Camp J. The Archaeology of Athens

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In addition to Athens,

Hadrian and his successors

paid particular attention to the

sanctuary at Eleusis, which was

extensively improved and ag-

grandized throughout the cen-

tury. A feature of several of the

new buildings was the deliber-

ate copying or adaptation of a

monument already standing in

Athens.

The earliest structure we

can date with any probability

to the second century is a bridge built by Hadrian to carry the Sacred Way (see fig. 124)

over the Eleusinian Kephisos River, which f lowed only a kilometer or so east of the sanc-

tuary and at times could be a raging torrent. We have references to f looding as early as the

fourth century

., and inscriptions and a poem indicate that the river had been bridged

in 320–319

. by one Xenokles:

Go, go, then, initiates, to the temple of Demeter, fearing not the winter f loods.

So safe a bridge has Xenokles, son of Xeinis, thrown across this broad river.

(Anth. Pal. 9.147)

Hadrian himself was initiated into the mysteries in

. 125 and, according to Eusebius,

built a bridge at that time. It survives in good condition. Fifty meters long and 5 meters

wide, it is built of well-cut limestone blocks, with four arches spanning the course of the

river, which has silted up completely in modern times.

Once the Sacred Way reached the sanctuary at Eleusis, the visitor was led into a mag-

nificent outer courtyard, rich in marble. Because the mysteries were so secret, this is as far

as Pausanias goes with his description (1.38.6–7):

208 ROMAN ATHENS

203

203. Hadrianic bridge over the

Kephisos River at Eleusis, ca. a.d.

125. (Cf. fig. 124)

[To view this image, refer to

the print version of this title.]

The Eleusinians have a temple of Triptolemos, and another of Artemis Propy-

laia and of Poseidon Patroos, and a well called Kallichoron [of the fair dances],

where the Eleusinian women first danced and sang in honor of the goddess.

They say that the Rarian plain was the first to be sown and the first to bear crops,

and therefore it is their custom to take the sacrificial barley and to make cakes

for the sacrifices out of its produce. Here is shown what is called the threshing

f loor of Triptolemos and the altar. But my dream forbade me to describe what is

within the wall of the sanctuary; and surely it is clear that the uninitiated may

not lawfully hear of that from the sight of which they are excluded.

The forecourt was an irregularly shaped area, measuring as much as 70 meters

across in places and paved with thick limestone slabs (see fig. 255). Near the middle of the

court, and some 20 meters outside the gateway into the sanctuary, was a small marble

Doric temple usually identified as that of Artemis Propylaia, set on a low podium. Several

of the architectural elements survive and indicate that the temple was tetrastyle am-

phiprostyle. Built in the second century

., it features the Doric order and the am-

phiprostyle plan so favored in the fifth century

., suggesting that we have here deliberate

Roman Athens 209

204

204. Temple of Artemis Propylaia at Eleusis, seen from the northeast, 2nd century a.d. (Cf. fig. 255)

classicizing, even if a known Classical predecessor has not been recognized. It is reminis-

cent of the probable ground plan of another Artemis temple, the one at Brauron.

Other monuments lined the forecourt of the sanctuary. To the southeast was an or-

nate fountain done in the Corinthian order with an elaborately carved entablature. Round

depressions worn deep into the steps indicate the position of eight spouts which delivered

water from a central basin. The supply aqueduct can still be traced in parts across the plain,

though less easily than in the nineteenth century. It brought water from springs at the an-

cient deme of Phyle on Mount Parnes, about 15 kilometers to the northeast.

The Sacred Way enters the forecourt from the northeast. Two other roads enter the

area as well, from the northwest and the southeast. At the juncture, each of these secondary

streets was spanned by a large marble arch which was almost an exact replica of the Arch of

Hadrian near the Olympieion at Athens. The arches carried identical inscriptions, differ-

ent from the Athenian prototype: “The Panhellenes to the two goddesses and to the em-

210 ROMAN ATHENS

205. Kallichoron well at Eleusis, seen from the south, with the steps of the greater propylon at left, 2nd

century a.d.

[To view this image, refer to

the print version of this title.]

peror.” Numerous statue bases found in the area honor the family of Hadrian’s successor,

Antoninus Pius, and it may be that the arches were dedicated either during his reign or pos-

sibly in that of his successor, Marcus Aurelius.

Just to the left of the main gateway, outside the sanctuary wall, the paving of the Ro-

man forecourt breaks, and within a sunken area can be seen an early stone-lined well set in

a small enclosure. This is almost certainly the Kallichoron well mentioned by Pausanias

(1.38.6) as the place where the daughters of King Keleus found Demeter grieving for her

lost daughter, Persephone.

