The Agora of Athens: The History, Shape, and Uses of an Ancient City Center (Athenian Agora vol.14)

391 Pages·1972·131.35 MB·English

by  Homer A. Thompson

THE ATHENIANAG ORA
RESULTS OF EXCAVATIONS
CONDUCTED BY
THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL STUDIES AT ATHENS
VOLUME XIV
THE AGORA OF ATHENS
THE HISTORY, SHAPE AND USES OF AN ANCIENT
CITY CENTER
BY
HOMER A. THOMPSON AND R. E. WYCHERLEY
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THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL STUDIES AT ATHENS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
1972
Bronze Head of Nike. About 425 B.C.( B 30, H. 0.20)
Originallyo verlaidw ith sheet gold securedi n the grooves.
PUBLISHED WITH THE AID OF A GRANT FROM MR. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, JR.
WITH SUBVENTIONS FROM
THE BOLLINGEN AND THE OLD DOMINION FOUNDATIONS
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRINTED IN GERMANY at J.J. AUGUSTIN, GLOCKSTADT
LUCY SHOE MERITT
quae libris huius scholae per multos annos edendis ean-
dem sollertiam scientiam subtilitatem semper adhibuit
quam ornamentis architecturae antiquae explicandis
PREFACE
Our purpose in writing this book has been to present a picture, concise but comprehensive,
of the city center of ancient Athens as we visualize it in the year 1970. The story of the Agora
proper, which covers a span of less than nine centuries, has been supplemented with brief
accounts of the earlier and later history of the area, as well as with some discussion of the
residential and industrial districts that impinged closely on the public square. Our evidence
is partly literary, partly archaeological, and we have tried to collate the two throughout. We
have taken into account the results of earlier exploration in the area by Greek and German
archaeologists as well as the findings of the American scholars who have been active on the
site since 1931.
As we write, a new phase of the Agora excavations is beginning, its objective the clearance
of the north side of the square. Through the generous permission of the Field Director of this
new phase, Professor T. Leslie Shear, Jr., we have been able to avail ourselves of a new piece
of evidence of vital importance to the understanding of Agora topography, viz. the discovery
of the Stoa Basileios in June of 1970. But our account is essentially a record of the state of
our knowledge at the end of the first forty years of exploration by the American School of
Classical Studies.
In the past the study of Agora topography has been notoriously controversial. Nor have all
problems yet been settled. We have tried to warn the reader when in our opinion the available
evidence does not yet permit a firm conclusion.W e are confidentt hat the continuing excavation
will correct and supplement our reading of the evidence at many points, and we shall be happy if
our provisional synthesis enables other scholars to achieve a better understandingo f the subject.
We have not attempted any systematic evaluation of the results of the recent excavations
in such fields as epigraphy, sculpture, ceramics or numismatics. For specialized studies in
these areas one will turn to other volumes in this same series (pp. xxii-xxiii).
The two authors venture to believe that they were fitted by their respective experiences to
play complementary parts in putting together such a book. Thompson, having been an active
member of the field staff since the inception of the American excavations in 1931, could claim
a fairly comprehensive knowledge of the archaeological findings. Wycherley, not having
participated at first-hand in the actual fieldwork, could bring a more objective judgement to
bear on the conclusions of the excavators. He has enjoyed the further advantage of an intensive
knowledge of the literary and epigraphice vidence as a result of compiling a corpus of testimonia
relating to the Athenian Agora, published as Agora, III in 1957. The central part of the book
has been written mainly by Wycherley. The history of the area, both before and after its use
as civic center, as well as the account of the excavations, has been contributed by Thompson.
He has also done the sections on law courts, the Arsenal (?), the Stoa Basileios, the Odeion
of Agrippa, the Library of Pantainos, and industrial activities. The two authors, however,
have been in constant communication over many years, and they accept joint responsibility
for the views here expressed.
viii PREFACE
Our debts to others are many and great. Among the older books Carl Wachsmuth's Die
Stadt Athen im Alterthum( vol. I, 1874; vol. II, i, 1890) has been a constant and still valuable
aid not least because of its abundant quotations from the ancient authors. The more summary
accounts by Walter Judeich (Topographiev on Athen, 2nd edition, 1931) and by Ida Thallon
Hill (The Ancient City of Athens, 1953) have been useful reminderso f earliers tates of knowledge.
