Εμφανίζονται 10 τίτλοι με αναζήτηση: Αρχαιολογικοί χώροι για το τοπωνύμιο: "ΒΡΑΥΡΩΝ Αρχαία πόλη ΑΤΤΙΚΗ, ΑΝΑΤΟΛΙΚΗ".
Lies beside a small bay on the E coast, about 38 km from Athens.
A fortified prehistoric settlement occupied the small hill about
400 m W of the bay, flourishing from the Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age, but
particularly during the period ca. 2000-1600 B.C. A few houses have been cleared,
and on the NW slopes of the hill E of the acropolis, several Late Helladic chamber
tombs were dug. This settlement was abandoned before the end of the Bronze Age,
and in the Classical period only a sanctuary remained. It lay just to the NW of
the acropolis and was active from the late 8th to the 3d c. B.C., when it was
destroyed by a flood of the nearby river Erasinos. The area was deserted in Roman
times, but in the 6th c. A.D. an Early Christian basilica was built about 500
m W of the sanctuary on the other side of the valley, and reused some material
from the sanctuary itself.
The goddess of the sanctuary, identified with Artemis, was particularly
connected with childbirth and was worshiped mainly by women. Her cult statue,
presumably a primitive one, was said to have been brought from the Crimea by Iphigeneia
and Orestes (Eur. IT 1462-67) but Pausanias (1.23.7; 1.33.1; 3.16.8) discounts
the story. Iphigeneia herself was supposed to be buried there. The special servants
of Artemis Brauronia were called arktoi (bears), young girls aged between five
and ten, who wore saffron robes, perhaps to recall the actual bearskins of an
earlier period (Suda, s.v. arktos e Brauroniois).
Greek excavations between 1948 and 1962 revealed the main buildings
of the sanctuary. Of the temple, dating from ca. 500 B.C., only the foundations
remain. It was a small Doric building (ca. 20 x 11 m), but little is known of
its plan. Immediately to the NW of the temple terrace is a copious spring into
whose waters offerings were thrown. From the partly artificial basin of the spring,
and from the bed of the stream flowing N from it, many dedications were recovered,
mostly of a feminine character--mirrors rings, gems, etc.; particularly valuable
are the objects of bone and wood which luckily have been preserved in the mud.
The spring seems to have been the most sacred part of the sanctuary until the
late 6th c. B.C., but both it and the temple were probably destroyed by the Persians
in 480.
About 10 m SE of the temple, in a cleft in the rock which was probably
once a cave, stood a small temple-like building which perhaps represents the supposed
Tomb of Iphigeneia. It seems to have replaced the earlier buildings to the SE,
which were destroyed by the collapse of the cave roof in the mid 5th c. B.C.
The most impressive building at the sanctuary is the large Doric
stoa dating from ca. 430-420 B.C., which was perhaps used by the arktoi. It was
to have had three colonnaded wings facing onto a court from the W, N, and E, the
temple terrace forming the fourth side. The E wing was longer than the W, and
did not have rooms behind its portico as did the N and W wings. In the end, the
N wing alone was completed; except for the column nearest the corner with the
N colonnade, the E and W colonnades never rose above their foundations. Behind
the N wing was a narrow courtyard with a small propylon at each end, and a shallow
portico forming its N side.
The N colonnade of the stoa has been partially restored, using the
original elements found lying in front of it. Its 11 Doric columns, with shafts
of local sandstone and capitals of Pentelic marble, stood on a marble stylobate,
which, although it has settled badly at the E end, seems to have been laid in
a rising curve like that of the Parthenon. The columns were more widely spaced
than in contemporary temples, so that above each span there are three metopes
instead of two; the spans nearest the corners were extended a further 12 cm to
allow a half-triglyph to appear in the frieze at the reentrant angle. The stoa
is one of the earliest buildings where this wider column spacing is found, and
where the problem of the reentrant angle had to be met; not surprisingly, therefore,
the adjustment of the column spacing is not really adequate.