Next to the well is the centerpiece of the Roman forecourt, the greater propylon. The

whole platform is preserved, along with a great deal of the superstructure. These remains

indicate that the propylon is a wonderfully close replica of the central hall of the fifth-cen-

tury Propylaia of the Acropolis in Athens (see figs. 76, 77, 255). A facade of six Doric

Roman Athens 211

205

206. Gable of the greater propylon of Eleusis, with an imperial portrait, 2nd century a.d.

[To view this image, refer to

the print version of this title.]

columns gives access through an Ionic hall to five doorways which lead through a portico

of six more Doric columns into the sanctuary. So close is the copy that the interior Ionic col-

umn bases are cut as though set on a final resting surface, while the f loor is elsewhere

raised a centimeter or so, in imitation of the protective surfaces which were never cut away

in the unfinished Classical Propylaia. And the doorway with the most footwear on the

threshold is in both instances the one all the way to the left.

There are one or two modifications. The propylon at Eleusis is built on nearly level

ground; the only stairs, therefore, are those on the facade, and there are none inside leading

up to the doors as in the Athenian prototype. And the Eleusis gateway had a huge sculpted

bust set in a shield (imago clipeata) carved in both pediments. One is well preserved, though

the figure—certainly a Roman emperor of the second century

.—cannot be identified

with certainty. Hadrian (117–138, initiated in 125), Antoninus Pius (138–161), and Marcus

Aurelius (161–180, initiated 176) are all candidates. Fragments of a dedicatory inscription

on the architrave are too slight to allow a reading. The steps and thresholds of the greater

propylon are sufficiently well preserved to allow certainty that no wheeled traffic entered

the sanctuary through this gateway. In contrast, there are what seem to be deep and well-

used ruts running through the earlier inner propylon of Claudius Appius Pulcher, and

there must have been a major shift in the traffic patterns of the sanctuary between the mid-

first and mid-second centuries.

Within the sanctuary another building generally dated to the second century stands

on the right just before the Telesterion, at the top of a long f light of stairs. Its paltry remains

212 ROMAN ATHENS

206

207. Small pedimental figures from Temple F at Eleusis, 2nd century a.d. (Cf. fig. 255, “D.”) Compare

the figures at left with those on the west end of the Parthenon (fig. 13).

[To view this image, refer to

the print version of this title.]

have been restored with a distyle-in-antis (two columns between the antae) plan. Of interest

is the pedimental sculpture associated with the temple. Several of the figures are one-third-

scale copies of figures in the west pediment of the Parthenon, making the prosaically

named Temple F a further example of the extensive classicizing found in so many of the

buildings of Roman Eleusis.

The great Telesterion had a Roman phase as well (see fig. 256). Built into the founda-

tions for one of the interior supports in the northeast part of the building is an inscribed

base from the late first century

., providing a terminus post quem for a major reconstruc-

tion of at least part of the building well on in the Roman period. Marcus Aurelius is often

credited with this rebuilding, and the occasion which is thought to have necessitated the

repairs is a raid on Greece by the Costobocs during his reign.

Athens was blessed throughout the second century not only with the attention of three

successive Roman emperors, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius, but also by a

local benefactor, Herodes Atticus of Marathon, who was both wealthy and generous. The

source of the family fortune was a huge treasure discovered by his father in a house he

owned near the theater. Herodes himself was a prominent Roman citizen and philosopher,

who served for a time as the tutor of future emperors. He is known to have made lavish ded-

ications throughout Greece: the stadium at Delphi, a nymphaion at Olympia, and, probably,

a refurbishment of the Peirene fountain at Corinth. Two large monuments in his native

Athens are specifically attributed to him: the stadium and an odeion.

As we have seen, the Panathenaic sta-

dium had been built on its present location by

Lykourgos in the fourth century

. It was re-

placed by 143/4

. with a marble version fi-

nanced by Herodes, capable of seating fifty

thousand spectators. Philostratus describes

the construction and the magnificent festival

which inaugurated it:

When he [Herodes] was offered the

crowning honor of the Panathenaic fes-

tival, he made this announcement: “I

shall welcome you, Athenians, and those

Greeks who attend and those athletes

Roman Athens 213

207

208

209

208. Portrait of the Athenian philosopher and

philanthropist Herodes Atticus, 2nd century a.d.

