
Date: ca. 159 B.C. - 138 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
Doric lower outer colonnade, with Ionic lower inner colonnade. An upper outer
colonnade of Ionic double half-columns, and an upper inner colonnade with palm
capitals. Stairways to the 2nd story at each end of the stoa. Each story had 2
aisles and 21 rooms lining the western wall. The rooms of both stories were lighted
and vented through doorways and small windows on the back wall.
History:
Identified by a dedicatory inscription on the architrave as built by Attalos
II, ruler of Pergamon from 159 B.C. to 138 B.C. The building assumes particular
importance in the study of ancient monuments because the reconstruction of 1952
- 1956 replicates the original form.
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Athens, Stoa of Zeus (Eleutherios)
Site: Athens
Type: Stoa
Summary: Two-aisled stoa; in the northwest corner of the Agora.
Date: ca. 425 B.C. - 410 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Doric exterior, Ionic interior with projecting wings at both ends. Opened
to the east.
History:
Dedicated to Zeus Eleutherios (Freedom), a cult founded after the Persian
War. It was unusual for a religious building to take the form of a stoa rather
than a temple, and considering its central location it is likely that the building
also served other civic purposes. Possibly one of the accomplishments of Mnesikles,
the architect of the Propylaia.
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Athens, Stoa Poikile (Painted)
Site: Athens
Type: Stoa
Summary: Two-aisled stoa; on the north side of the Agora
Date: ca. 475 B.C. - 450 B.C.
Period: Early Classical
Plan:
Doric outer colonnade and an Ionic inner colonnade, opening south.
History:
The building was originally known as the Peisianaktios, from its builder Peisianax.
The name Poikile (Painted) is derived from its famous murals painted by artists
such as Polygnotos.
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Athens, Temple of Apollo Patroos
Site: Athens
Type: Temple
Summary: Temple, tetrastyle in antis; on the west side of the Agora
between the Stoa of Zeus (Eleutherios) and the Metroon.
Date: ca. 338 B.C. - 326 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
A rectangular cella with a pronaos of 4 columns in antis on the east. An adyton
projected from the north side and communicated with the cella. On the north, in
the L formed by the adyton and connected to the Temple of Apollo by a wall was
the small, slightly older Temple of Zeus Phratrios and Athena Phratria.
History:
Under this temple are the remains of a smaller, apsidal Temple of Apollo,
dated to the 6th century B.C. The earlier temple was probably destroyed by the
Persians in 480/79 B.C.
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Athens, Temple of Hephaistos
Site: Athens
Type: Temple
Summary: Peripteral temple; on the west side of the Agora, on the
Kolonos Agoraios.
Date: ca. 449 B.C. - 444 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Doric peripteral temple, 6 x 13 columns. Cella with a pronaos and an opisthodomos,
both distyle in antis. Interior with superimposed Doric colonnade along 3 of the
cella walls, but the original number of columns is uncertain.
History:
Usually referred to as the Hephaisteion, the building was previously called
the Theseion, a name still in common use. It has also been proposed that the temple
was dedicated to Eukleia (Artemis). The temple was richly decorated. Planting
pits dating from the 3rd century B.C. show that the temple grounds were fully
landscaped. In the 7th century A.D. it was converted to a Christian church.
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Athens, Temple of Zeus and Athena
Site: Athens
Type: Temple
Summary: Small temple; on the west side of the Agora, between the
Stoa of Zeus (Eleutherios) and the Temple of Apollo Patroos.
Date: ca. 350 B.C. - 338 B.C.
Period: Late Classical
Plan:
Simple cella with small altar in front; joined by a small wall to the Temple
of Apollo Patroos and forming and architectural unit with it.
History:
The temple is dedicated to Zeus Phratrios and Athena Phratria. In the 2nd
century B.C. a small porch was added.
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Athens, Tholos
Site: Athens
Type: Tholos
Summary: Circular building; on the west side of the Agora, south
of the Bouleuterion.
Date: ca. 465 B.C.
Period: Early Classical
Plan:
Circular building. Six interior columns for additional support of the roof.
On the north side was a small annex that served as a kitchen.
History:
Often called the Skias (a type of sun hat) because of its conical roof. The
Tholos served as a state dining room for the Prytaneis of the Boule (Council),
and is located on the ruins of the earlier Prytanikon.
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Athens, Triangular Shrine
Site: Athens
Type: Peribolos Wall
Summary: Triangle-shaped open air sanctuary; located just outside
the southwest corner of the Agora.
Date: ca. 450 B.C. - 425 B.C.