Behind the N and (intended) W porticos of the stoa were various rooms,
the majority of them of a standard size (ca. 6 x 6 m) and equipped with 11 couches
and 7 small tables. The arrangement of these rooms is best seen at the E end of
the N wing, where the base blocks for several tables, as well as the holes where
couch legs were fixed with lead, still survive. The rooms were entered from the
porticos in front of them, and in the marble threshold of the first room from
the E can be seen one of the bronze pivots for the double doors and the prism-shaped
bronze projections that held the doors shut.
Besides the standard rooms, there were also in the N wing a narrow
passage to the N court, and a small room at the extreme W end, which probably
served as a lodge for the porter of the W gate into the N court. In the W wing,
the third room from the S formed the main entrance to the stoa and its court from
the W. The many wheel-marks visible here, however, belong with a rough road made
of reused reliefs and architectural members and laid over the remains of the stoa,
probably by people coming to remove building material from the site.
Along the central wall of the N wing, behind the rear wall of the
W wing, and at the foot of the N retaining wall of the temple, there were rows
of bases. On most of these bases were reliefs or inscriptions in honor of Artemis,
but there were also several statues of children, mostly girls (arktoi ?), dating
from the 5th and 4th c. B.C. Several fragments of the catalogue of dedications
to Artemis list separately the garments dedicated to the goddess, either in thanks
for successful childbirth or in memory of those who died as a result of it. The
garments were perhaps displayed on the racks which appear to have occupied the
narrow portico of the N court.
About 7 m W of the stoa, a bridge of the 5th c. B.C. crosses the
stream which flows N from the sacred spring to the Erasinos. It is ca. 9 m long
x 9 m wide, very simple in structure, and consists of horizontal slabs about 1
m long which rest on five rows of upright slabs. Not all the buildings at the
sanctuary have been uncovered; an inscription mentions several others, including
a palaistra and a gymnasium.
The finds from the excavations at the artemision are mostly housed
in a new museum on the site.
J. J. Coulton, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Oct 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 8 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Brauron. In a marshy valley on the eastern coast of Attica
lies the archaeological site of Brauron. Named after an ancient hero, Brauron
was one of the twelve cities of ancient Attica as well as the home territory
of the Athenian tyrant, Peisistratos. The river Erasinos flows nearby, making
this location suitable for the residential population it hosted for 2200 years
from the Neolithic through the Mycenaean periods. After abandonment in 1300
BC, Brauron saw no use until the 8th century BC, when it became the site of
the principal sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia. Legend has it that the priestess
Iphigeneia, on orders from Athena, established this cult at Brauron. The architectural
remains at the site include a small shrine, generally accepted as the Tomb of
Iphigeneia, a three-winged stoa, the temple of Artemis, and a stone bridge of
a style unique to Attica in its time.
Region: Attica
Periods: Geometric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic
Type: Sanctuary
Summary: Sanctuary of Artemis, worshipped in her function as protectress
of childbirth.
Physical Description:
On the coast ca. 38 km E of Athens, the sanctuary consists
of a cave and sacred spring and a court enclosed by a temple and a three-winged
stoa. The stoa housed the votive dedications and numerous dinning rooms. Inscriptions
mention other buildings including a palaestra and gymnasium which have not been
excavated. Ritual included dancing by "Arktoi," girls aged 5 to 10 dressed as
bears. Iphigeneia is said to have brought the cult statue of Artemis here and
to be buried here.
Description:
Earlier habitation and cemetery remains of Neolithic to
Late Bronze Age date have been found SE of the sanctuary, but the cult site appears
to date no earlier than the 8th century B.C. According to myth, the rites and
cult statue of Artemis (who was particularly connected with childbirth and was
worshipped chiefly by women) were brought to Attica from Scythia (Crimea) by Iphigeneia
and Orestes. The sacred spring at Brauron seems to have been originally the most
sacred part of the sanctuary, and the first temple was erected as late as ca.
