M.Ι. Στεφανάκης - Μ. Γιαννοπούλου - Μ. Αχιολά (επιμ.), ΠΟΛΥΤΡΟΠΟΣ. Τιμητικός τόμος για τον καθηγητή Νικόλαο Χρ. Σταμπολίδη, Ρέθυμνο 2023. POLYTROPOS. Honorary Volume for the Professor Nikolaos Chr. Stampolidis, Rethymno, 2023
The present contribution deals with a marble statuette of unknown provenance, according to the In... more The present contribution deals with a marble statuette of unknown provenance, according to the Inventory, kept in a storeroom of the National Athens Museum under Nr. 3195. It represents a young man in a frontal position leaning on the right leg (fig. 1). He wears eastern clothing: a tunic with long sleeves and leggings with buttons. In the middle the garment opens sharply revealing the abdomen and genitals. On the head he would have worn a Phrygian cap with wings. The ends of the wings are preserved on the shoulders and a third one on the back (fig. 4). He has both arms crossed behind his back with the palms facing out and the fists closed (fig. 4). From the remnants of the metal elements inside each palm it can be concluded that the hands were tied together with real manacles connected with a chain.
The figure depicts Attis in an open tunic, a type created in Rome and later spread throughout the Roman Empire. The research focuses on the one hand on the search of the provenance of the statuette and on the other
on the interpretative correlations that have been formulated for the type of captive Attis.
Κ. Κοπανιάς - Γ. Δουλφής (επιμ.), ΤΕΧΝΗΣ ΕΜΠΕΙΡΙΑ. Τιμητικός τόμος για την καθηγήτρια Γεωργία Κοκκορού-Αλευρά, Αθήνα, 2020
The marble fragment Inv. BE 132 of the Archaeological Museum of Thebes comes from Thebes itself. ... more The marble fragment Inv. BE 132 of the Archaeological Museum of Thebes comes from Thebes itself. It is a fragment from the lower part of a grave stele together with its left side, preserving part of the left shin of a male figure wearing a long himation (figs 1-3). Comparisons with parallels especially from Athens, where the theme first appeared before spreading to Ionia and the Cyclades, permit a valid reconstruction of the male figure in himation (fig. 7). This is the first known one-figure stele in Boeotia representing a man in a long himation, since on the slightly earlier Thespian stele of Gathon and Aristokrates (fig. 4) the man in a long himation is depicted in the background. The fragment under discussion should be dated to the end of the 6th or the very beginnings of the 5th century BC. Its high quality suggests an Athenian artist.
Ά. Δεληβορριάς - Ε. Βικέλα - Ά. Ζαρκάδας - Ν. Καλτσάς - Ι. Τριάντη (επιμ.), ΣΠΟΝΔΗ. Αφιέρωμα στη μνήμη του Γιώργου Δεσπίνη, Α΄ Τόμος (Μουσείο Μπενάκη 12ο Παράρτημα), Αθήνα, 2020
The present contribution deals with a marble fragment catalogued in the Inventory of the Sculptur... more The present contribution deals with a marble fragment catalogued in the Inventory of the Sculpture Collection of the National Archaeological Museum under Nr. 3181. It represents three relief divine figures: two males and a female (Figs 1-3). The young male figure is identified with certainty as Hermes, while the mature one as Zeus or Poseidon. The female figure at the centre is in all probability Hestia. The fragment with the three figures constitutes a quadrant of a cylindrical altar (Fig. 4), whose relief representation would include twelve (Dr. 4). Subsequently the iconographic subject of the altar would be the Dodecatheon, with the twelve gods depicted in pairs. Stylistic criteria date the altar, to which the fragment NAM Inv. Nr. 3181 belonged, to the last twenty years of the 4th century B.C. Its provenance from Attica can be considered safe.
The relief fragment Athens, NM Inv. 2636 was confiscated in 1904 in Piraeus. The preserved segmen... more The relief fragment Athens, NM Inv. 2636 was confiscated in 1904 in Piraeus. The preserved segment of the relief is dominated by the figure of a warrior with a shield, who moves left towards a cult image of Apollo set upon a base and holding a bow in his left hand. At the right-hand edge of the segment the right foot is preserved of another figure, who the warrior turns his head back to. The warrior is recognized as being Neoptolemos, fleeing from his persecutors to the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. Technical details establish securely that the fragment comes from a relief frieze that was situated inside a sanctuary of Apollo Pythios in Athens. It is known that in Athens Apollo Pythios was also worshipped as Apollo Patroos, whose temple was erected on the Agora. Given the tradition that the gilding of the altar of Apollo Patroos was financed by the very wealthy Athenian Neoptolemos, son of Antikles, we propose the hypothesis that the same man may also have borne the cost of producing the statue, which would account for the choice of the Neoptolemos myth for the relief decoration of the statue base. The latter conjecture necessarily leads to the probable provenance of the confiscated fragment being the Athens Agora.