Period: Classical
History:
The shrine may be dedicated to Hekate, whose sanctuaries are commonly found
at crossroads.
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Assos, Theater
Site: Athens
Type: Well
Summary: Circular well surrounded by a curb; north of the Leokoreion
at the north end of the Agora.
Date: ca. 400 B.C.
Period: Classical
History:
The public well came into use about the same time as the Leokoreion was built
and may have been part of the shrine. It has also been associated with the Athenian
cavalry corps of the 3rd century B.C. due to lead tablets, each bearing the name
and description of a cavalry mount, found during excavation. Perhaps the Hipparcheion,
or office of the cavalry, was near here.
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Athens
Region: Attica
Periods: Neolithic, Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze
Age, Dark Age, Geometric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Modern
Type: Fortified city
Summary: Fortified city and center of a major city-state.
Physical Description:
Located in the center of a large plain, enclosed on all
but S side by mountains, Athens is ca. 7 km inland from its seaport at Piraeus.
The site has been continuously inhabited from Neolithic times to the present.
The plateau and the slopes of the Acropolis hill were the area of earliest settlement
and later became the religious center of the ancient city. S of the Acropolis,
in the Ilissos district, were many sanctuaries and athletic establishments. N
of the Acropolis is the Agora, the civic and social center of the ancient city
and N of the Agora is the Kerameikos (the potters' quarter), the Sacred Gate (opening
toward Eleusis) and, beyond the city walls, the cemetery. W of the Acropolis are
the hills of the Areopagus (site of the most ancient court of Athens), the Pnyx
(meeting place of the popular assembly), and the Hills of the Muses and the Nymphs.
The NW quarter of the city was occupied by artisans and tradesmen and farther
W the Long Walls linked Athens to the harbor city of Piraeus.
Description: The natural defenses of the Acropolis, with
fresh water springs at its base and a vista of the plain and distant coast, was
a focus for prehistoric settlement, and by the Late Bronze Age a Mycenaean citadel
occupied the summit. This citadel was one of the few Mycenaean centers to survive
the upheavals and destruction of the later 13th century B.C. and may have served
as a refuge for those fleeing other parts of the collapsing empire. According
to tradition, Theseus, the king of Athens at this time (or somewhat later) unified
the towns of Attica in the synoecism (amalgamation) and founded the first city-state
of Athens. Although the city does not seem to have had a circuit wall until the
6th century B.C. (when it was built by Solon or Peisistratos), the 13th century
citadel continued to serve the city and, in fact, these defenses were still in
use at the time of the Persian invasion in 480 B.C. The Acropolis began its transformation
into a purely religious area in 566 B.C. when Peisistratos instituted the festival
and games of the Great Panathenaia and the great ramp and 1st temples were built
on the Acropolis. Religious constructions, although interrupted by the Persian
invasion, continued from the 6th century through the Roman period. Numerous sanctuaries,
shrines and other buildings of religious character were established on the Acropolis
slopes (where prior to the 6th century, habitations, shops, and cemeteries had
been located). The Agora of Theseus' time was located on the NW slope of the Acropolis
while the later Agora of Solon was placed to the N of the Areopagus. In the mid
6th century the Agora shifted to its 3rd and final location. After the Persian
destruction of Athens and the Acropolis in 480 B.C., major rebuilding began under
the archonship of Themistocles. A new and much extended wall was built around
the city and the fortification of the Piraeus which had been initiated in 493
B.C. were completed. Under the rule of Pericles in the 5th century, the masterworks
of the classical age were created on the Acropolis, and in the lower city. The
Athenian city walls were destroyed by the Spartans in 404 B.C., but again rebuilt
by Konon in 394 B.C. In 86 B.C. the walls of Athens and Piraeus were demolished
by Sulla and the city remained unwalled until the time of Valerian (253-260 A.D.).
The new walls included the new city which had been built by Hadrian. Valerian
also re fortified the Acropolis. In spite of Valerian's fortifications of the
city, Athens suffered a devastation by the Herulians in 267 A.D. After the Herulian
destruction a smaller circuit wall (known as the Late Roman Wall) was built to
the N of the Acropolis. The outer ancient circuit wall was repaired in Justinian's
time and in use up to 1204 A.D. In 529 A.D. Justinian closed the internationally
famous philosophical schools of Athens, but it retained its reputation as an intellectual
center throughout the Byzantine period.
Exploration:
Excavations began after Independence in 1833 and continue
almost without interruption to the present under Greek and foreign auspices.
Donald R. Keller, ed.
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