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C H A P T E R I I I

The Transitional Age from Bronze to Iron

The Outer Kerameikos the Agora

THE ga llan t effo rt to defen d the Ac ropolis seems to h av e bee n

successful and the Athen ians took gre at pride in never hav ing

been conquered by the invading barb ar ian Do r ians bu t in

preserving the old original s tock and call ing themselves autochthonous

or earth-born. Certainly they were never displaced by any newcomers

and the evidence shows that the old s tock continued alongside the new

elements and th at the thre ad of con tinuity had no t been b roke n.

A long transit ional period often called the Dark Age extended

between the overthrow of the Helladic civil isat ion and the r ise of the

earl iest G re ek , wh ich was such a contrast in poli t ical and social

organisation, language, religion and forms of artistic expression.

History and even poetry tell us little of this period, for which there are

no contemporary wri t ten records , but through the s tudy of archae-

ological materialparticularly potteryit has been possible to f i l l

some of the gaps.

The Late Hel ladic I I I houses on the Nor th Slope which were

suddenly ab and one d in time of s tress wh en the inhab i tants presum ably

took refuge in the fortified Acropolis, have left no successors and not

very much is known about the s i tes of the sett lement, or set t lements ,

to which the cemeteries in the Agora and the Kerameikos that have

furnished most of the material remains belonged, but i t is clear that the

expansion was towards the north and west .

The area known as the Outer Kerameikos is bisected by the brook

Eridanos which runs in a westerly direction across i t . The earl iest

cemeteries were s i tuated at the north and south of the brook and even

after it had been discreetly canalised countless graves flanked it on

either side, on the gentle slope to the south and on the rising hillock

to the nor th . Three famous roads ran through the Kerameikos , f rom

the Dipylon Ga te a broad avenue a bou t i km . long led to the Acad emy ,

from the Sacred Gate ran the Eleusis road from which the road to

Peiraeus bra nch ed off almost at once. In historical times the K eram eikos

was the State Cemetery for those who had fal len in batt le or otherwise

dist inguished themselves and the roads were bordered with public

monuments and also wi th family tombs , many of them used for

several generations. But before passing to these, we must summarise

the results of the mo st recent e xcavations w hich have been so frui tful

in furnish ing m ate rial to bridge over from rathe r shadow y early days

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2 4 T H E A N C I E N T C I T Y O F A T H E N S

to the time of the familiar monuments. Before the city wall divided

the Outer from the Inner Kerameikos much of the low-lying area

served as a necropolis and the Outer Kerameikos includes hundreds of

graves of all periods. The limited space available resulted in over-

crowding and the consequent destruction of earlier graves by later

ones which cut into them made the disentangling of the stratification

a task only to be overcom e by patient effort,

The earliest systematic excavations here were those begun in 1863

by the Greeks which brought to light a large number of huge vases

decorated with geometric motives and funeral scenes in a style to

which the name Dipylon was given from the place of their discovery.

Later excavations for more than half a century, especially those by the

German Institute in 1927 and later, have shown the development of

the Geometric style from the Protogeometric, which itself grew out of

Submycenaean, through Ear ly , Strong, Ripe and Late Geometr ic

until at the end of Subgeometric it gave way to Protoattic and Proto-

corinthian which had for years existed beside it .

At the close of Late Helladic III the pottery was the familiar

M yc en a ea n style w ith the field largely occupied b y designs of a free

and spacious nature; the Geometric pottery on the contrary lays

emphasis on formal designs placed on the vase in accordance with rigid

canonical rules. No one could possibly mistake one style for the other,

but now one can follow the course of development through a series of

transitions which carry over from the past and point the way to the

future. The potter's craft was never lost and the technique of Geo-

metric vase-making was a heritage from the Mycenaeans. Though the

Geometric is utterly different in style and in many shapes, it is clearly

the result of trial and error and of selection over a period of centuries

of experiment. The change from Helladic through Geometric to a

period of orientalising influence can be observed in many parts of the

Greek world but has been more thoroughly studied in Athens than

elsewhere.

The earliest cemeteries in the Kerameikos were situated some

200 m . apa rt. O ne ex tended from n ear the west side of the D ip ylo n

Gate, partly under the Pompeion, to the Sacred Gate, the other was

farther west along the Peiraeus Road.^

The f irst was predominantly Submycenaean with the dead buried

in graves lined and generally covered with stone slabs and arranged

in a fairly systematic way parallel to each other. The second has

furnished no graves earlier than the Protogeometric and these often

include deeper small pits to hold a cinerary urn. Both inhumation and

cremation continue side by side throughout Greek history.

