ARCHAEOLOGY SITES
SECTION 3
The Stoa of Attalus
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This was built by Attalus the Second,
King of Pergamos (159-138 B.C.) purely for trading
purposes. It was a two-storey building with internal
and external rows of pillars which lead into 21
shops on each floor. Fully restored today, the arcade
is used as a museum with entrances giving on to
Theseion (Thissio) Square and Andrianou Street.
It contains mostly finds from the excavations carried
out in the area of the Agora. Among these are numerous
inscriptions, statues, reliefs, pieces from the
temples of Hephaistos and Ares, thousands of vases,
coins, bronze articles, miniatures, etc. Some of
the more interesting items found are the weight
and measurement standards, a clay water clock, part
of the ballot box used for the election of city
officials in Athens, a bronze shield taken from
the defeated Spartans on the island of Sfaktiria
"ostraka" (sherds) bearing the names of
well-known Athenians such as Aristides the Just,
Kallixenos and others, as well as an inscription
containing a law passed in 336 B.C. against tyranny.
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The Choregic
Monument Of Lysicrates
Or "Diogenes Lamp"
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The Diogenes Lamp is a choregic monument
of the 4th century B.C. which stands at the junction
of Lysicrates and Lord Byron Streets. It served
as a pedestal for the bronze tripod set upon its
summit - a trophy for the victor of a choregic contest.
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The
Clock Of Andronikos Kurrhestes
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is located outside the western entrance to the
Roman Market. It was constructed in the lst centrury
B.C. by the astronomer Andronikos from Kyrrhos
in Macedonia and is shaped like an octagonal tower.
It served as a form of meteorological station
since it combined a sundial and water clock and
also had a weathervane to show the direction of
the wind. Each face is adorned with a relief representing
the wind blowing from that direction, hence its
nickname in Greek "aerides" meaning
"the winds".(Thus Tower of Winds).
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Kerameikos
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Kerameikos
was named after the community of the potters (kerameis)
who occupied the whole area along the banks of river
Eridanos or according to the traveller Pausanias
was named after Keramos a hero of the demos of Kerameis.
The walls of Athens, which were constructed in the
5th century B.C. by Themistocles, divided the area
into two sections, the "inner" and "outer"
Kerameikos. The wall had two gates, Dipylon and
the Sacred Gate, placed at the outset of the two
most important processional roads of Athens, the
Panathenaic Way which led to the Acropolis, and
the Sacred Way which led to Eleusis. Outside the
city walls, along the sides of both roads lay the
official cemetery of the city, which was continuously
used from the 9th century B.C. until the late Roman
period.
The ancient demos of Kerameikos included an area
much larger than the one excavated. It is believed
that it stretched from the north west limits of
the Agora to the grove named after the hero Academos.
Systematic excavations on the site were begun in
1870 by the Greek Archaeological Society under the
direction of St. Koumanoudis, and were continued
during the following decades in collaboration with
the German archaeologists A. Brueckner and F. Noack.
In 1913, the Greek Government entrusted the excavations
to the German Archaeological Institute, which is
still conducting the investigation of the site.
The most important monuments of the site are:
Part of the Themistocleian wall. The wall of the
city of Athens was constructed in 478 B.C. and crossed
the area of Kerameikos in a N-S direction.
Dipylon was the greatest and most official gate
of the city of Athens, also constructed in 478 B.C.
It had two passageways that gave access to an internal
courtyard with four towers erected at its corners.
From this gate started the procession of the Panathenaea,
the most important festival of ancient Athens, following
the Panathenaic Way that led up to the Acropolis.
The Pompeion. Spacious building with a peristyle
courtyard, used for the preparation of festival
processions. In the Pompieion were kept the sacral
items used at the Panathenaic procession. Dated
to the end of the 5th century B.C.
The Sacred Gate was one of the gates of the city
wall built by Themistocles in 478 B.C. It allowed
the passage of river Eridanos and of the Sacred
Way, the processional way that led to Eleusis. It
was protected by two square towers and had a courtyard
divided into two parts, one of which was occupied
by the bank of the river. Dated to 478 B.C.