Das Relieffragment Athen, Nationalmuseum Inv. 2636 ist im Jahre 1904 im Piräus beschlagnahmt worden. Den erhaltenen Abschnitt der Darstellung beherrscht die Gestalt eines Kriegers mit Schild, der sich nach links auf ein Kultbild des Apollon zubewegt, das auf einer Basis steht und einen Bogen in der linken Hand hält. Am rechten Rand ist der rechte Fuß einer weiteren Gestalt erhalten, zu der der Krieger seinen Kopf zurückwendet. In der Kriegergestalt wird Neoptolemos erkannt, der vor seinen Verfolgern ins Heiligtum des Apollon in Delphi flieht. Technische Details führen zu dem gesicherten Ergebnis, dass das Fragment von einem Relieffries stammt, der sich im Inneren eines Heiligtums des Apollon Pythios in Athen befunden hat. Bekanntlich wurde Apollon Pythios in Athen auch als Apollon Patroos verehrt, dessen Tempel auf der Agora errichtet wurde. Anhand der Überlieferung, die Vergoldung des Altars des Apollon Patroos sei von dem sehr reichen Athener Neoptolemos, Sohn des Antikles, finanziert worden, wird die Hypothese aufge- stellt, dass derselbe Mann auch die Kosten für die Herstellung der Statue übernommen haben könnte, wodurch sich die Wahl des Neoptolemosmythos für den Reliefschmuck der Statuenbasis erklären würde. Die letztgenannte Annahme führt nahezu zwangsläufig zur wahrscheinlichen Herkunft des beschlagnahmten Fragments von der Athener Agora.
H.-R. Goette – Ι. Λεβέντη (επιμ.), ΑΡΙΣΤΕΙΑ. Μελέτες προς τιμήν της Όλγας Παλαγγιά (Internationale Archäologie - Studia Honoraria 38). EXCELLENCE. Studies in Honour of Olga Palagia, Rahden/Westf., 2019
The relief fragment of Pentelic marble inv. no. 11551 published in this volume (Figs 1–2) is kept... more The relief fragment of Pentelic marble inv. no. 11551 published in this volume (Figs 1–2) is kept in a storeroom of the National Archaeological Museum. It constitutes part of an aegis, since it preserves on its exterior feather-like scales, and on the interior parts of two coiled snakes on a relief fringe. Its provenance, according to the entry book of the Sculpture Collection, is unknown. The fact that the aegis is visible from both sides leads to the conclusion that it must have been represented as hanging. Only the so-called "Athena Promachos" statue type has the aegis hanging down from the left arm, as seen in the unique complete example of this type, the marble statue of Athena Pallas from the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum (Fig. 3). Six marble fragments kept in the storerooms of the Museums of Ancient Agora (S 1064) (Fig. 4) and the Acropolis (Acr. 7181, 8750, 3189, 7782+2899) (Figs 5–7) have already been associated with a marble statue of Athena of the Herculaneum type, once erected on the Acropolis of Athens. The fragment NAM 11551 must also belong to this statue, identified as the lower left part of the goddess’s aegis (Fig. 8).
M. Lagogianni-Georgakarakos (ed.), The Countless Aspects of BEAUTY in Ancient Art (Exhibition Catalogue, Athens, National Archaeological Museum), Athens , 2018
N. Kaltsas – E. Vlachogianni – P. Bouyia (eds), The Antikythera Shipwreck: The Ship, the Treasures, the Mechanism (Exhibition Catalogue, National Archaeological Museum, April 2012 – April 2013), Athens, Apr 2012
TWO ROMAN IMPERIAL "PALMETTE" FUNERARY STELAI
The two funerary “palmette” stelai (nos. 17, 16) pu... more TWO ROMAN IMPERIAL "PALMETTE" FUNERARY STELAI The two funerary “palmette” stelai (nos. 17, 16) published here are from ancient Tanagra. They are housed in the recently-renovated Museum of Schematari in the village of this name. Stele no. 17 is of a gray Boeotian “marble”. It is surmounted by a wide palmette crowning element with relief decoration (a nine-petaled palmette at the center, and three-petaled half-palmettes at the corners). On the front of the body of the stele there is a carved petal-shaped niche, supported on its sides by pilasters with capitals (a part of the left side is preserved). Within the niche is a relief depiction of a frontal female head, broken off at the base of the neck. On the basis of stylistic criteria, the scene in the niche may be dated to the late Tra- janic-early Hadrianic period. The similar finishing of stele and crowing element argues in favour of their hav- ing been done at the same time. However, a series of individual features (part of the stem on the left side (facing the monument) of the crowning element, saddle-shaped cross-section of the crowning element, the stele’s construction material) raise the serious possibility that this stele is the product of a reworked earlier Hellenistic palmette stele from which traces of its existing decoration have been completely erased, and the present result is an original work of the Roman Imperial age. Stele no. 16 is of a white, probably Pentelic marble, and it too has a palmette crowning element. On its main body inside the vaulted niche, whose apse is supported on either side by pillars with capitals, a scene with three frontal figures (their faces deliberately cut off) has been carved. The stele is the product of a re- worked earlier palmette funerary stele of the Hellenistic age, from whose crowning element only a part of the palmette remained. The niche was created during the Roman Imperial age; the three relief figures were carved inside it, as were the inscriptions on the pediment of its crowning element, the vaulted epistyle of its niche, and its plinth. There is a discussion of problems concerning: a) the sex of the two adult figures in the scene; b) the inscriptions, which do not correspond to the figures they accompany; c) the profession of the right- hand figure in light of the attribute he holds, and d) the stele’s date.
