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.
It's probably the sanctuary was built for a smaller branch of the main cult of Artemis Brauronia.
It consisted of a portico, and a wooden statue that was later replaced with a marble one carved by the famous sculptor Praxiteles.
In many ancient texts, the goddess Athena bears the attribute "Ergane", which refers to her patronage of craftsmen and artisans, and other crafts.
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.
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.
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.
(Behind the scenes)
Concept artwork on this spread by Gabriel Blain and Fred Rambaud showcases the variety of opponents to be found in Athens, Attika, and all over Greece. The Athenian army is similar to the Spartans', but does have key differences. The Athenian breastplates are smooth, favoring motifs and symbols over representation of muscles. And there is of course the color: Athenians are represented in blue so they are recognizable to the player.
(Behind the scenes)
"Realizing an enormous battle on the scale of ancient Greek warfrare was quite a technical and design challenge. We wanted to remain as true as possible to the tactics and warfare of the time, but plenty of compromises were made for gameplay, excitement, and technical constraints." - Scott Phillips
"Even making the Discovery Tour was a challenge as we needed to show battlefields without explicitly showing a battlefield. We opted for flags instead of violence to communicate the events." - Paul Green, Assistant Level Design Director on Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece
Map of Athens and its fortifications. Prepared by Jean Denis Barbié du Bocage (1760-1825) in 1784 for the "Travels of Anacharsis"
Following the Greco-Persian Wars, Themistokles recommended that Athens fortify both the city and the port of Piraeus.
The fortifications started under Themistokles and were further strengthened by Perikles and Kimon. Their efforts contributed to the creation of the so-called "Long Walls" that ensured Athens always had access to its port, even in times of war.
Hippias was the son of Peisistratos, the tyrant of Athens. he succeeded his father in 528 BCE, ruled with absolute power, and brutally dispose of his enemies.
In spit of this, Athens was surprisingly peaceful and prosperous under Hippias' rule. His reigned ended in 510 BCE, when a Spartan invasion of Attika led to his downfull.
Hippias fled to Asia Minor, where he came in contact with the Persian king Darius. The disgraced tyrant would eventually convinced the Persians to land their forces at Marathon.
In Greece, hoplites were heavy inffantrymen. They carried round shields large enough to protect both themselves and anyone to their left, and wore helmets, cuirasses, and leggings.
Hoplites normally advanced in a phalanx formation of five to seven lines deep. The phalanx allowed them to attack with spears, and simultaneously defend themselves from any cavalry and archers attacking from the front.
Kore Phrasikleia is one of the most important works of archaic scuplture. It depicts a young woman (kore), and was found in Attika during excavations next to a young male statue.
The statue is dated to 550-530 BCE and depicts a kore wearing sandals, a full length sleeved chiton, and a tall kalathos decorated with flowers. In her hand, she holds a lotus bud. She is also wearing earrings, a necklace, and two bracelets. The height of the statue is 1.79 metersm and the preservation of its polychromy is astonishing. Recent research confirms the use of eleven different colorants, as well as gold and lead foil.
We know the name of the deeased Phrasikleia bcause it is inscribed on the base of the statue. Her young age is also implied, as she is called the maiden in the inscription, meaning she died before she got married. On the left side of the base is the name of the sculptor, Aristion of Paros. The base was not buried with the kore, but was used as a building material in a nearby church, where it was recovered.
Aristion fabricated and signed other statues as well, which allow us to date the creation of the statue of Phrasikleia to between 550 and 530 BCE. It's not impossible hat the artist was associated with the sphere of power of the tyrants of Athens, and that the statue might have belonged to the Peisistratid family.
The Soldier of Marathon announcing the result of the battle. Painting by Luc Olivier Merson (1846–1920)
Philippides was a "hemerodrome", a professional runner who served Athens as a herald.