Most of the material discovered consists of objects buried in the

graves and we do not know how early the custom of designating a

grave by some monument on the outside came into use, but by the




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F R O M B R O N Z E T O I R O N 5

Geometr ic per iod the la rge vases bes t known through the Dipylon

kra te rs and amphorae made spec ia l ly for funera l use s tood as monu-

ments outs ide the tombs and were the fore runners of the sculptured

stelai.

The Submycenaean style is so closely affi l ia ted to the la test My-

cenae an pot te ry , or La te Hel lad ic I I I , preserving ma ny of the old

shapes and old decora t ions though in a somewhat enfeebled form, tha t

i t is believed by some to have been the work of potters who migrated

af te r the fa l l of Mycenae , and worked in Athens , but whether tha t be

true or not, i t is c lear that the makers of i t tr ied to carry on the tradi-

t ion but had lost most of their vivid creative zest and were satisfied

with placing the realis t ic decoration on the shoulder of the vase and

covering the rest by horizontal zones and bands, half-circ les, chevrons,

zigzags, wavy lines and circles of dots . Along with the familiar s t irrup-

vases, cups and jugs , the smal l am ph or a begins to take a m ore pro m ine nt

place and m ay be regard ed as the ances tor of the s ide-handled am ph or a

which played such an important role in Att ic pot te ry by way of the

Protogeometric s tyle and its successors.

Submycenaean and Pro togeome t r ic a re o f ten found in one g rave

and i t i s sometimes dif ficul t to de te r mi ne w hen one per iod end s an d

the other begins, but soon a more energetic spiri t manifests i tself and

the contours beco me firmer w hile the dec ora tion is app lied in a mo re

systematic fashion with less freedom and more discipline tending to

limit certa in designs to certa in f ie lds of the vase. In general the tend-

ency is to make the shoulder-zone the most important f ie ld and side

by s ide with th e cont inued use of vases with l ight backgro und an d ne a t

sparse decora t ion, vases a re in t roduced with black surface and l ight-

coloured zones or panels reserved for the patterns.

By this t im e the deco rative rep ertoi re of w avy lines an d con centr ic

circles or half-circ les, sometimes drawn with a compass, has been

augmented by such other motives as rows of tr iangles or diamonds,

zigzags, hatched panels , la tt ice and chequer, and the style is passing

over in to the Ear ly Geometr ic , though both Protogeometr ic and Ear ly

Geometr ic a re found toge ther for some t ime .^ The grea tes t nove l ty

is the in trod uc t ion of the ma ean der , genera l ly c ross-ha tched, used

sometimes ver t ica l ly sometimes hor izonta l ly on the neck and be tween

the handles. Fr om now on ea ch sh ape of po t has i ts ow n special

type of decora t io n thoug h a cer ta in va r ia t ion is permissible with in the

rule .

N ew shapes are the pyxis w ith a poin ted o r flat lid the la tte r ofte n

with plastic horses) and the trefoil oinochoe with f la t bottom, while the

imp roved propo r t ions of the am ph or a contr ib uted in no smal l degree

to i ts la te r deve lopment . Another popular shape was a skyphos with

straight s ides and rather high rim well suited for the panel s tyle with

a ship or a combat scene, often bounded by vertical l ines to form the




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F R O M R O N Z E T O I R O N

Be fore the end of the eighth c en tu ry th e interest had shifted to f igure

s ce n e s an d f l o ra l o rn am e n t w hi l e the G e o m e tr ic m o t iv e s be cam e

subordinate space f i l lers . The stage was set for the beginning of the

Protoatt ic s tyle .

In contrast to the restr icted formal ism of the Geometric , the Pro-

toatt ic is hospitably incl ined to welcome new ideas both in subject

m atte r an d te chn ica l pro ce s s e s . In i t s e ar l ie s t phas e i t ho l ds f as t to

m an y G e o m e tr ic t radi t io n s , co m bin in g w i th the m n e w m o t iv e s , bu t

before lon g the latter prev ai l and the zone-d ecor ation of the vase is

broken up into reserved panels in which the interest is centered, while

the o the r par ts be co m e s u ppl e m e n tary to the ch ie f s u bje ct . A n im al s

and scenes with human or fantast ic beings now take the f ie ld and they

are represented to accord with the oriental is ing pract ice of us ing

pu rpl is h-re d an d w hi te as addi t io n al co l o u rs an d in c is io n f o r the draw -