Πρακτικά του 2ου Αρχαιολογικού Έργου Θεσσαλίας και Στερεάς Ελλάδας (ΑΕΘΣΕ), Βόλος, 16–19.03.2006, Βόλος. Proceedings of the 2nd Archaeological Meeting of Thessaly and Central Greece, Volos, 16–19.03.2006, Volos, 2009
During the Hellenistic period, Boeotia was one of the most important anthemion-stele producing ce... more During the Hellenistic period, Boeotia was one of the most important anthemion-stele producing centers in Greece. Due to the antiluxury decree of Demetrios of Phaleron (317-307 B.C.) in Athens, many Athenian artists immigrated to nearby Boeotia, where they continued the attic anthemion-stele tradition.
In the Middle Hellenistic period, while workshops in central, southern (Thebes, Thespiae) and east Boeotia (Tanagra) continued the traditional baroque style, artisans of Chaironeia in northwestern Boeotia differed. Once students of the Thespian baroque masters, the Chaironean craftsmen created a naïv version of the baroque tradition using local, thick grained gray-blue marble. This new naïv style eventually spread throughout Phocis and Doris.
Π. Αδάμ Βελένη – Κ. Τζαναβάρη (επιμ.), ΔΙΝΗΕΣΣΑ. Τιμητικός τόμος για την Κατερίνα Ρωμιοπούλου, Θεσσαλονίκη. P. Adam-Veleni – K. Tzanavari (eds), DINIESSA. Honorary Volume for Katerina Rhomiopoulou, Thessaloniki, Dec 2012
In the article two grave stelai of roman period with manual workers’ representations, housed in t... more In the article two grave stelai of roman period with manual workers’ representations, housed in the National Archaeological Museum, are published. Both of them are of unknown provenance. The first one (inv. no. 6956), possibly of naiskos type with pilasters and pediment, is of dark grey marble. On the shaft, a man with a beard is depicted standing to face. He is wearing a short chiton with sleeves and a chlamys fastened on his right shoulder. In his lowered right hand, he is holding a knife with a curved blade. By his right side, a slender-looking vine is rising. Based on the type of knife the man can be identified with a vine-grower. He is depicted during his repose, as it was usual for the Greek grave stelai with relative representations. Based on iconographical and stylistic criteria, the gravestone should be dated in the second half of the 2nd century A.D. The second stele (inv. no. 15496), from which only its left half is preserved, is of naiskos type with pilasters, epistyle and pediment and is made of white, thick-grained marble. On the shaft, a shoemaker is depicted sitting on a small bench to the right inside his workshop, as indicated by the tools i.e. an awl and a chisel hanging on the wall in the background of the relief. Here, what is most interesting is the tool with the large handle and the flat surface which the man is holding in his right hand. We don’t know what it was like, since there are no depictions of it either in vase-painting or in sculpture. However, its use is described by Plato and its name is cited in the Latin grammarian Festus. It is likely that shoemakers used it to stretch the leather on the shoe-last, so that every wrinkle could be eliminated and their work be facilitated. The stele is close to the Italian gravestones with relative thematic material. It should be dated around the middle of the 3rd century A.D.
Το Μουσείον 6 (2006–2008). To Mouseion 6 (2006–2008), 2011
The marble statuette NM 3913 of unknown provenance is the well known sea monster Skylla, as she i... more The marble statuette NM 3913 of unknown provenance is the well known sea monster Skylla, as she is represented in ancient Greek art from the late 5th century BC to the Roman Imperial period. The statuette is a mixed creature part-woman and part-animal. Normally she appears naked with windblown hair and one hand raised looking out for quarry. From the lower part of her body are developed two or three foreparts of dogs under a skirt of fins marking the join between the human part and the sea snake. The statuette NM 3913 is 0,30 m. in height and is 1/5 smaller than a life-size human. It is made of white, perhaps pentelic marble and even with both of her arms missing, it is likely that she was holding an oar or stone in her left hand. Also, her back side is roughly finished. There are recognizable stylistic similarities with 4th century BC works but its rendering is stiff and "dry" without the energy and pathos of post Classical examples. It should be dated to the end of the 2nd or the beginning of the 1st century BC, and could be seen within the stylistic tradition of that era. Although the decorative role of Skylla in ancient art is known, it is more likely that the statuette comes from a central acroterion of a funeral stele.
The ten rectangular marble slabs originating from Athens and Eleusis form a distinct and self-con... more The ten rectangular marble slabs originating from Athens and Eleusis form a distinct and self-contained group of monuments which it has not been possible to identify thus far. This study undertakes a systematic investigation based on a detailed cataloguing, and proposes an interpretation and dating of the marble slabs. The relief depictions, particularly of oil presses, and the chiselling of a margin indicate that the slabs served as covers for θησαυροί in which sums of money were kept that were undoubtedly connected with the production and sale of olive oil. The slabs can be dated to Late Hellenism and the early Imperial era; they were evidently linked to the wide-scale adoption of elements of Roman economic management which may be observed in various spheres at this time.
