DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.796#0322
276 THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS
in it the measures taken by Septimius Severus to make the
Acropolis a fortification, and extend the period to embrace also
the erection of the bulwarks erected by one Flavius Septimius
Marcellinus in the third century A.D.
To the later Hellenistic and the Roman periods belong some
of the buildings located on the southern slope of the Acropolis,
which have been described in the foregoing chapter. To these
periods belong also many of the monuments found on the
Acropolis itself, to which now we must turn our attention. As
a matter of convenience we shall here again follow the order
pursued by Pausanias and include in our account all the
monuments of whatever period to which he refers, so far as
they have not already occupied our attention in the preceding
chapters.
After mentioning the entrance to the Acropolis Pausanias
speaks of the Propylaea, already described in our fourth
chapter, without making any reference to the statue of Agrippa
which must have been a conspicuous object at his left as he
ascended the slope.
The quadrangular base which supported the statue still
remains immediately to the west of the north-west wing of the
Propylaea and opposite the temple of Wingless Victory. It
stands on a square foundation of limestone, measuring 3.31
metres (10 ft. 10 in.) on the front, 3.80 metres (12J ft.) on
the side, and 4.5 metres (14 ft. 9. in.) high. Two steps make
the transition from this lower base to the pedestal proper,
which is faced with Hymettian marble and rises slightly
tapering 8.9 metres (29 ft. 2 in.) above the bases. A simple
cornice of white marble crowns the whole. The inscription
on the west side of the pedestal reads thus : " The people
[set up] Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, thrice consul, their
own benefactor" (C.I.A. iii. 575). Since Agrippa was consul
for the third time in 27 B.C. the statue must have been
erected between that year and 12 B.C., the date of Agrippa's
death. The marks on the top of the pedestal indicate that
Agrippa was represented in a chariot drawn by four horses.
When this monument, which was doubtless of bronze, was
destroyed or pillaged is unknown. It is to be observed (see
plan) that the orientation of the base is not quite the same
as that of the great Roman stairway.
in it the measures taken by Septimius Severus to make the
Acropolis a fortification, and extend the period to embrace also
the erection of the bulwarks erected by one Flavius Septimius
Marcellinus in the third century A.D.
To the later Hellenistic and the Roman periods belong some
of the buildings located on the southern slope of the Acropolis,
which have been described in the foregoing chapter. To these
periods belong also many of the monuments found on the
Acropolis itself, to which now we must turn our attention. As
a matter of convenience we shall here again follow the order
pursued by Pausanias and include in our account all the
monuments of whatever period to which he refers, so far as
they have not already occupied our attention in the preceding
chapters.
After mentioning the entrance to the Acropolis Pausanias
speaks of the Propylaea, already described in our fourth
chapter, without making any reference to the statue of Agrippa
which must have been a conspicuous object at his left as he
ascended the slope.
The quadrangular base which supported the statue still
remains immediately to the west of the north-west wing of the
Propylaea and opposite the temple of Wingless Victory. It
stands on a square foundation of limestone, measuring 3.31
metres (10 ft. 10 in.) on the front, 3.80 metres (12J ft.) on
the side, and 4.5 metres (14 ft. 9. in.) high. Two steps make
the transition from this lower base to the pedestal proper,
which is faced with Hymettian marble and rises slightly
tapering 8.9 metres (29 ft. 2 in.) above the bases. A simple
cornice of white marble crowns the whole. The inscription
on the west side of the pedestal reads thus : " The people
[set up] Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, thrice consul, their
own benefactor" (C.I.A. iii. 575). Since Agrippa was consul
for the third time in 27 B.C. the statue must have been
erected between that year and 12 B.C., the date of Agrippa's
death. The marks on the top of the pedestal indicate that
Agrippa was represented in a chariot drawn by four horses.
When this monument, which was doubtless of bronze, was
destroyed or pillaged is unknown. It is to be observed (see
plan) that the orientation of the base is not quite the same
as that of the great Roman stairway.