elysian: archaeology

archaeology

According to Herodotus, Solon the Athenian, who was renowned for his wisdom, came to the court of the king of ancient Lydia, Croesus. Solon stayed at the palace as a guest and the king showed him his enormous wealth. As he was pretty secure in his own wealth and happiness, he asked Solon the following question: “Stranger of Athens, we have heard much of your wisdom and travels. I am very curious and I want to ask you - Who, of all the people you have encountered, do you consider the happiest?”

Of course Croesus thought Solon would answer that he, Croesus, was the happiest man he had ever met, because of his wealth. Instead, Solon gave Croesus three names. The first was Tellus, the second and third the brothers Cleobis and Biton. The king was confused as to why he was not considered to be one of the happiest of men. In response, Solon shared first the tale of Tellus and then the tale of Cleobis and Biton.

Cleobis and Biton, as recounted by Herodotus, were the sons of Cydippe (the priestess of Hera). During an Argive festival honouring Hera, Cydippe absolutely had to be conveyed to the temple by a team of oxen.[..] But their oxen had not come back from the fields in time, so the youths took the yoke upon their own shoulders under constraint of time. They drew the wagon, with their mother riding atop it, traveling five miles until they arrived at the temple [..]. Everybody congratulated them on their strength. Furthermore, they congratulated their mother for having borne such children. Cydippe begged the goddess to grant them, as a reward for their piety, whatever was best for mortal men. After the feast, the brothers went to sleep and never rose again. The goddess granted them a peaceful death in their sleep.

When you visit the archaeological museum of Delphi, you may admire the statues of Cleobis and Biton that the Argives made to honour the ‘’best of men’’. In the middle of the room 3, two identical, life-size statues (height: 1,97m) catch immediately the eye of the visitor. They are among the best known examples of the Greek kouros and one of the earliest examples of large scale archaic sculpture. They stand side-by-side both naked with one leg forward, their arms are slightly bent and their fists tightly closed. Their faces bear the typical Archaic smile. From the time of their discovery, they have been identified as Cleobis and Biton of Argos, although other archaeologists who have studied the statues, see in them the twin sons of Zeus, the Dioscouri. According to the inscription, these kouroi were made by the sculptor (Poly)medes of Argos and were dedicated to Apollo by the people of Argos.

archaeology

GOD DIONYSUS AND THE PIRATES

18:16:00

archaeology

COLOSSUS OF RHODES: AN ANCIENT WANDER

00:30:00

archaeology

THE WINDS OF ATHENS

19:00:00

archaeology

BLOODLESS EXECUTIONS: THE DARKER SIDE OF ATHENIAN JUSTICE

17:00:00

"The death of Socrates" Jacques-Louis David, Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Stoa of Attalos in Athens ( a reconstructed building of around 150 B.C. ) houses the Museum of the Ancient Agora. Its exhibits are mostly connected with the Athenian democracy, as the Agora was the focus of the city's public life. The collection of the museum includes clay, bronze and glass objects, sculptures, coins and inscriptions from the 7th to the 5th century B.C., as well as pottery of the Byzantine period and the Turkish conquest.

Among them, there are some black-glazed medicine bottles from the area of the “Desmoterion”(:jail) - 5th century B.C. that used to hold the hemlock or Conium macelatum employed in executions. Conium comes from the Ancient Greek κώνειον - kṓneion: poison hemlock, a herbaceous and poisonous biennial flowering plant. This may be related to konas (meaning to whirl), in reference to vertigo, one of the symptoms of ingesting the plant.

In ancient Greece, hermlock was used to poison condemned prisoners. The most famous victim of hemlock poisoning is the philosopher Socrates. After being accused of impiety and corrupting the young men of Athens, in 399 B.C., his trial (where he easily refuted these charges) resulted in his being condemned to death. Socrates was given a potent infusion of the hemlock plant. Plato described Socrates' death in the Phaedo:

“The man...laid his hands on him and after a while examined his feet and legs, then pinched his foot hard and asked if he felt it. He said “No”; then after that, his thighs; and passing upwards in this way he showed us that he was growing cold and rigid. And then again he touched him and said that when it reached his heart, he would be gone. The chill had now reached the region about the groin, and uncovering his face, which had been covered, he said – and these were his last words – “Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Pay it and do not neglect it.” “That,” said Crito, “shall be done; but see if you have anything else to say.” To this question he made no reply, but after a little while he moved; the attendant uncovered him; his eyes were fixed. And Crito when he saw it, closed his mouth and eyes…”

archaeology

LA ESFINGE GRIEGA

22:00:00

archaeology

WHEN ARROGANCE GENERATES BEAUTY...