We have profited from Roland Martin's stimulating discussion of many aspects of the Athenian
Agora, especially as presented in his general treatise on the GreekA gora (L'AgoraG recque1, 951).
Miss Margaret Crosby has generously made available to us the full collection of testimonia
relating to the law courts of Athens which she has prepared for a later volume of the Agora
series.
We would draw particular attention to the new book by John Travlos, Pictorial Dictionary
of Ancient Athens, published under the auspices of the German ArchaeologicalI nstitute simul-
taneously in Germany by Ernst Wasmuth, in England by Thames and Hudson and in the
United States by Praeger (1971). Besides its authoritative text and magnificent plans, draw-
ings and photographs, the book contains full bibliographieso n the individual monuments. We
only regret that the timing did not permit fuller coordination between our two books in the
parts concerning the Agora.
For expert opinions on the many different types of material with which we have had to
deal jn summary fashion we have shamelessly combed the writings and picked the brains of
our colleagues of the Agora Excavation staff. We are indebted to them for our borrowings,b ut
we absolve them of all responsibility for the way we have exploited their wisdom.
We are under still more explicit obligation to those colleagues who have furnished illustra-
tions for the book. The great majority of the photographs are by Alison Frantz. Some of the
earliest pictures were made by Hermann Wagner, some of the most recent by Eugene Vander-
pool, Jr. John Travlos has provided us with all our general plans and with detailed drawings
of many of the monuments. He has furthermores upervised the making, by the skilled technician
ChristosM ammelis,o f the architecturalm odels which, we hope, will greatly facilitate the reader's
study of the site. We also reproduce drawings and watercolors by Piet de Jong, William B.
Dinsmoor, Jr., Marian H. McAllister, Aliki H. Bikaki, Hazel Whipple and Weaks G. Smith.
We are indebted to Professor George C. Izenour of Yale University for permission to reproduce
his perspective section of the Odeion of Agrippa in advance of its appearancei n his forthcoming
volume on the development of theater design. The work of these talented artists inevitably
combines interpretation with recording; their contribution to the book is therefore substantial.
We are grateful for much skillful and devoted technical assistance: to Nikolaos Restakis in
the processing of the photographs, to Helen Besi in the readying of the plans, and to our
respective secretaries Miss Aziza Kokoni in Athens, Mrs. Jane Marston Jones and Miss
MargaretW illiams in Bangor and Mrs. Enid Bayan in Princeton in putting the manuscript in
shape. Poly Demoulini, Secretary of the Agora Excavations and Keeper of the Records, has
responded promptly and cheerfully to innumerable calls for help. Our Index is largely the
devoted work of Mrs.W ycherley. In this, as in so many other volumes of the Agora publications,
we are grateful to our printer, J. J. Augustin of Gliickstadt, and to our engravers, The Meriden
Gravure Company, for their unfailing cooperation. Both authors are deeply indebted to the
Institute for Advanced Study, Wycherley for a session (1966-67) which enabled him to lay the
foundations for his part of the work, Thompson for many facilities over a period of many years.
The first comprehensive report on the work of the American School of Classical Studies in
the Athenian Agora must record the School's great indebtedness to the Government of Greece
especially as represented by successive generations of officerso f the ArchaeologicalS ervice. The
School regards as a high honor the privilege of participating in the exploration of this most
PREFACE ix
historic place. The project has enjoyed from the beginning the unfailing support of the Greek
authorities, and it now owes the possibility of a significant extension to the vigorous advocacy
of the present Inspector General of Antiquities and Restoration, Professor Spyridon Marinatos.