Grave circle. In this precinct was found the famous
stele of Hegeso, dated to 410 B.C.
Marble bull in the plot of Dionysios of Kollytos
( 345 - 338 B.C. ).
The "Demosion Sema", the public cemetery
of the city, extended just outside the Dipylon gate.
The graves were constructed along the sides of the
road which became very wide (up to 40 m.) outside
the walls. A part of the "Demosion Sema"
cemetery has been brought to light in 1997, during
a rescue excavation.
The Fountain House. The hypostyle fountain was located
on the left side of the entrance of the Dipylon
gate and provided a continuous supply of water to
the inhabitants of the city and the travellers.
It was built in 307-304 B.C.
The finds from the excavations of Kerameikos are
exhibited in the Museum of Kerameikos and the National
Archaeological Museum.
Tombs and Stylae
Its tombs and steles are what Kerameikos is mainly
known for.
Strolling around them you will have the chance to
admire the marble bull inside the enclosure of the
tomb of Dionysios from Kollytos; also the replica
of the well-known stele of Dexileos placed where
the original used to be and the stele of Hegeso
(late 5th century B.C.).
If you wish to see the original stelae as well as
other finds from the excavation you must walk to
the Museum near Ermou Street.
The relief (above image, left item) shows Hegeso
seated, taking a jewel out of a box that her female
slave is holding. It is believed that the background
of the relief and the jewel were painted blue and
gold respectively. At the top of the stele her name
is engraved: Hegeso Proxeno.
The skill with which the melancholy expression on
Hegeso's face and the folds of her dress are depicted
is beyond description.
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Hadrian's Library
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The
rectangular building of the Library comprises a
Corinthian propylon on the west side, an open peristyle
courtyard, three projecting conches on each of the
long sides, a library, study and lecture halls.
It was built in A.D. 132 by emperor Hadrian, was
destroyed by the Herulae in A.D. 267, and was subsequently
incorporated into the Late Roman fortification wall.
It was repaired by the Roman eparchus Herculius
in A.D. 412, and in the 5th century the quatrefoil
building of the Early Christian church was constructed
in the centre of the peristyle court. After its
destruction, a three-aisled basilica was erected
on its ruins in the 7th century, which was in turn
superseded by the single-aisled church of Megale
Panaghia, in the 11th century.
During the Turkish occupation it became the seat
of the Voevode (Governor) and in 1835, the barracks
of king Otho were erected in the place of the Voevodalik.
The first excavations on the site were carried out
by W. Doerpfeld and St. Koumanoudis, in the central
and eastern part of the monument, after the great
fire of 1885, which damaged the Agora (Bazaar) and
the church of Megale Panaghia.
Between 1942 and 1950 a second excavation campaign
was conducted by the Italians, and later by A. Orlandos
and I. Meliades. Between 1970 and 1980, J. Travlos
carried out excavations at the NE auditorium and
the quatrefoil building. Since 1987 the 1st Ephorate
of Antiquities has been conducting systematic excavations
in the west section of the monument.
In the years 1960-70 restoration work was carried
out at the west facade and the colonnade of the
basilica of Megale Panaghia, and in 1975-76 the
Propylon was consolidated. The 1st Ephorate is currently
preparing a study for the reconstruction of the
Propylon and the south wing of the facade of the
building.
The most important monuments of the site are:
- Quatrefoil Building. The building with the four
apses, dated to the 5th century A.D., was an Early
Christian church with a peripteral narthex, exonarthex
and a wide peristyle atrium on the west side.
- Church of Megale Panaghia. The first church was
a three-aisled basilica, built in the 7th century
A.D. on the ruins of the quatrefoil building which
had been destroyed in the 6th century A.D. The basilica
was in its turn destroyed in the 11th century A.D.
and a single-aisled church with a chapel to the
north was erected in its place. It survived for
centuries but was burnt down in 1885.
- Ruins of a church. The north wall and remains
of the sanctuary are preserved. The church lies
to the north of the quatrefoil building and dates
from the 17th century A.D.
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