Die zehn rechteckigen Marmorplatten, die aus Athen und Eleusis stammen, bilden eine eigene geschlossene Denkmälergruppe und konnten bis heute nicht gedeutet werden. Anhand einer systematischen Untersuchung auf der Basis einer detaillierten Katalogisierung legt diese Studie eine Deutung und Datierung der Marmorplatten vor. Indizien wie die Reliefdarstellungen, vor allem von Ölpressen, und Abarbeitungen weisen darauf hin, dass es sich um Abdeckplatten von θησαυροί handelt, in denen Geldbeträge verwahrt wurden, die zweifellos mit der Produktion und dem Vertrieb von Olivenöl verbunden waren. Die Platten können in den Späthellenismus und die frühe Kaiserzeit datiert werden; sie standen offenbar mit der breiten Übernahme von Elementen der römischen Wirtschaftsverwaltung in Zusammenhang, die in dieser Zeit in verschiedenen Bereichen erkennbar wird.
M.Ι. Στεφανάκης - Μ. Γιαννοπούλου - Μ. Αχιολά (επιμ.), ΠΟΛΥΤΡΟΠΟΣ. Τιμητικός τόμος για τον καθηγητή Νικόλαο Χρ. Σταμπολίδη, Ρέθυμνο 2023. POLYTROPOS. Honorary Volume for the Professor Nikolaos Chr. Stampolidis, Rethymno, 2023
The present contribution deals with a marble statuette of unknown provenance, according to the In... more The present contribution deals with a marble statuette of unknown provenance, according to the Inventory, kept in a storeroom of the National Athens Museum under Nr. 3195. It represents a young man in a frontal position leaning on the right leg (fig. 1). He wears eastern clothing: a tunic with long sleeves and leggings with buttons. In the middle the garment opens sharply revealing the abdomen and genitals. On the head he would have worn a Phrygian cap with wings. The ends of the wings are preserved on the shoulders and a third one on the back (fig. 4). He has both arms crossed behind his back with the palms facing out and the fists closed (fig. 4). From the remnants of the metal elements inside each palm it can be concluded that the hands were tied together with real manacles connected with a chain.
The figure depicts Attis in an open tunic, a type created in Rome and later spread throughout the Roman Empire. The research focuses on the one hand on the search of the provenance of the statuette and on the other
on the interpretative correlations that have been formulated for the type of captive Attis.
Κ. Κοπανιάς - Γ. Δουλφής (επιμ.), ΤΕΧΝΗΣ ΕΜΠΕΙΡΙΑ. Τιμητικός τόμος για την καθηγήτρια Γεωργία Κοκκορού-Αλευρά, Αθήνα, 2020
The marble fragment Inv. BE 132 of the Archaeological Museum of Thebes comes from Thebes itself. ... more The marble fragment Inv. BE 132 of the Archaeological Museum of Thebes comes from Thebes itself. It is a fragment from the lower part of a grave stele together with its left side, preserving part of the left shin of a male figure wearing a long himation (figs 1-3). Comparisons with parallels especially from Athens, where the theme first appeared before spreading to Ionia and the Cyclades, permit a valid reconstruction of the male figure in himation (fig. 7). This is the first known one-figure stele in Boeotia representing a man in a long himation, since on the slightly earlier Thespian stele of Gathon and Aristokrates (fig. 4) the man in a long himation is depicted in the background. The fragment under discussion should be dated to the end of the 6th or the very beginnings of the 5th century BC. Its high quality suggests an Athenian artist.
Ά. Δεληβορριάς - Ε. Βικέλα - Ά. Ζαρκάδας - Ν. Καλτσάς - Ι. Τριάντη (επιμ.), ΣΠΟΝΔΗ. Αφιέρωμα στη μνήμη του Γιώργου Δεσπίνη, Α΄ Τόμος (Μουσείο Μπενάκη 12ο Παράρτημα), Αθήνα, 2020
The present contribution deals with a marble fragment catalogued in the Inventory of the Sculptur... more The present contribution deals with a marble fragment catalogued in the Inventory of the Sculpture Collection of the National Archaeological Museum under Nr. 3181. It represents three relief divine figures: two males and a female (Figs 1-3). The young male figure is identified with certainty as Hermes, while the mature one as Zeus or Poseidon. The female figure at the centre is in all probability Hestia. The fragment with the three figures constitutes a quadrant of a cylindrical altar (Fig. 4), whose relief representation would include twelve (Dr. 4). Subsequently the iconographic subject of the altar would be the Dodecatheon, with the twelve gods depicted in pairs. Stylistic criteria date the altar, to which the fragment NAM Inv. Nr. 3181 belonged, to the last twenty years of the 4th century B.C. Its provenance from Attica can be considered safe.