To the directors and staffs of the Athenian museums we are indebted for unfailingly courteous
assistance in the study of comparative material. We would mention especially the late Christos
Karouzos, Semni Karouzou-Papaspyridia nd VassiliosK allipolitis in the National Archaeological
Museum, Markellos Mitsos and Dina Peppas-Delmousou in the Epigraphical Museum, Yannis
Miliadis and Georgios Dontas in the Acropolis Museum, the late George Soteriou and Manolis
Chatzidakis in the Byzantine Meseum.
The undertaking could never have prospered without substantial financial support. A
beginning was made possible by a liberal but initially anonymous grant from the late John D.
Rockefeller, Jr., an expression of faith that was literally "the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen." Mr. Rockefeller's backing, repeatedly renewed, attracted the
support of many other individuals, of universities, societies and foundations whose contributions
through the years have assured the continuation of the work. The program of publication,
including the preparation of this volume, has been greatly helped by grants from the Bollingen,
the Old Dominion and the Samuel H. Kress Foundations. Our grateful thanks go to the heads
of those foundations, John D. Barrett, Ernest Brooks, Jr. and Franklin D. Murphy respectively.
A recent contribution from the Ford Foundation has made possible the northward extension
of the excavation, thus opening a new chapter which promises to be one of the most splendid
of all. The exploitation of this new development has been advanced by a generous contribution
from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (p. 233).
Among the many individual benefactors of the project we would name especially the late
Mr. John Crosby, Miss Margaret Crosby and Mr. Peter E. Demarest. Their generous and re-
peated contributions have covered the cost, among other things, of much of the definitive ex-
ploration in the southern part of the Agora.
In the course of the years many members of the governing bodies of the American School
of Classical Studies have given vital support to this department of the School's activities.*
The moving spirit in the beginning was Edward Capps, for twenty years Chairman of the
Managing Committee. With the scholar's vision of the scientific possibilities of the project
Capps combined a great capacity for organization and a gift for attracting financial support.
His efforts were ably seconded in Athens by the first Secretary of the Agora Commission,
Alexander Adossides and by Aristeides Kyriakides, for many years Legal Counsel of the
American School, both distinguished Greek citizens who by their eminent fairness in dealing
with the Greek authorities and the local property owners established the cordial relations so
* In the period covered by the Agora Excavations the following have served:
President of the Board of Trustees 1932-35 Richard Stillwell
1929-41 W. Rodman Peabody 1935-36 Edward Capps
1941-47 Edwin S. Webster 1936-38 Charles H. Morgan
1947-49 William T. Semple 1938-39 H. Lamar Crosby
1949-64 Ward M. Canaday 1939-41 Gorham P. Stevens
1964-71 Frederick C. Crawford 1941-46 Arthur W. Parsons
1971- William Kelly Simpson 1946-48 Rhys Carpenter
Chairman of the Managing Committee 1948-49 Carl W. Blegen
1918-39 Edward Capps 1949-59 John L. Caskey
1939-50 Louis E. Lord 1959-69 Henry S. Robinson
1950-60 Charles H. Morgan 1969- James R. McCredie
11996605--6 5 ARlifcrheadr dR H. B. eHlloinwglearn d Field Directoro f the Agora Excavations
1929-45 T. Leslie Shear
Director of the School 1947-67 Homer A. Thompson
1927-32 Rhys Carpenter 1968- T. Leslie Shear, Jr.
x PREFACE
essential to the success of the enterprise. In the years following World War II a great effort
was needed first to revive interest in completing the excavation and then to provide a suitable
museum and working facilities by rebuilding the Stoa of Attalos. These goals were achieved
thanks to the united and vigorous support of the three leading figures in the direction of the
School's affairs at the time: Ward M. Canaday as President of the Board of Trustees, Charles
H. Morgan as Chairmano f the Managing Committee, and John L. Caskey as Director of the
School. In these same years the enterprise owed much also to the devoted interest of a former
Director of the School, Gorham P. Stevens, particularly in convincing others of the practi-
cality of reconstructing the Stoa of Attalos, and in arousing interest in the landscaping of the
area. The support for the next important phase of the work, the northward extension of the
excavation, has been achieved again by the united efforts of a harmonious triad: Frederick
C. Crawforda s President of the Board of Trustees, Richard H. Howland as Chairman of the
Managing Committee and Henry S. Robinson as Director of the School. We trust that these
many well-wishers may draw some reward from a feeling of proprietary satisfaction in the
outcome.
