DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4264#0018
18
EXPLANATION OF THE PLAN OF THE ACROPOLIS.
Near this tribunal stood the Temple of the Eumenides or Furies, of which I shall have occa-
sion to speak hereafter".
r. r. r. Foundation of an ancient wall, perhaps the Pelasgic ; it is of hewn stone, well built,
and though level with the ground, we were able to trace it to a considerable distance.
H. The Theatre of Bacchus".
I, I. The remains of an ancient portico; perhaps part of the peribolus of the Temple of
Bacchus0. This wall and the Theatre of Bacchus" form a kind of outwork on the south side of the
Acropolis, which we were not permitted to visit.
K. An excavation" in form of a theatre, probably the vestiges of the Odeum of Pericles, as it
is to the left of those who came out from the Theatre of Bacchusf.
L. The Choragic monument of Thrasycles, &c. now the Church of Our Lady of the Grotto.
It is built against the rock of the Acropolis ; above it stand two columns, on which tripods have been
placed, and, on each side of it, the rock has been chiselled away in such a form as evidently shews
that more such little buildings have been erected contiguous to it. Near it some inscriptions have
been cut in the rock : they are now almost entirely effaced, but the words TPinos and ANE©E2ANg,
with several proper names, are in different places still legible.
s. A sun-dial, described in Chapter IV. of this volume".
M. The Choragic monument of Lysicrates, described in our First Volume.
I must here refer the reader back to the ruins marked 1., amongst which I have supposed were
the Temple of Aglauros, and the Prytaneum, and observe that there is a path, now little frequented,
jit *"'
is contrary to every inference to be drawn from the concurrent
remarks of ancient authors, and it will not he necessary to ob-
serve more than one inconsistency in this hypothesis, namely,
that its distance from the citadel would have been too great for
the effective projection of the Persian missiles against that place,
as recorded by the father of history. The place of this tribunal,
so celebrated in history for the impartiality of its decisions, was
at first open to the shy; but afterwards appears from Vitruvius
to have had a roof covered merely with clay. Within it was an
altar to Minerva Are'ia, and the ' rude stones,' oceyoit xiflou;, the
seats at which were confronted the accuser and the accused, and
thence called of reproach and impudence, to» y.a vfHeiu*;, tm Si
avaiSi'iaf, and near to it was the sanctuary of the Eumenides, deities
before whom the utterer of a false oath was supposed to be lost
beyond resource. The rock of the Areopagus is of breccia. The wall
of the modern town passes over it, a sinking in the rock is sup-
posed to have been the place of the altar above spoken of. The
site is now a solitude, and lately only awakened by the shriek of
the perching vulture, and the howl of the Muezzeem from his
minaret; or trod only in the pilgrimage of the Frank traveller.
In addition to the above considerations the late existence of
edifices at this spot of which traces now remain, and which were
traditionally called the palace and church of St. Dionysius the
Areopagite; and the vicinity of the Archiepiscopal Palace, visited
by the traveller Spoil in 1675-6, which is now no more, where
he was shewn an ancient MS. of the writings attributed in the
lower ages to that first Athenian convert to Christianity, would
indicate a site thus handed down to us, where the great Apostle
St. Paul endeavoured to open the minds of the Athenians to the
blessings of the Christian faith, and where he planted the tree
of truth, bearing the fruit of conviction even in that hot-bed
of polytheism as refined by the sophistry of ancient philosophy;
here raising up a real altar < ArNUZTn 0En' " to the unknown
God", and pronouncing or ovv aynovvrs; tio-ifiuri, toDtox iyu: r.a.-
•tayyixxu bp~v, ' Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him de-
clare I unto you.' rKI>-~l
Pans. Attic. Chap. XXVIII. Page 68.
' Near the Areopagus, is the Temple of the Severe Goddesses,
as they are called by the Athenians, but Hesiod in the Theogonia
calls them the Erinnia, or Furies.'
b Now considered to be the Odeum of Regilla, or theatre built
by Herodes Atticus. CED']
c To? Aiovvaou oe eo"T( t;po$ tw vecctpu To u^atora-rov ifpov dvo dt ilo~tv
im; oJ tte^ijSoXok vaoi. Pausan. Attic. Chap. XX.