The relief fragment Athens, NM Inv. 2636 was confiscated in 1904 in Piraeus. The preserved segmen... more The relief fragment Athens, NM Inv. 2636 was confiscated in 1904 in Piraeus. The preserved segment of the relief is dominated by the figure of a warrior with a shield, who moves left towards a cult image of Apollo set upon a base and holding a bow in his left hand. At the right-hand edge of the segment the right foot is preserved of another figure, who the warrior turns his head back to. The warrior is recognized as being Neoptolemos, fleeing from his persecutors to the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. Technical details establish securely that the fragment comes from a relief frieze that was situated inside a sanctuary of Apollo Pythios in Athens. It is known that in Athens Apollo Pythios was also worshipped as Apollo Patroos, whose temple was erected on the Agora. Given the tradition that the gilding of the altar of Apollo Patroos was financed by the very wealthy Athenian Neoptolemos, son of Antikles, we propose the hypothesis that the same man may also have borne the cost of producing the statue, which would account for the choice of the Neoptolemos myth for the relief decoration of the statue base. The latter conjecture necessarily leads to the probable provenance of the confiscated fragment being the Athens Agora.
Das Relieffragment Athen, Nationalmuseum Inv. 2636 ist im Jahre 1904 im Piräus beschlagnahmt worden. Den erhaltenen Abschnitt der Darstellung beherrscht die Gestalt eines Kriegers mit Schild, der sich nach links auf ein Kultbild des Apollon zubewegt, das auf einer Basis steht und einen Bogen in der linken Hand hält. Am rechten Rand ist der rechte Fuß einer weiteren Gestalt erhalten, zu der der Krieger seinen Kopf zurückwendet. In der Kriegergestalt wird Neoptolemos erkannt, der vor seinen Verfolgern ins Heiligtum des Apollon in Delphi flieht. Technische Details führen zu dem gesicherten Ergebnis, dass das Fragment von einem Relieffries stammt, der sich im Inneren eines Heiligtums des Apollon Pythios in Athen befunden hat. Bekanntlich wurde Apollon Pythios in Athen auch als Apollon Patroos verehrt, dessen Tempel auf der Agora errichtet wurde. Anhand der Überlieferung, die Vergoldung des Altars des Apollon Patroos sei von dem sehr reichen Athener Neoptolemos, Sohn des Antikles, finanziert worden, wird die Hypothese aufge- stellt, dass derselbe Mann auch die Kosten für die Herstellung der Statue übernommen haben könnte, wodurch sich die Wahl des Neoptolemosmythos für den Reliefschmuck der Statuenbasis erklären würde. Die letztgenannte Annahme führt nahezu zwangsläufig zur wahrscheinlichen Herkunft des beschlagnahmten Fragments von der Athener Agora.
H.-R. Goette – Ι. Λεβέντη (επιμ.), ΑΡΙΣΤΕΙΑ. Μελέτες προς τιμήν της Όλγας Παλαγγιά (Internationale Archäologie - Studia Honoraria 38). EXCELLENCE. Studies in Honour of Olga Palagia, Rahden/Westf., 2019
The relief fragment of Pentelic marble inv. no. 11551 published in this volume (Figs 1–2) is kept... more The relief fragment of Pentelic marble inv. no. 11551 published in this volume (Figs 1–2) is kept in a storeroom of the National Archaeological Museum. It constitutes part of an aegis, since it preserves on its exterior feather-like scales, and on the interior parts of two coiled snakes on a relief fringe. Its provenance, according to the entry book of the Sculpture Collection, is unknown. The fact that the aegis is visible from both sides leads to the conclusion that it must have been represented as hanging. Only the so-called "Athena Promachos" statue type has the aegis hanging down from the left arm, as seen in the unique complete example of this type, the marble statue of Athena Pallas from the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum (Fig. 3). Six marble fragments kept in the storerooms of the Museums of Ancient Agora (S 1064) (Fig. 4) and the Acropolis (Acr. 7181, 8750, 3189, 7782+2899) (Figs 5–7) have already been associated with a marble statue of Athena of the Herculaneum type, once erected on the Acropolis of Athens. The fragment NAM 11551 must also belong to this statue, identified as the lower left part of the goddess’s aegis (Fig. 8).
M. Lagogianni-Georgakarakos (ed.), The Countless Aspects of BEAUTY in Ancient Art (Exhibition Catalogue, Athens, National Archaeological Museum), Athens , 2018
N. Kaltsas – E. Vlachogianni – P. Bouyia (eds), The Antikythera Shipwreck: The Ship, the Treasures, the Mechanism (Exhibition Catalogue, National Archaeological Museum, April 2012 – April 2013), Athens, Apr 2012
TWO ROMAN IMPERIAL "PALMETTE" FUNERARY STELAI
The two funerary “palmette” stelai (nos. 17, 16) pu... more TWO ROMAN IMPERIAL "PALMETTE" FUNERARY STELAI The two funerary “palmette” stelai (nos. 17, 16) published here are from ancient Tanagra. They are housed in the recently-renovated Museum of Schematari in the village of this name. Stele no. 17 is of a gray Boeotian “marble”. It is surmounted by a wide palmette crowning element with relief decoration (a nine-petaled palmette at the center, and three-petaled half-palmettes at the corners). On the front of the body of the stele there is a carved petal-shaped niche, supported on its sides by pilasters with capitals (a part of the left side is preserved). Within the niche is a relief depiction of a frontal female head, broken off at the base of the neck. On the basis of stylistic criteria, the scene in the niche may be dated to the late Tra- janic-early Hadrianic period. The similar finishing of stele and crowing element argues in favour of their hav- ing been done at the same time. However, a series of individual features (part of the stem on the left side (facing the monument) of the crowning element, saddle-shaped cross-section of the crowning element, the stele’s construction material) raise the serious possibility that this stele is the product of a reworked earlier Hellenistic palmette stele from which traces of its existing decoration have been completely erased, and the present result is an original work of the Roman Imperial age. Stele no. 16 is of a white, probably Pentelic marble, and it too has a palmette crowning element. On its main body inside the vaulted niche, whose apse is supported on either side by pillars with capitals, a scene with three frontal figures (their faces deliberately cut off) has been carved. The stele is the product of a re- worked earlier palmette funerary stele of the Hellenistic age, from whose crowning element only a part of the palmette remained. The niche was created during the Roman Imperial age; the three relief figures were carved inside it, as were the inscriptions on the pediment of its crowning element, the vaulted epistyle of its niche, and its plinth. There is a discussion of problems concerning: a) the sex of the two adult figures in the scene; b) the inscriptions, which do not correspond to the figures they accompany; c) the profession of the right- hand figure in light of the attribute he holds, and d) the stele’s date.