15:38:00

Passing by Amalias avenue it's impossible not to notice the huge Columns of the Olympian Zeus! Located south- east of Athens' acropolis, near the river Ilissos, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, also known as the Olympieion would become the largest temple the city had ever seen…

The building of the temple actually began in the 6th century by the tyrant Peisistratus, but the project has never been completed. The Greeks of the classical period left it unfinished because they believed it was too big and symbolized the arrogance of people who believed they were equal to the Gods. Aristotle in his “Politics” cited the temple as an example of how tyrannies engaged the populace in great works for the state and left them no time, energy or means to rebel.

However, the temple was not finished until the emperor Hadrian, the great philhellene, finally brought to completion one of the biggest ever ancient temples in 131 AD, 638 years after the project had begun! Hadrian dedicated the colossal marble temple to Zeus after he associated himself with the father of the gods and adopted the title of “Olympios”. So he erected a giant gold and ivory status of Zeus inside the temple with an equally large one of himself next to it. Nothing remains of the interior of the temple. Nearby the columns stands the Arch of Hadrian which was erected in 132 AD as a gate between the ancient city and the Roman city of Athens.

In the centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, the temple was extensively quarried for building materials to supply building projects elsewhere in the city. Today only 15 of the 104 temple’s Corinthian columns (17 meters high) are still standing. One of the columns actually blew down in a storm in 1852 and it is still lying where it fell.

In the early 1800s, a “stylite” (the word comes from the Greek “stylos” for column and refers to the group of ascetics who spent long periods standing on the top of columns) built his dwelling on top of one of the columns of the temple. This unusual incident can be seen in early paintings and drawings.

"View of Athens from the river Ilissos", Michael Wittmer 1833

archaeology

OSTRACISM: THE JUDGMENT OF THE PEOPLE

17:30:00

archaeology

A STAGE FOR DIONYSUS

00:46:00

Dedicated to Dionysus, the theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus is a major theatre in Athens, built at the Acropolis. The theatre and sanctuary of Dionysus Eleuthereus is the first monumental complex to be seen when entering the archaeological site of south slope, in the Athenian Acropolis. It is the first stone theatre ever built and supposedly birthplace of Greek tragedy. The theatre could seat as many as 17,000 people with excellent acoustic, making it an ideal location for ancient Athens' biggest theatrical celebration, the annual spring festival of "Dionysia".

At the end of 6th century B.C. Democracy and ancient Drama were born in Athens. These are two major gifts given to mankind by the Greek world. Aristotle in his "Poetics" is the first who defines the forerunners of drama stressing the organic relationship between the theatre and the cult of Dionysus. This god of grape harvest, wine and ecstacy, was the incarnation of the forces of fertility expressing the circle of life from birth to death, while his dual nature justifies the mimical rituals that form part of his cult. Therefore, from the Dionysiac rituals evolved the ancient Greek drama.

The early theatre must have been very simple, comprising a flat orchestra, with a few rows of wooden or stone benches set into the hill. A large statue of the god had been placed in the middle of the circular orchestra where the chorus could sing and dance, so that the god himself could watch the plays and the sacrifices to his name. The remains of a restored Roman version of the theatre can still be seen at the site today. The inscriptions on some of the thrones in the first row reveal that they belonged to elected rulers and priests while the other seats were intended for citizens. Behind the orchestra was a stage on which the actors performed. It was in this unpretentious setting that the plays of the great fifth century B.C. Attic tragedians were first presented.

During the 5th century, the theatre was first used as a regular site for theatrical performances of plays written by the great poets, such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes. Several plays were given in one day, and a prize was awarded to the best by the audience's applause. The plays were written in poetry which deeply stirred the emotions of the Athenians and made them think about the enternal problems of human life and the proper relationship between humans and gods. Fortunately, many of their plays have survived, which give us a unique insight into the the ancient Greek attitude to life.