Ancient Greece Buildings

Legend has it that Zeus released two eagles – one from the east and one from the west – and where they met was the Center of the Earth (aka Delphi). Photo by Antonis Kanaris. 

The Oldest Ancient Greek Theater: The Theater of Dionysos at Thorikos

Thorikos was an ancient fortified city in the Laurion mining district of Attica and was one of the original 12 Attic deme (burgs or subdivisions of Athens) that were according to legend, unified by Theseus, the mythical founder-king of Athens.

During the later part of the Peloponnesian War, by 412 BC, the town had become fully fortified by a wall and at least 7 gateways to protect the valuable Laurion mining district and the coastal sea lanes.

Mining in Thorikos dates back to around 3000 BC. After the exhaustion of the mines of  Laurion and the destruction of Thorikos by the Roman general Sulla in 86 BC, the area was abandoned temporarily. It was reinhabited during the Roman period until the 6th century AD, when the countryside of Attica was deserted due to the Slavic invasions.

The site of Thorikos had been inhabited since the Neolithic period (c. 4500 BC). Prehistoric and Mycenaean settlements existed on Velatouri Hill where the acropolis is now. Tombs of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age are found on the lower slopes of the hill, beneath the Classical levels.

The theater was constructed between 525-480 BC and sits below the acropolis, on the south slope of Velatouri Hill. It is unique due to its shape which comprises an elongated layout with an oval orchestra and is the earliest theater ever found in Greece.

Poppies growing in the Ancient Keramikos near some remaining parts of the Thomistoclean Wall. 

Entrance to the Acropolis Athens, 1869

William James Stillman

A bit different nowadays :)

The Acropolis of Athens Greece

Shot on expired Kodak Royal Gold

storm the gods

Remnants of polychromy on an ionic capital, 5th century BC, Stoa of Attalos, Athens

Altar of Aphrodite a shrine to de Goddess located in the northern end on the Greek island of Kythera. Reconstruction made by Ubisoft for the game Assassin’s Creed.

An Omphalos covering an oracle well devoted to Apollo discovered in Athens.   Photo by Dr. Jutta Stroszeck, director of the Kerameikos excavation, on behalf of the German Archaeological Institute at Athens

Ancient Oracle to Apollo Discovered Near the Acropolis

The Kerameikos district in Athens was named for Keramos, son of Dionysos and Ariadne. Keramos became the patron of potters, and Kerameikos was known for its potteries, as well as its necropolis, the Dipylon, where the Panathenaic procession began, and the Sacred Arch, through which the procession to Eleusis at the commencement of the Mysteries passed. Kerameikos was also the site of a sanctuary dedicated to Artemis Soteira and Apollon Paian.

Archaeologists have been excavating at Kerameikos since the 19th century, drawn by an omphalos (a stone symbolizing of the center of the world) found at the sanctuary of Artemis and Apollo. In 2012, researchers cleaning the omphalos discovered that the stone covered a circular opening. The stone was lifted with a crane, and investigators found a well inscribed with inscription that included the phrase, “ΕΛΘΕ ΜΟΙ Ω ΠΑΙΑΝ ΦΕΡΩΝ ΤΟ ΜΑΝΤEΙΟΝ ΑΛΗΘΕΣ” (or, “Come to me, O Paean, and bring with you the true oracle”). 

According to Dr. Stroszeck’s 2015 report, it is the first oracle well discovered in Athens devoted specifically to Apollo. It is believed that the well was used for hydromancy, a divinatory method that determines answers by observing the motion of water. 

Sources:

https://hyperallergic.com/304268/ancient-oracle-to-apollo-discovered-near-the-acropolis/

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/archaeology/1.723632

http://www.athenskey.com/kerameikos.html

Groundbreaking Bronze Age Archaeological Discoveries on Island of Keros, Greece

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Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae, Iktinos (the same guy who did designed the Parthenon, you know the one), 450-400 BCE, 6 x 15 (Apollo temples tended to be a bit longer than the standard Doric 6 x 13 for the addition of an extra room, perhaps for oracular purposes).

Also, notice the singular column out of place with the rest of the interior colonnade (between the 2 and 3), that’s supposedly where the first known Corinthian column stood.

Snowy Acropolis

Model showing what the Acropolis would have looked like in ancient Greece, showing the Parthenon, Proylaia, Erechtheion, Temple of Athena Nike [1050x850]

The Temple of Apollo in old Corinth, Greece, circa 1955, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

A Street in Aigai(Aeolis) City. Aigai means goat in ancient Greek. Neighbour Pergamons were using parchment & this city might have supplied skin of goat for producing of parchment.

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