ing of detai ls . The inf luence of a l l these new features was rather

in to xicat in g an d re s u l te d in an e xu be ran ce in w hich the pa in te r l e t

him sel f go wh erev er his r iotous ima gin atio n led. Th is spir i ted style

w hich w as in c l in e d to w o rk o n rathe r an he ro ic s ca l e g radu al l y im -

posed stern discipl ine on i tse l f , the resul t of which was the formation

o f the A t t ic Bl a ck -Fig u re s ty l e in w h ich the pe r f e ct ba l an ce be tw e e n the

im ag ina tion of Pro toatt ic a nd the control led sense of form of the

Geometric is f irst achieved and which continues thereafter to be the

dist inct ive characterist ic of A tt ic vase-p aintin g.

T he Pro to at t ic w as l i t t l e k n o w n o r s tu die d u n t i l co m parat iv e l y

re ce n t l y w he n a w e al th o f m ate r ia l f ro m the Ke ram e ik o s , the A g o r a ,

an d o u t l y in g par ts o f A t t ica , es pe c ia l ly P hal e ro n , V a r i an d v ic in i ty ,

has made i t poss ible to fo l low its development from start to f inish.

This , however, be longs to the history of pottery, but certain other

closely aff il ia ted f ields of artistic expression ar e best i l lustrated b y

re ce n t d is co v e r ie s in the Ke ram e ik o s . T he y co m e f ro m g rav e s o f the

types already mentioned, f rom tombs buil t of c lay bricks or t i les in the

f o rm o f a sm al l ho u se o r te m pl e , an d f ro m cu r io u s chan n e l s 4 m . - i 2 m .

l o n g l in e d w i th te rraco t ta in w hic h r i tu a l o f f e r in g s w e r e p l ace d in

co n n e c t io n w i th f u n e ra l ce re m o n ie s , m an y o f the v ase s hav in g b e e n

p u r p o s e l y b r o k e n .

T he Pro to at t ic po t te ry , e v e n m o re than the G e o m e tr ic , had a f o n d-

ness for plast ic decoration of an appropriate nature . The snakes so

beloved in later Geometric were no less dear to the makers of Pro-

toatt ic and protomes of griffins elaborate f loral ornaments and f igures

of w om en in att itudes of lam enta tion w ere add ed to the fune ral vases ,

while a new style of incense burner in the shape of a shal low saucer

rest ing on the head of a seated sphinx is one of the most interest ing

classes of objects produced.

T he s phin x w he n m ade o f te rraco t ta w as u s e d ch ie f l y f o r archi -

tectu ral purposes such as akro teria, and w he n of l imestone or m arb le




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F R O M B R O N Z E T O I R O N 9

f e w e x c e p t i o n s s u c c u m b e d t o t h e c l i m a t e w h i c h is n o t , l i k e t h a t o f

E g y p t , f a v o u r a b l e to t h e ir p r e s e r v a t i o n . T h e f e w w o o d e n xo n o r

e a r l i e s t c u l t - s t a t u e s t h a t s u r v i v e d i n t o c l a s s i c a l t i m e s w e r e t r e a s u r e d

a n d r e v e r e d o b j e c t s b u t n o t h i n g is l e f t o f t h e m n o w , n o r is t h e r e m o r e

t h a n a n o c c a s i o n a l f r a g m e n t o f t h e w o o d e n c h e s t s o r b o x e s o n w h i c h

s o m e o f t h e b r o n z e r el ie f s t h a t h a v e s u r v i v e d w e r e o n c e m o u n t e d . O n e

r a r e a n d p r e c i o u s s u r v i v a l i s a g r o u p o f s m a l l w o o d e n p a n e l s w i t h

r e l i g i o u s sc e n e s p a i n t e d i n w h i t e , b l u e , r e d a n d y e l l o w , f o u n d in a c a v e

n e a r C o r i n t h a n d d a t i n g a b o u t t h e s i xt h c e n t u r y . i

W o o d , o f c o u r s e , w a s u n i v e r s a l l y u s e d fo r a r c h i t e c t u r a l p u r p o s e s a s

t i m b e r f r a m e w o r k in t o w h i c h t h e m u d - b r i c k w a l l s w e r e s e t, a n d as r o o f

t i m b e r s t o b e c o v e r e d w i t h t i le s , a n d o f t h e s e w a l l b e a m s w e n o w a n d

t h e n fin d r o t t e d o r c h a r r e d r e m a i n s o r e v e n t h e i m p r e s s i o n s t h e y h a v e

l e f t i n t h e c l a y w h e n t h e y t h e m s e l v e s h a v e d i s i n t e g r a t e d .