' There is near the theatre the most ancient Temple of Bacchus,
within the peribolus or inclosure of which are two temples.'
d The Theatre of Herodes Atticus. CED-3
e This is undoubtedly the site of the Dionysiac Theatre.
■>»•]
Ec7T( 01 irXYKTiOV TO? T£ UpOV TOV AlOVVCOU, y.CCt TOU <HO.TP0Vj xccrx-
o~x.EVao-pa.' Koinvrivxi oe Ty<; crxrims O.UTO £f fJ.i^V)CiV TVJf ZSP^OV "KlyETCti.
Pausan. Attic. Chap. XX.
' There is also near the Temple of Bacchus and the theatre, a
building, said to have been made in imitation of Xerxes' pavilion."
This was certainly the Odeum of Pericles, which Vitruvius tells
us was on the left hand of those who went out of the theatre.
See Note •', page 20. See likewise Plutarch in the Life of Pe-
ricles.
* A part of these almost obliterated inscriptions, perhaps from
having been viewed under a different light, is given rather more
complete by the late Dr. E. D. Clarke. They are situated be-
tween the Choragic Columns, and cut upon the rock of the Acro-
polis, which is of a hard red breccia. This inscription, evi-
dently recording the dedication of a tripod, is in two lines, the first
is incomplete, and the lower appeared somewhat separated from
the upper one : it is as follows,
AnEIXWNIANOZAAI. - -
TPinOEANEQEEAN
The name of Pisonianus is intelligible, followed by A«>. ■.; perhaps
belonging to some case of the word Aa.\pm, 'Genius, or Damron',
a title of Bacchus, and particularly applied to him in the Bacchae
of Euripides. This may add some little weight to the evidence that
here was the Theatre of Bacchus. At Mylassa Chandler saw
an inscribed altar Am/mm ayu&uv. ' of the good Deities'. It is to
be observed that the sigmas are dissimilar in the two lines. This
inscription is possibly as late as the time of the Antonines. See
Clarke's Travels, Part II. S. II. Chap. 5. !>!>■]
h This interesting antiquity is still in its place. The traveller
who there views it, must be grateful to the forbearance of the de-
spoilers of the Parthenon. LEU- J
EXPLANATION OF THE PLAN OF THE ACROPOLIS.
Near this tribunal stood the Temple of the Eumenides or Furies, of which I shall have occa-
sion to speak hereafter".
r. r. r. Foundation of an ancient wall, perhaps the Pelasgic ; it is of hewn stone, well built,
and though level with the ground, we were able to trace it to a considerable distance.
H. The Theatre of Bacchus".
I, I. The remains of an ancient portico; perhaps part of the peribolus of the Temple of
Bacchus0. This wall and the Theatre of Bacchus" form a kind of outwork on the south side of the
Acropolis, which we were not permitted to visit.
K. An excavation" in form of a theatre, probably the vestiges of the Odeum of Pericles, as it
is to the left of those who came out from the Theatre of Bacchusf.
L. The Choragic monument of Thrasycles, &c. now the Church of Our Lady of the Grotto.
It is built against the rock of the Acropolis ; above it stand two columns, on which tripods have been
placed, and, on each side of it, the rock has been chiselled away in such a form as evidently shews
that more such little buildings have been erected contiguous to it. Near it some inscriptions have
been cut in the rock : they are now almost entirely effaced, but the words TPinos and ANE©E2ANg,
with several proper names, are in different places still legible.
s. A sun-dial, described in Chapter IV. of this volume".
M. The Choragic monument of Lysicrates, described in our First Volume.
I must here refer the reader back to the ruins marked 1., amongst which I have supposed were
the Temple of Aglauros, and the Prytaneum, and observe that there is a path, now little frequented,
jit *"'
is contrary to every inference to be drawn from the concurrent
remarks of ancient authors, and it will not he necessary to ob-
serve more than one inconsistency in this hypothesis, namely,
that its distance from the citadel would have been too great for
the effective projection of the Persian missiles against that place,
as recorded by the father of history. The place of this tribunal,
so celebrated in history for the impartiality of its decisions, was
at first open to the shy; but afterwards appears from Vitruvius
to have had a roof covered merely with clay. Within it was an
altar to Minerva Are'ia, and the ' rude stones,' oceyoit xiflou;, the
seats at which were confronted the accuser and the accused, and
thence called of reproach and impudence, to» y.a vfHeiu*;, tm Si
avaiSi'iaf, and near to it was the sanctuary of the Eumenides, deities
before whom the utterer of a false oath was supposed to be lost
beyond resource. The rock of the Areopagus is of breccia. The wall
of the modern town passes over it, a sinking in the rock is sup-
posed to have been the place of the altar above spoken of. The
site is now a solitude, and lately only awakened by the shriek of
the perching vulture, and the howl of the Muezzeem from his
minaret; or trod only in the pilgrimage of the Frank traveller.
