Το Αφηρημένο Blog: Greece: The Amphiareion of Oropos

5 Οκτωβρίου 2014

Greece: The Amphiareion of Oropos

Από: Afirimeno Blog Κατηγορία: English

Not far from Athens, near to Oropos, on the banks of a winter torrent, Charadra, as it was called by the ancient Greeks, stand since the 5th c. BC, the Amphiareion, the largest sanctuary in ancient Greece of the chthonic god and hero Amphiaraos.

We were there one morning in the end of September.

But I let speak the informational table, that exist in this place:

The Amphiareion of Oropos

The Amphiareion, the largest sanctuary in ancient Greece of the chthonic god and hero Amphiaraos, was excavated by Vasileios Leonardos from 1884 to 1929. Its buildings stand on the banks of a winter torrent, Charadra, as it was called by the ancient Greeks. On the left bank the official buildings, the stoa, theatre, temple and altar were situated, while the right side was occupied by the residential quarter.

In ancient times the entrance to the sanctuary was on the east side. The first building we encounter as we approach the sanctuary from the east is a square structure dating from the 4th c. BC, which was converted into a bath-house in Christian times…

Immediately beyond this is the great stoa, built in the the 4th c. BC, which is 110 m. long. It was used for accommodation purposes by visitors to the sanctuary. At the east and west ends were two rooms equipped with benches and tables. These rooms was used for sleeping (enkoimesis) by those who sought the oracle from Amphiaraos. They were given his advice, or were even cured, in a dream, while they slept…

the great stoa

Behind the stoa lies the theatre of the Amphiareion. The stage-building and the restored colonnade of the proscenium bore two inscriptions dating from the 2th c. BC. Five marble thrones with relief floral decoration, dating from the 1th c. BC, can be seen on the edge of the orchestra.

the theatre of the Amphiareion

the theatre of the Amphiareion (marble throne)

reconstruction of the theatre

To the west of the stoa is a row of bases for the statues that stood on one side of the road leading to the temple. About 150 inscriptions (dedications, epigrams, lists of visitors in games, proxenia degrees) are carved on the 25 bases that have been preserved in situ…

The temple of Amphiaraos was a hexastyle Doric structure erected in the 4th c. BC. The southern half of it was swept away by the river in the last years of antiquity. Members of the entablature of the temple have been restored and are on display in the Museum courtyard. To the east of the temple is the large altar of the sanctuary (4th c. BC). In its foundations two smaller, earlier altars can be seen. Very close to the south side of the altar is the sacred spring from which water continues to bubble, just as it did in the 5th c. BC, when the sanctuary was founded. Next to the spring are the baths, which were built in the 4th c. BC.

the temple of Amphiaraos

The sanctuary of Amphiaraos extended also to the right of the Charadra (torrent), where the residential quarter, offices, shops, inns, the agora, and the klepsydra (a water clock) were located.