Πρακτικά του 2ου Αρχαιολογικού Έργου Θεσσαλίας και Στερεάς Ελλάδας (ΑΕΘΣΕ), Βόλος, 16–19.03.2006, Βόλος. Proceedings of the 2nd Archaeological Meeting of Thessaly and Central Greece, Volos, 16–19.03.2006, Volos, 2009
During the Hellenistic period, Boeotia was one of the most important anthemion-stele producing ce... more During the Hellenistic period, Boeotia was one of the most important anthemion-stele producing centers in Greece. Due to the antiluxury decree of Demetrios of Phaleron (317-307 B.C.) in Athens, many Athenian artists immigrated to nearby Boeotia, where they continued the attic anthemion-stele tradition.
In the Middle Hellenistic period, while workshops in central, southern (Thebes, Thespiae) and east Boeotia (Tanagra) continued the traditional baroque style, artisans of Chaironeia in northwestern Boeotia differed. Once students of the Thespian baroque masters, the Chaironean craftsmen created a naïv version of the baroque tradition using local, thick grained gray-blue marble. This new naïv style eventually spread throughout Phocis and Doris.
Π. Αδάμ Βελένη – Κ. Τζαναβάρη (επιμ.), ΔΙΝΗΕΣΣΑ. Τιμητικός τόμος για την Κατερίνα Ρωμιοπούλου, Θεσσαλονίκη. P. Adam-Veleni – K. Tzanavari (eds), DINIESSA. Honorary Volume for Katerina Rhomiopoulou, Thessaloniki, Dec 2012
In the article two grave stelai of roman period with manual workers’ representations, housed in t... more In the article two grave stelai of roman period with manual workers’ representations, housed in the National Archaeological Museum, are published. Both of them are of unknown provenance. The first one (inv. no. 6956), possibly of naiskos type with pilasters and pediment, is of dark grey marble. On the shaft, a man with a beard is depicted standing to face. He is wearing a short chiton with sleeves and a chlamys fastened on his right shoulder. In his lowered right hand, he is holding a knife with a curved blade. By his right side, a slender-looking vine is rising. Based on the type of knife the man can be identified with a vine-grower. He is depicted during his repose, as it was usual for the Greek grave stelai with relative representations. Based on iconographical and stylistic criteria, the gravestone should be dated in the second half of the 2nd century A.D. The second stele (inv. no. 15496), from which only its left half is preserved, is of naiskos type with pilasters, epistyle and pediment and is made of white, thick-grained marble. On the shaft, a shoemaker is depicted sitting on a small bench to the right inside his workshop, as indicated by the tools i.e. an awl and a chisel hanging on the wall in the background of the relief. Here, what is most interesting is the tool with the large handle and the flat surface which the man is holding in his right hand. We don’t know what it was like, since there are no depictions of it either in vase-painting or in sculpture. However, its use is described by Plato and its name is cited in the Latin grammarian Festus. It is likely that shoemakers used it to stretch the leather on the shoe-last, so that every wrinkle could be eliminated and their work be facilitated. The stele is close to the Italian gravestones with relative thematic material. It should be dated around the middle of the 3rd century A.D.
Το Μουσείον 6 (2006–2008). To Mouseion 6 (2006–2008), 2011
The marble statuette NM 3913 of unknown provenance is the well known sea monster Skylla, as she i... more The marble statuette NM 3913 of unknown provenance is the well known sea monster Skylla, as she is represented in ancient Greek art from the late 5th century BC to the Roman Imperial period. The statuette is a mixed creature part-woman and part-animal. Normally she appears naked with windblown hair and one hand raised looking out for quarry. From the lower part of her body are developed two or three foreparts of dogs under a skirt of fins marking the join between the human part and the sea snake. The statuette NM 3913 is 0,30 m. in height and is 1/5 smaller than a life-size human. It is made of white, perhaps pentelic marble and even with both of her arms missing, it is likely that she was holding an oar or stone in her left hand. Also, her back side is roughly finished. There are recognizable stylistic similarities with 4th century BC works but its rendering is stiff and "dry" without the energy and pathos of post Classical examples. It should be dated to the end of the 2nd or the beginning of the 1st century BC, and could be seen within the stylistic tradition of that era. Although the decorative role of Skylla in ancient art is known, it is more likely that the statuette comes from a central acroterion of a funeral stele.