In addition to the above considerations the late existence of
edifices at this spot of which traces now remain, and which were
traditionally called the palace and church of St. Dionysius the
Areopagite; and the vicinity of the Archiepiscopal Palace, visited
by the traveller Spoil in 1675-6, which is now no more, where
he was shewn an ancient MS. of the writings attributed in the
lower ages to that first Athenian convert to Christianity, would
indicate a site thus handed down to us, where the great Apostle
St. Paul endeavoured to open the minds of the Athenians to the
blessings of the Christian faith, and where he planted the tree
of truth, bearing the fruit of conviction even in that hot-bed
of polytheism as refined by the sophistry of ancient philosophy;
here raising up a real altar < ArNUZTn 0En' " to the unknown
God", and pronouncing or ovv aynovvrs; tio-ifiuri, toDtox iyu: r.a.-
•tayyixxu bp~v, ' Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him de-
clare I unto you.' rKI>-~l
Pans. Attic. Chap. XXVIII. Page 68.
' Near the Areopagus, is the Temple of the Severe Goddesses,
as they are called by the Athenians, but Hesiod in the Theogonia
calls them the Erinnia, or Furies.'
b Now considered to be the Odeum of Regilla, or theatre built
by Herodes Atticus. CED']
c To? Aiovvaou oe eo"T( t;po$ tw vecctpu To u^atora-rov ifpov dvo dt ilo~tv
im; oJ tte^ijSoXok vaoi. Pausan. Attic. Chap. XX.
' There is near the theatre the most ancient Temple of Bacchus,
within the peribolus or inclosure of which are two temples.'
d The Theatre of Herodes Atticus. CED-3
e This is undoubtedly the site of the Dionysiac Theatre.
■>»•]
Ec7T( 01 irXYKTiOV TO? T£ UpOV TOV AlOVVCOU, y.CCt TOU <HO.TP0Vj xccrx-
o~x.EVao-pa.' Koinvrivxi oe Ty<; crxrims O.UTO £f fJ.i^V)CiV TVJf ZSP^OV "KlyETCti.
Pausan. Attic. Chap. XX.
' There is also near the Temple of Bacchus and the theatre, a
building, said to have been made in imitation of Xerxes' pavilion."
This was certainly the Odeum of Pericles, which Vitruvius tells
us was on the left hand of those who went out of the theatre.
See Note •', page 20. See likewise Plutarch in the Life of Pe-
ricles.
* A part of these almost obliterated inscriptions, perhaps from
having been viewed under a different light, is given rather more
complete by the late Dr. E. D. Clarke. They are situated be-
tween the Choragic Columns, and cut upon the rock of the Acro-
polis, which is of a hard red breccia. This inscription, evi-
dently recording the dedication of a tripod, is in two lines, the first
is incomplete, and the lower appeared somewhat separated from
the upper one : it is as follows,
AnEIXWNIANOZAAI. - -
TPinOEANEQEEAN
The name of Pisonianus is intelligible, followed by A«>. ■.; perhaps
belonging to some case of the word Aa.\pm, 'Genius, or Damron',
a title of Bacchus, and particularly applied to him in the Bacchae
of Euripides. This may add some little weight to the evidence that
here was the Theatre of Bacchus. At Mylassa Chandler saw
an inscribed altar Am/mm ayu&uv. ' of the good Deities'. It is to
be observed that the sigmas are dissimilar in the two lines. This
inscription is possibly as late as the time of the Antonines. See
Clarke's Travels, Part II. S. II. Chap. 5. !>!>■]
h This interesting antiquity is still in its place. The traveller
who there views it, must be grateful to the forbearance of the de-
spoilers of the Parthenon. LEU- J