[To view this image, refer to

the print version of this title.]

who compete, in a stadium of pure white marble.” In accordance with this

promise he completed within four years the stadium on the other side of the

Ilissos, and thus constructed a monument that is beyond all other marvels, for

there is no theater that can rival it. Moreover, I have been told the following facts

concerning this Panathenaic festival. The robe of Athena that was hung on the

ship was more beautiful than any painting, with folds that swelled before the

breeze; and the ship, as it took its course, was not hauled by animals but slid for-

ward by means of underground machinery. Setting sail at the Kerameikos with

a thousand rowers, it arrived at the Eleusinion, and after circling it, passed by

the Pelasgikon: and thus escorted came by the Pythion to where it is now

moored. The other side of the stadium is occupied by a temple of Tyche [For-

tune], with an ivory statue of her as mistress of all. (Vit. Soph. 550)

On the hill west of the stadium lie the heavy concrete remains of a podium temple and a few

blocks of marble, presumably the foundations of the temple of Tyche. Opposite them, on

the hill northeast of the stadium, are the remains of a long conglomerate foundation of the

right dimensions for a ship shed to house the Panathenaic ship.

214 ROMAN ATHENS

209. Reconstruction of the Panathenaic stadium built by Herodes Atticus around a.d. 144 and rebuilt

for the first modern Olympic Games, of 1896.

[To view this image, refer to

the print version of this title.]

Like Philostratus, Pausanias was also impressed by the stadium (1.19.6):

Wonderful to see, though not so impressive to hear of, is a stadium of white

marble. One may best get an idea of its size as follows. It is a hill rising above the

Ilissos, of a crescent shape in its upper part and extending thence in a double

straight line to the bank of the river. It was built by the Athenian Herodes, and

the greater part of the Pentelic quarries was used up in its construction.

The stadium was joined to the rest of Athens by a three-arched bridge which spanned the

Ilissos River. This bridge survived until 1778, at which time it was torn down to provide

building material for a wall around Athens. Excavated in 1869–1870, the stadium itself

was completely rebuilt to serve as the venue for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

Little of the original structure remains in situ, though the reconstruction is remarkably

faithful. Double herms from the running track are preserved, along with fragments of mar-

ble thrones decorated with owls.

The second monument built by Herodes for the Athenians was the huge Odeion, or

music hall, on the south slopes of the Acropolis. Pausanias describes it only when he is in

Patras in the Peloponnese, and he tells us why (7.20.6):

Roman Athens 215

210

211

210. Nineteenth-century view of the bridge built in the second century over the Ilissos River.

[To view this image, refer to

the print version of this title.]

211. View of the Odeion of Herodes Atticus from the west, ca. a.d. 160, before modern restoration.

[To view this image, refer to

the print version of this title.]

Roman Athens 217

The Odeion [of Patras] is the grandest in Greece, except for the one at Athens,

which excels it in both size and style. The latter was erected by the Athenian

Herodes in memory of his dead wife. In my book on Attica, this music hall is

not mentioned because my description of Athens was finished before Herodes

began to build it.

Philostratus also comments on the building and its dedication:

Herodes also dedicated to the Athenians the theater in memory of Regilla, and

he made its roof of cedar wood, though this wood is considered costly even for

making statues. These two monuments then are at Athens, and they are such as

exist nowhere else in the Roman Empire. (Vit. Soph. 551)

Herodes’ wife, Regilla, died around 160, so the Odeion must date to between then and the

170s, when Pausanias finished his book and Herodes died.

The building features a marble auditorium in the form of a half-circle, with a seating

capacity of around five thousand people. It had a raised stage and a three-story scene-build-

ing, of which numerous arches survive. The building would have been decorated inside

with marble revetment, columns, and sculptures. The entrance hall to the south was

f loored with mosaics of mixed geometric and curvilinear designs. The radius of the audi-

torium is 38 meters, and it must have been a great achievement to span it in antiquity, for

there are no traces of any interior supports. Not only are odeia usually roofed buildings, but

Philostratus makes specific mention of the cedar used in the roof of this building. Further-

more, the early excavations uncovered ash, carbonized beams, and roof tiles on the f loor of

the orchestra, presumably remnants of the roof from the burning of the building by the

Herulians in 267.

The need for the Odeion of Herodes perhaps sheds light on the history of the old

Odeion of Agrippa in the Agora, for it is hard to see why two such buildings would be nec-

essary. As it turns out, the excavations of the Odeion of Agrippa suggest that its roof, with a

span of about 25 meters, collapsed in the middle of the second century. The building was

rebuilt, but the span of the roof was drastically decreased, and the capacity of the audito-

rium shrank to about five hundred people. The building seems thereafter to have been

used primarily as a lecture hall, often for philosophical discourses. Herodes himself seems

to have used it in this way:

They assembled in the theater in the Kerameikos which is called Agrippeion;

and as the day went on and Herodes delayed the Athenians became restive,