B u t f o r m o s t p a r t s o f t h e G r e e k w o r l d , i n c l u d i n g A t h e n s , o u r k n o w -

l e d g e is b a s e d l a r g e l y o n t h e r e m a i n s o f p o t t e r y o r o t h e r o b j e c t s o f

t e r r a c o t t a . S o m e o f t h e m a t e r i a l h a s b e e n f o u n d i n i s o l a t e d g r a v e s ,

e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e o f c h i l d r e n , s o m e i n th e b o t t o m o f w e l l s o r p i t s , a n d

b i t b y b i t s u f f i c i e n t e v i d e n c e h a s a c c u m u l a t e d t o s h o w t h a t a c o n -

s i d e r a b l e p o p u l a t i o n m u s t h a v e c o n t i n u e d t o o c c u p y m a n y p a r t s o f t h e

r e g i o n b e t w e e n th e A c r o p o l i s a n d th e K e r a m e i k o s . T h e n o r t h a n d w e s t

s lo p e s o f t h e A c r o p o l i s a n d A r e o p a g u s a l r e a d y n o t e d f o r L a t e H e l l a d i c

I I I c h a m b e r to m b s a n d S u b m y c e n a e a n a n d P r o t o g e o m e t r i c r e m a i n s ,

w a s a ls o p a r t i c u l a r l y r i c h i n t h o s e o f t h e G e o m e t r i c a n d P r o t o a t t i c

p e r i o d s a n d n e w m a t e r i a l is c o n s t a n t l y c o m i n g to l i g h t w h i c h h e l p s t o

fill i n m o r e d e t a il s i n t h e f r a m e w o r k a l r e a d y b u i l t u p . B o t h b r a n c h e s

o f t h e r o a d t h a t r a n i n f r o n t o f t h e w e s t b u i l d i n g s i n t h e A g o r a a n d

f o r k e d a t t h e B o u n d a r y S t o n e o f t h e A g o r a t o e x t e n d s o u t h w a r d s w e r e

fla nk ed b y s m a l l g r o u p s o f G e o m e t r i c g r a v e s , a n d o n t h e r o a d t h a t

i n t e r se c t e d th e m n o r t h w e s t o f t h e A r e o p a g u s m o r e t h a n t w e n t y g r a v e s

h a v e b e e n i n v e s t i g a t e d .

J u s t s o u t h o f t h e T h o l o s i n t h e A g o r a w a s a G e o m e t r i c - P r o t o a t t i c

c e m e t e r y c o n s i s t i n g o f a g r o u p o f s o m e t w e n t y g r a v e s i n w h a t s e e m s

t o h a v e b e e n a f a m i l y b u r i a l g r o u n d . S o m e w e r e i n h u m a t i o n g ra v e s

w i t h t h e s k e l e t o n s o f a d u l t s l a i d o u t s u r r o u n d e d b y t h e i r p o s s e s s io n s ,

o t h e r s w e r e u r n b u r i a l s o f c h i l d r e n . L a r g e d e p o s i t s o f a s h e s a n d b u r n t

m a t e r i a l t e s t if y t o t h e p r a c t i c e o f s a c r i f i c e s a t t h e b u r i a l a n d i n o n e o r

t w o c a s e s t h e r e m a i n s s e e m t o b e t h o s e o f f u n e r a l p y r e s . T h e g r e a t

v a l u e o f t h is e x c a v a t i o n l ie s n o t o n l y i n t h e q u a n t i t y o f e x c e l l e n t

p o t t e r y , c h i e f l y L a t e G e o m e t r i c a n d P r o t o a t t i c , f o u n d i n t h e g r a v e s

b u t i n t h e f a c t t h a t i t f o r m s a n u n d i s t u r b e d u n i t i n w h i c h t h e b u r i a l s

m u s t h a v e t a k e n p l a c e w i t h i n a f e w g e n e r a t i o n s . T h e p r e c i n c t , w h i c h

w a s a n a r r o w t e r r a c e s o m e 6 8 8 m . l o n g , w a s s u p p o r t e d b y a s u b -

s t a n t i a l r e t a i n i n g w a l l o n t h e e a s t w i t h r e t u r n s o f 2 - 9 5 m . o n t h e s o u t h -

w e s t a n d 8 m . o n t h e n o r t h w e s t a n d w a s b a c k e d u p o n t h e w e s t s id e




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3 T H E A N C I E N T C I T Y O F A T H E N S

ag ain s t the ro ck o f Ko l o n o s A g o ra io s . T h e re ta in in g w a l l be s ide s

s u pp o rt in g the te rrace s e parate d i t f ro m the pr in c ip a l ro ad w h ich ran

north and south through the west s ide of the Agora. Before the road

an d it s ac co m pa n y in g G r e at D r a in w e re bu i l t the s u rplu s w a te r f ro m

the adjace n t s l o pe s m u s t hav e ru s he d thro u g h th is w ay be l o w the

w al l .

