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| ====The Laurion Silver Mines==== | | ===Attika=== |
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| |-|Opening Remarks= | | |-|Artemis Brauronia= |
| *'''Aspasia:''' ''Welcome to the silver mines of [[Lavrio Silver Mine|Laurion]].''
| | The sanctuary of [[Artemis|Artemis Brauronia]], or the [[Brauroneion]], was located near the Propylaia. |
| ("Who are you?")
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| ("What do you think of this place?")
| | In a city dominated with dedications to Athena, the Brauroneion stood out for its focus on Artemis Brauronia, the goddess who presided over girls from puberty to childbirth. |
| *'''Aspasia:''' ''The mines make me nervous. All those fumes can't be safe to inhale day in and day out.''
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| ("Let's begin the tour.")
| | It was likely installed by the ruler [[Peisistratos]], a native of {{Wiki|Brauron}}. |
| *'''Aspasia:''' ''The Laurion silver mines were discovered between {{Wiki|Thorikos}} and [[Cape Sounion]] near [[Athens]]. They were rich in mineral galena, and provided Athens with much of the silver necessary to mint its currency. Because of this, the mines were invaluable to the city, and the resources they provided helped turn Athens into one of the most powerful states in [[Greece]]. We will meet again after you've seen what the mines have to offer. Farewell for now, wandered.''
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| |-|Laurion Mines Overview=
| | It's probably the sanctuary was built for a smaller branch of the main cult of Artemis Brauronia. |
| *'''Narrator:''' ''Silver mines were extremely rare in Ancient Greece, which only increased their importance. Athens started exploiting the Laurion silver mines at the end of the 6th century BCE, and used its metal to produce its currency.<br>Production at the mines exploded around 485 BCE, when an especially rich vein was discovered. The mines' abundant silver made Athens one of the weathliest cities in Greece. They also provided the resources necessary to build a fleet large enough to defeat the [[Persia]]ns at the [[Battle of Salamis]].<br>In short, the Laurion mines played an integral part in the emergence of Athens as a Greek superpower.''
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| '''Learn more:'''<br>
| | It consisted of a portico, and a wooden statue that was later replaced with a marble one carved by the famous sculptor [[Praxiteles]]. |
| Athens's coinage dates back to around 530 BCE. The abundant resources from the Laurion mines allowed the city to mint a prolific coinage renowned for the quality of its silver.
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| Like modern currency, Athens's coins had different values and weighs. The most-struck denomination was the tetradrachm, which weighed 17.20m grams. The coin, as its
| | |-|Athena Ergane= |
| name implies, was worth four (tetras) drachmae.
| | In many ancient texts, the goddess Athena bears the attribute "Ergane", which refers to her patronage of craftsmen and artisans, and other crafts. |
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| The smallest coins - and the ones most commonly used in the agora - were the triobol (2.15g), the obol (0.72g), and hemiobol (0.369).
| | Athena Ergane was mainly associated with spinning and weaving. She protected women who produced textiles, and in return they offered her spindles, loom weights, raw wool, and textiles as dedications. |
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| |-|An Antique Mine=
| | On ancient painted vases, Athena Ergane was often represented as either an artisan in a tool-filled workshop, or as an owl next to objects symbolizing certain crafts. For example, an owl next to a wool basket was sometimes stamped on loom weights used by weavers. |
| *'''Narrator:''' ''Exploiting the mines' resources required a lot of labor. To meet this requirement and save on cost, Athens leased out mining concessions to its citizens, who had their [[Slavery|slaves]] to do most of the work, alongside poor day-laborers.<br>In the 5th century BCE alone, there were anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 people toiling in the mines of Laurion. Together, the workers managed to produce an estimated twenty tons of silver per year.''
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| '''Learn more:'''<br>
| | It is not clear if Athena Ergane had an actual cult, like Athena Polias, but it is evident that the goddess bearing this epithet received dedications and offerings from all sorts of artisans. Moreover, the sacred peplos given to the goddess during the Panathenaia was woven under the auspices of Athena Ergane. |
| Ancient Greeks extracted a number of different metals like gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, and mercury.
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| The most precious metals, silver and gold, were appreciated for their quality and rarity. They were used to produce coins, but also jewelry, other luxury objects, and even statues like the gold and ivory statue of [[Athena Parthenos]]. | | |-|Propylaia= |
| | The Propylaia was the monumental gateway on the western side of the Akropolis. It was built between 437 and 432 BCE, under the supervision of either Phidias or [[Mnesikles]], and was part of Perikles' plan to adorn the Akropolis with magnificent monuments. Although it was not seen as a military structure, the Propylaia was also used to restrict access to Athens' holiest area. |
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| Most metals were traded in the form of ingots.
| | It was conceived as a spectacular construction of Pentelic white marble and Elusinian grey marble, and its design was meant to stylistically mirror the Parthenon. |
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| |-|Extracting the Ore=
| | The Propylaia's construction was suspended in 431 BCE due to the start of the Peloponnesian War, and was never resumed. This means that out of a very ambitious project, only the main building was finished. Nevertheless, with its five gates a ceiling painted with golden stars, it remained impressive. The gateway was also unique in that it mixed both Doric and Ionic columns, in addition to be reinforced with iron. |
| *'''Narrator:''' ''Mining in Laurion was a two-step process. First, the ore was extracted, and then it was refined. It took about sixteen kilograms of raw ore to produce a single pure silver drachma of about four grams.Recovered artifacts from the mines provide some insight into the specifics of the mining process.<br>Galleries were dug to follow the veins of ore. They were small, and did not offer much space for the workers. They were also hand cut, it's believed that it ook whole days to dig only a few containers. Once the galleries finally reached the veins, the ore was extracted and then crushed on mortar stone to prepare it for washing.''