HOMER A. THOMPSON
Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
R. E. WYCHERLEY
University College of North Wales, Bangor
February 1, 1971.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACEv ..................................................................... ii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................ iii
FIGURES ................................................................ Xiii
PLATES ................................................................. xiv
ABBREVIATIONS OF PERIODICALS ................................................ XX
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................ xxi
I. BEFORES OLON.. ........................................................ 1
II. HISTORICALD EVELOPMENTO F THE AGORA .................................... 19
III. FACILITIES FOR CIVIC ADMINISTRATION ..................................... 25
THE COUNCIL .................. 25
.........................................
25
OLDEST BUILDINGS .................... .............................
29
BOULEUTERION AND METROON
........................................
EPONYMOUS HEROES ........................... 38
......................
41
THO LOS ............................................................
46
PRYTANEION ........................................................
48
THE ASSEMBLY .......................................................
THE LAW COURTS ..................................................... 52
FURNISHINGS OF THE COURTS ......................................... 52
56
BUILDINGS AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE AGORA
........................
THE H ELIAIA. .......................................................... 62
THE SOUTH SQUARE ................................................. 65
71
OTHER BUILDINGS USED BY THE COURTS ................................
THE MAGISTRATES AND BOARDS ......................................... 72
EARLY OFFICE BUILDINGS ............................................ 72
SOUTH STOA I ....................................................... 74
THE M INT .......................................................... 78
CIVICO FFICESO FR OMAND ATE ....................................... 79
THEA RSENAL() .................................................... 80
IV. STOAS.. ................................................................ 82
STOA BASILEIOS (= ROYAL STOA) ....................................... 83
90
STOA P OIKILE .........................................................
STOA OF THE HERMS ................................................... 94
STOA OF ZEUS ELEUTHERIOS ........ .................................... 96
STOA OF ATTALOS ...................................................... 103
COLONNADED STREETS . ................................................. 108
xii TABLE OF CONTENTS
V. CULTURAL BUILDINGS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD ............ 111
....................
ODEIONO FA GRIPPA 111
....................................................
LIBRARY OF PANTAINOS 114
.................................................
VI. SHRINES 117
..........................................................................
BOUNDARY MARKERS ................................................... 117
CULT OF THE HEROIZED DEAD .......................................... 119
121
LEOKORION ..............
................................................
T HE SEION ............................................................ 124
IKRIA AND ORCHESTRA ... .......... 126
......................................
ALTAR OF THE TWELVE GODS ............... 129
.............................
A POLLOP ATROOS 136
........................................................
ZEUS PHRATRIOS AND ATHENA PHRATRIA .................... 139
..............
H .... .......... 140
EPHAISTEION...............................................
ELEUSINION ........... 150
................................................ ...
POLITICAL HEROES: THE TYRANNICIDES 155
....................................
TRANSPLANTEDT EMPLES AND ALTARS. ........................ ........... 160
SOME LESSER SHRINES ............................... .. .. 168
.............
VII. COMMERCIAL, DOMESTIC AND INDUSTRIAL QUARTERS .......................... 170
MARKET .......... .... .... ........ 170
........... .......... .. ....
H OUSES ........................................o..... ... ......... 173
INDUSTRIALA CTIVITY. .................. 185
..............................
VIII. ROADS AND WATER SUPPLY 192
................... .............................
STREETS ...... 192
............... ...................... ........o.
D RAINAGE ................................................ ........ 194
.............
WELLS, AQUEDUCTS AND FOUNTAINS ....................................... 197
IX . PAUSANIAS ................... ... ................. 204
.........
.......... ....
X . AFTER THE HERULI .... ...... .................................... 208
XI. THE EXCAVATIONS 220
...................................................
CONCORDANCE ...... .......... 235
............................ .......... ...
..
INDEX ................................................... ............. .............. 287