One of the discoveries on the northwest s lope of the

A r e o p a g u s ^ ^

consists of several port ions of curved foundation wal ls 0-35 m.-0-40 m.

in th ick n e s s w hich e v ide n t l y be l o n g e d to a ho u s e o f as ym m e tr ica l

e l l ipt ical shape ca. 11 m . 5 m . orientated east an d west . A lay er of c la y

over the wa l ls and f loor of ha rd- pa cke d ea rth indicates that the up per

pa rt o f the w al l s had be e n o f s u n -dr ie d br ick , pro ba bl y s u ppo rt in g a

thatched roof l ike those represented on the terracotta models of

G e o m e tr ic bu i l d in g s f ro m Pe racho ra , A rg o s an d e l s e w he re , o r po s s ib l y

a ho o p-ro o f f as hio n e d o f bo u g hs . G e o m e tr ic ho u s e s are rare an d m o s t l y

rectangular . One apsidal end such as is f requent in early temples was

an in he r i tan ce f ro m Middl e H e l l adic t im e s , an d a c i rcu l ar hu t- l ik e

structure also has a long ancestry, but an oval house of the Geometric

period is very unusual i f not unique.

T h e a bu n d an t po t te ry f ro m th is are a , f o u n d in the ho u s e , in a ch i l d s

cist grave cut into the f loor, and in extensive votive deposits , ranges

f ro m E ar l y G e o m e tr ic to A t t ic an d C o r in th ian o f the s ix th ce n tu ry ,

w i th Pro to at t ic par t icu l ar l y w e l l re pre s e n te d, an d tho u g h f u rn is h in g

m a n y i n te r e st i n g e x a m p l e s s o m e o f t h e m v e r y i n d i v i d u a l a n d a m u s i n g

o n th e w ho le i t i l lustrates s tyles s imilar to those alre ad y descr ibed in

co n n e ct io n w i th the Ke ram e ik o s .

Pro babl y the m o s t in te re s t in g dis co v e ry , an d o n e w hich rapidl y

b e c a m e f a m o u s , w a s t h e t e r r a c o t t a p o l y c h r o m e p l a qu is 0-248 m . X

0-13 3 2.nd 0-125 m . x o - o i i m .) o f a s tan din g f e m a l e fig ure, a

g o dde s s o r w o rs h ippe r , in r i tu a l is t ic a t t i tu de w i th a rm s be n t u p w a rd

and hands with palms turned outward and f ingers spread. She is

dressed in an inner gar m en t of ye l lo w a nd a n outer one of red, g irt

aro u n d the w ais t an d re pre s e n te d in a cu r io u s f as hio n w i th the u ppe r

l e f t ha l f an d l o w e r r ig ht ha l f s ho w in g the re d o u te r g arm e n t an d the

u ppe r r ig ht an d l o w e r l e f t the ye l l o w in n e r o n e . Bo th w e re pat te rn e d

fabrics with horizontal l ines , rosettes and dots in blue on the red and

a spiral hook a nd rows of dot ted rosettes in red on the ye l low . T h e hea d

an d nec k w ere m ou lde d in re l ie f , the hair , arra nge d in short curls o n

the f o re he ad an d l o n g w av y l o cks , is pa in te d re d an d the dia de m

consists of two bluish -green ban ds wit h a row o f dots betwe en. R ed

was used also for the arms, eyebrows and contour of the eyes which

had blue irises and red pupils. The f igure was f lanked on either side by

v e ry u n d u l ato r y s n ak e s, do u btl e s s o f chtho n ian s ig n i f ican ce , re a r in g

u p w a rd. T h e o n e a t the l e f t , w h ich w as ho rn e d , w as re d w i th b l u e

dots , that at the r ight , which is showing i ts fangs , was bluish-green




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F R O M B R O N Z E T O I R O N I

w ith r ed do ts . Bu ds an d rose t tes w ere used as f i l l e r s in the curve s

of the snakes .

