DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4098#0453
410 STADIUM.
delight of the Roman capita]. It is at present supposed to be pos-
sessed of magic powers above any other cave in or near Athens ; and
is denominated by way of eminence, tiryXiet1 tav Moipuv, the Cave of
the Destinies. I have often found it provided with cakes and honey.
At a short distance to the east of the Stadium, upon the southern
bank of the Ilissos, we find a small church, and some traces, sup-
posed to be the site of the temple of Diana Agraia, or Agrotera,
the Huntress. Agraia was the name given to a tract of land on the
southern side of the Ilissos.
A few paces above this church is a tumulus of earth, which has
been opened; but the excavation was not carried to a sufficient
depth, and nothing was found.
A short way west of the Stadium the winding of the Ilissos forms
an insular piece of ground, upon which a circular foundation is still
visible, which, according to Spon, marks the site where the temple
of the Uissian Muses stood. Pausanias2 mentions only the altar of
these inspiring deities.
Near this spot there was, till within a few years, a small Ionic
temple, which was supposed to be that of Ceres.3 It has been totally
destroyed, and the prediction of Chandler4 has been fulfilled; al-
most every trace of its existence having disappeared! It may well
excite our surprise, to find that some of the most magnificent Athe-
nian structures have as completely vanished as if they had never
been. Of some of them not a trace remains. Not a stone is left to
indicate their situations. The most extraordinary instance of this
apparent annihilation is the Pantheon, which was composed of one
hundred and twenty columns of Phrygian marble. To this we may
add the Gymnasium of Hadrian, adorned with one hundred columns
of Libyan marble, and the temple of Juno and of Jupiter Panhel-
lenios. The Metroon, the Bouleuterion, the temple of the Dioscuri,
the Leokorion, the Pythiou, and various other temples and edifices,
■3 From l-7)\atov. - B. 1. c. 19. fiauoc. s See Stuart, vol. 1. c. 2.
4 See Dr. Chandler's Travels in Greece, c. 16. p. 82. It was destroyed in 178.5..
delight of the Roman capita]. It is at present supposed to be pos-
sessed of magic powers above any other cave in or near Athens ; and
is denominated by way of eminence, tiryXiet1 tav Moipuv, the Cave of
the Destinies. I have often found it provided with cakes and honey.
At a short distance to the east of the Stadium, upon the southern
bank of the Ilissos, we find a small church, and some traces, sup-
posed to be the site of the temple of Diana Agraia, or Agrotera,
the Huntress. Agraia was the name given to a tract of land on the
southern side of the Ilissos.
A few paces above this church is a tumulus of earth, which has
been opened; but the excavation was not carried to a sufficient
depth, and nothing was found.
A short way west of the Stadium the winding of the Ilissos forms
an insular piece of ground, upon which a circular foundation is still
visible, which, according to Spon, marks the site where the temple
of the Uissian Muses stood. Pausanias2 mentions only the altar of
these inspiring deities.
Near this spot there was, till within a few years, a small Ionic
temple, which was supposed to be that of Ceres.3 It has been totally
destroyed, and the prediction of Chandler4 has been fulfilled; al-
most every trace of its existence having disappeared! It may well
excite our surprise, to find that some of the most magnificent Athe-
nian structures have as completely vanished as if they had never
been. Of some of them not a trace remains. Not a stone is left to
indicate their situations. The most extraordinary instance of this
apparent annihilation is the Pantheon, which was composed of one
hundred and twenty columns of Phrygian marble. To this we may
add the Gymnasium of Hadrian, adorned with one hundred columns
of Libyan marble, and the temple of Juno and of Jupiter Panhel-
lenios. The Metroon, the Bouleuterion, the temple of the Dioscuri,
the Leokorion, the Pythiou, and various other temples and edifices,
■3 From l-7)\atov. - B. 1. c. 19. fiauoc. s See Stuart, vol. 1. c. 2.
4 See Dr. Chandler's Travels in Greece, c. 16. p. 82. It was destroyed in 178.5..