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| '''Learn more:'''<br>
| | The northern wing of the western façade housed a 10.75m x 9 m ritual dining room known as the Pinakotheke. According to Pausanias, the Pinakotheke was famous in antiquity for its paintings of Greek battles. |
| During the [[Peloponnesian War]], the [[Sparta]]ns occipied and fortified [[Dekelia]], cutting Athens off from important roads. The slaves in Laurion took advantage of this opportunity, and
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| 20,000 of them fled the mines. Because of this, silver extraction in Laurion ceased.
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| The closing of the Laurion mines had a significant impact on Athens's economy. Its treasury gradually emptied, and it was left with no funds to rebuild its fleet. Deprived of resources,
| | |-|Theseus= |
| Athens was forced to melt two gold statues of Athena Nike to strike gold coins. The city also produced bronze coins covered in a thin silver layer to imitate and replace its tetradrachms — a move that was criticized by the comic playwright [[Aristophanes]].
| | [[Theseus]] is a hero linked with the mythological origins of Athens. He was responsible for the political unification of Attika, and as such, was considered a symbol of Athenian democracy. |
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| In 404 BCE, when the Peloponnesian War was over, the mining of silver was virtually non-existent. it was only decades later, in 370 BCE, that entrepreneurs started leasing mines again. However, when [[Alexander the Great]] obtained a large amount of Persian silver in his conquests, the price of silver dropped so much that the yields from the mines were no longer enough to cover their running costs.
| | The myth of Theseus goes back to the 7th century BCE, but it wasn't until the 5th century BCE that he started to be incorporated into Athens' civic ideology as the founder of the city. |
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| |-|Washeries= | | Theseus was the son of {{Wiki|Augeas|Aegeus}}, king of Athens, and {{Wiki|Athira}}, daughter of {{Wiki|Pittheus}}. Athira was also possessed by Poseidon, which means Theseus had a divine father in addition to a mortal one. |
| *'''Narrator:''' ''Mine workers used washeries to help clean rock from the ore. The washing process required a large supply of warer, but Laurion was an infamously dry region. To compensate, cisterns were built in the mining area to collect and conserve seasonal rainwater.<br>Once enough water had accumulated, workers poured it into wooden troughs containing rock and ore. The water's flow seperated the lighter grains of rock from the heavier ore, which was caught in depressions at the bottom of the trough. The newly cleaned ore was collected for refinement, and the water was redirected back into a tank to be reused later.''
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| '''Learn more'''<br>
| | Athira gave birth to Theseus on the island of {{Wiki|Sphairos}}. After growing up, Theseus travelled from Sphairos to Athens, accomplishing several labors along the way. |
| The concept of using water to seperate ore from rock is still applied today by modern gold miners.
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| |-|Smelting and Cupellation=
| | These labors include killing the [[bandit]]s [[Periphetes]], [[Kerkyon]], and {{Wiki|Prokruste}}< and kill the {{Wiki|Crommyonian Sow|Krommyonian Sow}}, a wild pig that was ravaging the region of {{Wiki|Crommyon|Krommyon}}. |
| *'''Narrator:''' ''Once the ore was clean and dry, it was ready for smelting. It's purpose was to isolate the silver in the ore. To do this, the ore was placed in a conical furnance filled with combustible charcoal. Bellows pumped air into the furnance to control the temperature.<br>Inside, the ore burned, emitting a toxic smoke that was evacuated through a chimney. Eventually, the silver alloy was seperated from the slag and collected for the last step in the refinement process: cupellation.<br>Cupellation removed any leftover lead from the silver. The smelted alloy was placed in a cupel, an absorbent bowl made of bone ashes. It was then put in a furnance, where it absorbed the lead and left only silver behind.''
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| '''Learn more'''<br>
| | However, Theseus is best known for his capture of the bull of [[Marathon]], and his killing of the ferocious [[Minotaur]]. |
| The furnances used for smelting and cupellation required an enormous amount of fuel. Based on evidence from [[South America]]n silver mines exploited under similar conditions, it's estimated that Ancient Greek mines required 10,000 tons of charcoal to produce one ton of silver.
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| |-|Labor=
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| *'''Narrator:''' ''While the mines of Laurion belonged to Athens, the city frequently leased them to private citizens who exploited the site from anywhere from three to ten years. These citizens enlisted slaves and poor day-laborers to carry out most of the work.<br>The workers had a very low life expectancy — about three to five years — due to the hazardous working conditions. The dangers they faced included toxic lead vapor in the air and lung-choking dust in the galleries.<br>However, they were fed well enough to keep up their work, and their combined labor managed to produce an estimated twenty tons of silver a year.''
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| '''Learn more:'''<br>
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| The Athenian politician {{Wiki|Nicias|Nikias}} once bought a [[Thrace|Thracian]] slave named Sosias for one talent — the equivalent of 6,000 drachmae, and 30-40 times more than the normal price of a slave.
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| The reason for Sosias' high price was that he was an expert in searching for and finding silver tunnels. Because of this, Nikias installed Sosias as the administrator of the 1,000 slaves he already had working at the Laurion silver mines.
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| Nikias' purchase paid off, and according to {{Wiki|Lysias}}, the politician eventually accumulated a fortune of one hundred talents from his mining business.
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| |-|Closing Remarks=
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| ("I'm ready for the quiz.")
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| ("Take on the next suggested tour.")
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| ("Take me on a random tour.")
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| ([LEAVE] "That's all for now.")
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| </tabber> | | </tabber> |