500 B.C. Both were probably destroyed by the Persians in 480 B.C. when a wooden
image (perhaps the original cult statue) was reportedly carried off to Susa. About
10 m SE of the temple was a small building, perhaps representing the supposed
tomb of Iphigeneia. This seems to have replaced an earlier building to the SE
which was destroyed with the collapse of the sacred cave at mid 5th century. The
later stoa at the sanctuary had a number of dinning rooms perhaps used by the
Arktoi servant girls of Artemis Brauronia. Offerings (of feminine character) recovered
from the sanctuary, especially from the sacred spring, have helped to clarify
aspects of the cult. The site was finally abandoned after the nearby river Erasinos
flooded the sanctuary in the 3rd century B.C. There was no activity at the sanctuary
in the Roman period, but building material from it was reused in a 6th century
A.D. Christian basilica ca 500 m W of the sanctuary site.
Exploration:
Excavations: 1946-52 and 1956-63, J. Papadimitriou, Greek
Archaeological Society.
Donald R. Keller, ed.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains 8 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Σελίδες με φωτογραφίες του Kevin T. Glowacki, βοηθού καθηγητή στο τμήμα κλασσικών σπουδών του Πανεπιστημίου της Ινδιάνας.
Site: Brauron
Type: Temple
Summary: Temple; on the northwest side of the acropolis, directly
south of the west wing of the stoa.
Date: ca. 500 B.C. - 450 B.C.
Period: Archaic/Classical
Plan:
On a stepped terrace. Cella opening east onto pronaos distyle in antis. An adyton
behind the cella. Two rows of 4 columns each in the cella.
History: Constructed to replace an earlier Archaic temple. A church now
stands on the probable location of the Artemis altar. On the slope below the northwest
corner of the Temple of Artemis was a Sacred Spring and pool, from which thousands
of dedications were excavated, most dating pre-480 B.C.
This text is cited Aug 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains 3 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Site: Brauron
Type: Temple
Summary: Small building; located in a cleft in a rock on the southern
edge of the Sanctuary of Artemis.
Date: ca. 450 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Cella and pronaos opening northwest.
History:
The structure is associated with an earlier grave or cenotaph of Iphigeneia, probably
located in a sacred grotto or the complex of rooms to the south. In mythology
Iphigeneia was a daughter of Agamemnon, who became a priestess of Artemis.
This text is cited Aug 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Site: Brauron
Type: Stoa
Summary: Narrow hall; on the north side of the Stoa at Artemision
in the Sanctuary of Artemis.
Date: ca. 410 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
A long narrow hall with roofed stoa on north side and open paved court running
its length. Communicating with the Stoa at Artemision by a narrow passage on the
south and opening on the east and west through propyla each with one column in
antis and a double door.
History:
This stoa is tentatively identified as the parastas referred to in inscriptions.
Built as an addition to the Stoa at Artemision, its function is uncertain. Possibly
animal stalls or shelter for dedications. The court in front had numerous pedestals
to support statues and other dedications.
This text is cited Aug 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Site: Brauron
Type: Stoa
Summary: Three-sided stoa; surrounding the northern end of
the Sanctuary of Artemis.
Date: ca. 425 B.C. - 416 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
U-shaped stoa with 3 colonnaded wings framing the west, north, and east sides
of a central courtyard, opening onto the court. The east wing was longer than
the north and west wings. The north wing had 11 Doric columns and a passage leading
to a more northerly stoa or court (Parastas) with which it shared a wall. The
center room on the west wing was a gate. The north and west wings had dining rooms
behind their colonnades, 9 rooms in total, each containing 11 couches and 7 small
tables.
History:
East and west wings were never completed. The girls who served Artemis may have
been house in the west wing, and the stoa may have been referred to as the parthenon
after the residents. Papidimitriou does not restore dining rooms in the west wing.
This text is cited Aug 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains 7 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Site: Brauron
Type: Bridge
Summary: Bridge; ca. 7 m west of the Stoa at Artemision, crossing
the stream flowing north to the Erasinos from the Sacred Spring.
Date: ca. 430 B.C.
Period: Classical
Plan:
Approximately square bridge of slabs placed horizontally across 5 rows of vertical
slabs.
This text is cited Aug 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains 1 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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