The ten rectangular marble slabs originating from Athens and Eleusis form a distinct and self-con... more The ten rectangular marble slabs originating from Athens and Eleusis form a distinct and self-contained group of monuments which it has not been possible to identify thus far. This study undertakes a systematic investigation based on a detailed cataloguing, and proposes an interpretation and dating of the marble slabs. The relief depictions, particularly of oil presses, and the chiselling of a margin indicate that the slabs served as covers for θησαυροί in which sums of money were kept that were undoubtedly connected with the production and sale of olive oil. The slabs can be dated to Late Hellenism and the early Imperial era; they were evidently linked to the wide-scale adoption of elements of Roman economic management which may be observed in various spheres at this time.
Die zehn rechteckigen Marmorplatten, die aus Athen und Eleusis stammen, bilden eine eigene geschlossene Denkmälergruppe und konnten bis heute nicht gedeutet werden. Anhand einer systematischen Untersuchung auf der Basis einer detaillierten Katalogisierung legt diese Studie eine Deutung und Datierung der Marmorplatten vor. Indizien wie die Reliefdarstellungen, vor allem von Ölpressen, und Abarbeitungen weisen darauf hin, dass es sich um Abdeckplatten von θησαυροί handelt, in denen Geldbeträge verwahrt wurden, die zweifellos mit der Produktion und dem Vertrieb von Olivenöl verbunden waren. Die Platten können in den Späthellenismus und die frühe Kaiserzeit datiert werden; sie standen offenbar mit der breiten Übernahme von Elementen der römischen Wirtschaftsverwaltung in Zusammenhang, die in dieser Zeit in verschiedenen Bereichen erkennbar wird.
Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 129, 2014
The relief fragment in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Inv. 12059 of unknown provenan... more The relief fragment in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Inv. 12059 of unknown provenance comes from the left corner slab of the tympanon of a small pediment and carries a relief depicting a leftwards reclining Papposilenus, who can be identified by the close-fitting woolen garment. The relief together with the projecting ledge on which the Silenus lies is carved from one block. The relief fragment Inv. 4760 in the Acropolis Museum, which shows the figure of a Papposilenus reclining to the right wearing an identical woolen garment, can be attributed to the right corner of the same pediment on the grounds of measurements, technical features and style. Papposilenus supports himself with his right arm on a wineskin, whose neck he squeezes in such a way that the wine can pour into the drinking horn. Both relief fragments come from the pediment of a small building, very probably a temple-shaped choregic monument. The naiskos, which can be dated to the 2nd half of the 4th century BC on account of the relief style, stood (very probably) on the Street of the Tripods east of the entrance to the sanctuary of Dionysos.
Das Relieffragment im Athener Archäologischen Nationalmuseum Inv. 12059 unbekannter Herkunft stammt von der linken Eckplatte des Tympanons eines kleinen Giebels und trägt die Reliefdarstellung eines nach links gelagerten Papposilens, der durch das eng anliegen- de wollene Trikot identifiziert werden kann. Das Relief ist zusammen mit der vortretenden Standleiste, auf dem der Silen liegt, aus demselben Block gearbeitet. Das Relieffragment Inv. 4760 im Akropolis-Museum, das die Figur eines nach rechts gelagerten Papposilens mit einem identischen Wolltrikot zeigt, ist auf der Grundlage der Maße, der technischen Merkmale und des Stils der gegenüberliegenden rechten Ecke desselben Giebels zuzuweisen. Mit dem rechten Arm stützt der Papposilen sich auf einen Weinschlauch, dessen Hals er auf eine Weise zusammendrückt, dass sich der Wein in das Trinkhorn ergießen kann. Die beiden Relieffragmente stammen vom Giebel eines kleinen Gebäudes, sehr wahrscheinlich eines tempelförmigen choregischen Monuments. Der Naiskos, der aufgrund des Reliefstils in die 2. Hälfte des 4. Jhs. v. Chr. datiert werden kann, stand (sehr wahrscheinlich) an der Tripodenstraße östlich vom Eingang zum Dionysosheiligtum.
Β. Αραβαντινός – Ε. Κουντούρη (επιμ.), 100 χρόνια Αρχαιολογικού Έργου στη Θήβα. Οι πρωτεργάτες των ερευνών και οι συνεχιστές τους, Θήβα, 15–17 Νοεμβρίου 2002, Αθήνα. 100 Years of Archaeological Research at Thebes. The Pioneers of the Researches and their Continuers Thebes 15-17 November 2002, Athens, 2014
The finial from Thebes undoubtedly crowned an imposing grave stele. It is of lyre design, consist... more The finial from Thebes undoubtedly crowned an imposing grave stele. It is of lyre design, consisting of two double volutes, decorated by painted patterns on the front face. A specialized photographic technique (using oblique light) allowed the restoration of its painted decoration: a principal design of double volutes surmounted by a fifteen-petalled palmette and a secondary pair of volutes on a painted band separating the finial from the shaft surmounted by a thirteen-petalled palmette. Vertical volutes on the edges featuring five-petalled palmettes in the interstices enrich the whole decoration system. On the basis of its newer elements, such as the large number of palmette petals and the great distance between the tips of the lower pair of volutes itself, the finial should be dated to the beginning of the 5th c. BC.