T h e p l aq u e w as co a t ed w i th a t h i ck w h i t e s l i p , w ash ed o v e r w i th t h in

r ed , an d t h e g ay co lo u r s w e r e l a id o n t h i ck o r t h in a s d es i r ed . T h e

d r aw in g i s r a th e r c lu msy an d ca r e l e s s . T h i s ma t t p o ly ch r o me s ty l e i s

v e r y d i f f e r e n t f r o m m o s t o t h e r G r e e k p a i n t i n g s , e g t h e n ea t l y co lo u r ed

d r a w i n g s o n t e r r a c o t t a p l a q u e s o r t h e m e t o p e s f r o m T h e r m o n , b u t a s

i t w as a f av o u r i t e t ech n iq u e i n Cy p r u s w h en ce i t sp r ead t o Cr e t e , i t

m ay h av e b een i n t r o d u ced f r o m th e r e , f o r t h e su b j ec t is ce r t a in ly i n t h e

C r e t an t r a d i t i o n . T h e p l a q u e is d a t ed a l i tt l e b e f o r e t h e mid d l e o f t h e

sev en th cen tu r y .

A n o t h e r n o t e w o r t h y fin d w a s a g r o u p o f a b o u t t h i r t y m i n a t u r e

sh i e ld s o f t e r r a co t t a , c i r cu l a r i n sh a p e an d d eco r a t e d w i th G e o m et r i c

d es ig n s i n p o ly ch r o me s ty l e . T h ese w er e o b v io u s ly o f a d ed i ca to r y

ch ar ac te r an d seem to be the ear l ies t ex am ple s of s im i lar sty les of

sh i e ld s f o u n d o ccas io n a l l y i n o th e r p a r t s o f G r eec e . T h e n u m er o u s

t e r r ac o t t a fig ures, b o th an im a l an d h u m an , b e lo n g t o c la s ses f am i l i a r

o n man y s i t e s an d n eed n o t b e d esc r ib ed h e r e .

T h e l a r g e q u a n t i t y o f m a t e r i a l a n d t h e e v id e n c e o f b u r n i n g a n d

b r e ak ag e su g g es t t h a t i t f o r m ed p a r t o f a v o t i v e d ep o s i t w h ich h ad b e en

t h r o w n i n f r o m s o m e n e a r b y s a n c t u a r y o f a n u n d e r w o r l d c h a r a c t e r .

T h e b es t ca n d id a t e fo r t h is is t h e s an c tu a r y o f t h e S em n a i , p r e su m ab ly

s i tu a te d in the c lef t on the no r th s ide o f th e Are opa gos , wh ich wi l l be

d esc r ib ed i n a l a t e r ch ap t e r .

I t i s r a th e r i n t e r e s t i n g t h a t t h e o n ly G eo met r i c h o u se f o u n d so f a r

w as i n w h a t co n t in u ed t o b e a r e s id en t i a l s ec t i o n t h r o u g h o u t h i s t o r y .

F r o m th e w es t s l o p e o f t h e A r eo p ag u s t o t h e r o ad eas t o f t h e P n y x th e r e

were houses , some dat ing f rom the f i f th cen tury , o ther s Hel len is t ic o r

R o m a n , a n d t h e G r e a t D r a i n b i s e c t e d t h e a r e a . T h e w e s t a n d s o u t h

s lop es o f K o lo n o s A g o r a io s an d t h e v i c in i t y o f t h e Pn y x k n o w n in

an t iq u i t y a s K o i l e an d M el i t e , w e r e l a r g e ly r e s id en t i a l a l so . W i th t h e

exc ep t ion of som e f if th -cen tury fou nd at i on s no r thw es t of the Ar eo pa gu s

p r o v i s io n a l l y i d en t i f i ed a s p o s s ib ly b e lo n g in g t o o n e o f t h e L aw Co u r t s ,

n o l a r g e b u i l d i n g s o f a p u b l i c n a t u r e h a v e b e e n f o u n d a n d w e m a y

sa f e ly i n f e r t h a t t h e A g o r a p r o p e r an d K o lo n o s A g o r a io s w i th i ts

t em p le o f H e p h a i s to s w e r e f r i n g ed b y h o u ses, so m e o f w h ich d o u b t l e s s

sp r ea d a s f a r a s t h e K er a m eik o s f r o m w h ic h w e s t a r t ed an d t o w h ich

w e m u s t n o w r e t u r n .



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