According to Herotodotus, Athens sent Philippides to ask Sparta for aid at Marathon. During his journey, he encountered the god Pan in the mountains. Pan — who was half-man, half-goat — complained that the Athenians did not honor him as much as they should have — especially since he could render helpful services like sowing panic and terror in the ranks of their enemies. Following the Battle of Marathon, the Athenians corrected their neglectful attitude towards Pan, and thanked him for his help in their victory.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Besides Athena Polias and Poseidon-Erechtheus, Athenians believed their city was also protected by Zeus Polieos (of the city). This was based on Zeus being the judge of Athena and Poseidon's mythical competition to become Athen's chief deity.
Consequently, a small walled open-air sanctuary was erected to Zeus Polieos ca. 500 BCE. There are no traces left of it, other than cuttings in the bedrock interpreted by archaelogists to be either remnants of a barn for sacrificial animals, or chutes designed to lead the animals to slaughter.
The main ritual dedicated to Zeus Polieos was the Bouphonia (“the ox murder”), which took place each summer during the greater festival of Dipolieia. Two working oxen, whose sacrifice was normally prohibited, were led to the sanctuary altar, where grain was spread. The first ox to eat the grain was considered to consent to being sacrificed, and was slain by a member of the Thaulonidai family, who subsequently had to throw aside his axe and flee the Akropolis. That man and his companions were later tried for “murder”, but always
acquitted. In the end the sacrificial axe (or knife) was found auiltv and thrown into the sea.
The ritual, believed to be very archaic, was based on the myth of a priest who accidentally killed a ploughing ox and had to expliate the sin through annual sacrifices to Zeus. It reminded the ancient Athenians that laboring beasts should not be sacrificed, and that they should respect the sacred laws of raising special sacrificial animals. Modern scholars also think the ritual was a means to explain how humanity passed from grain and honey offerings to animal sacrifices.
South-east view of the temple of Poseidon at Sounion, by Edward Dodwell (1767-1832)
Sounion is located approximately 70 kilometers south of Athens, at the southern tip of the Attika region. Prehistoric tombs in the area suggest that Sounion was first inhabited around 3000 BCE.
The sanctuary of Poseidon stood at Sounion's highest point. It was an imposing structure that overlooked the sea from steep cliffs — Appropriate, for a place dedicated to the power god of the ocean.
The Battle of Salamis took place in 480 BCE, and ended in a stunning victory for the Greeks. The battle marked the end of the second Persian invasion of Greece.
After the Greek loss at the Battle of Thermopylai, cntral Greece was open to invasion by King Xerxes and his Persian forces. Xerxes was closer than ever to the vengeance he sought for the humilations his father Darius suffered during the first Persian invasion of Greece.
However, the city of Athens was much stronger than it had been during Darius' time. Rich with resources from the Laurion silver mines, the city used its considerate funds to finance its military effort, with the general Themistokles ordering the construction of 200 triremes.
The Athenians' strength was bolstered by their cooperation with other Greek cities. At Salamis, the Greeks faced their enemy together.
The battle itself occured as sea, in a small closed bay west of Athens. it was hard-fought on both sides, but in the end, the Persians suffered far more casualities than the Greeks.
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.
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.
Theseus was the son of Aegeus, king of Athens, and Athira, daughter of Pittheus. Athira was also possessed by Poseidon, which means Theseus had a divine father in addition to a mortal one.
Athira gave birth to Theseus on the island of Sphairos. After growing up, Theseus travelled from Sphairos to Athens, accomplishing several labors along the way.
These labors include killing the banditsPeriphetes, Kerkyon, and Prokruste and kill the Krommyonian Sow, a wild pig that was ravaging the region of Krommyon.
However, Theseus is best known for his capture of the bull of Marathon, and his killing of the ferocious Minotaur.
The Tumulus in the plain of Marathon, engraving by Edward Dodwell (1767-1832)
A tumulus was a special tomb in which the ashes of cremated bodies were collected in purple cloth — purple being the mark of royalty. The ashy remains were then placed in a bronze urn.
There is a large tumulus in the Kerameikos that was used from the 560's BCE to the end of the 5th century BCE.