Πρακτικά του 3ου Αρχαιολογικού Έργου Θεσσαλίας και Στερεάς Ελλάδας (ΑΕΘΣΕ), Βόλος, 12.3 – 15.3.2009, Βόλος. Proceedings of the 3rd Archaeological Meeting of Thessaly and Central Greece, Volos, 12 – 15.03.2009, Volos, 2012
From 1994 to 1998, the 9th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities undertook a rescue e... more From 1994 to 1998, the 9th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities undertook a rescue excavation of the ancient cemetery at Akraiphia alongside the Athens-Lamia National Road. Excavators unearthed 698 burials (499 inhumations and 199 cremations) and established that the cemetery was used continuously from the late Geometric until the Late Roman period.
15 of the 134 burials dated from post Classical to Roman times contained coins (11,2%); 26 of the total 29 bronze coins recovered were Ancient Greek and the remaining 3 were of Roman date. The most common Ancient Greek coins belong to the Boiotian mint with 18 coins (69%), while the Lokrian examples are the second most prominent with 3 coins (11,5%). A single coin (3,9%) is represented from each of the following types: Macedonia (Philipp V), Krannon (Thessalian Histiaiotis), Histiaia (Euboia), Athens and Phlious. The 3 Greek Imperial coins were issued respectively as follows: in Corinth during the reign of Antoninus Pius, in Laconian Las of the reign of Caesar Geta and in Kleonai in the Argolid during the reign of Plautilla.
The «death-coin» appeared in burials from the Akraiphia cemetery dating from the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 3rd century BC making them contemporaneous with the cemeteries at Haliartos, Halai (Lokris), and Oropos (West Attica). With the exception of a single hoard of 3 coins (Grave 10) the rule was a single death-coin in each grave. The low frequency of its appearance is not surprising, since archaeological evidence has shown that the rite was not widespread in Classical and Hellenistic times and certainly did not appear consistently in the Greek world, being restricted to specific groups of people. The presence of coins in graves, usually connected with the belief that the dead had to pay for their journey to the underworld –»Charon’s obol»–, seems to be at last a very simple interpretation.
Στ. Δρούγου κ.ά. (επιμ.), ΚΕΡΜΑΤΙΑ ΦΙΛΙΑΣ. Τιμητικός τόμος για τον Ι. Τουράτσογλου, Αθήνα. St. Drougou et al. (eds), KERMATIA PHILIAS. Honorary Volume for I. Touratsoglou, Athens, 2009
Within 2000-2001, during a rescue excavation in Thebes for the needs of the construction of the u... more Within 2000-2001, during a rescue excavation in Thebes for the needs of the construction of the underground passage for the Railway Hellenic Organisation, a great part of the northeastern cemetery of ancient Thebes was revealed along the modern road from Thebes to Mouriki. The cemetery extended along the ancient road from Thebes to the port Anthedon (today Loukisia) in the Euboian Gulf. It remained in use from the Late Geometric to the Roman Imperial periods. Inside the tiled-roof grave no. 263 and near the feet of the deceased, an intact, unpainted savings bank with a narrow slot in the neck came to light. It included a coin hoard of 8 (eight) bronze coins whose condition ranges from poor to mediocre. The coins are identified as following: 1 of the Locrian League, 4 of the Phocian and 3 of the Boiotian League. The coins, especially the Locrian and the Phocian ones, dating in the 4th-3nd century B.C., are extremely worn and they should be dated one century prior to the latest one, that of the Boiotian League, issued in the first half of the 2nd century B.C. Nevertheless the older coins were still in circulation by that time. On the grounds of the fairly worn condition of the latest coin it can be deduced that 146 B.C. is the terminus post quem of the burial itself, while the terminus ante quem remains open. The latter at the same time indicates the date of the coin bank itself. Both the coin bank and the coin hoard acted as offerings to the deceased.
The Chaironeia/2001 coin hoard, exhibited today in the Numismatic Collection of the Chaironeia Ar... more The Chaironeia/2001 coin hoard, exhibited today in the Numismatic Collection of the Chaironeia Archaeological Museum, was found during a rescue excavation of a Roman farmhouse (villa rustica), 500 m. outside of modern Chaironeia. This hoard consists of 10 antoniniani issued either during the joined reign of Valerianus I - Gallienus (AD 253-260) or the sole reign of Gallienus (AD 260-268). The date of the latest coin, issued from 266 to the middle of 267 or to the beginning of AD 268, establishes either the date of hoard’s concealment or the date of farmhouse’s abandonment. The short space between the earliest and the latest coin of the hoard, 10-11 years, the almost good condition of the coins, and their small number suggests that the house’s owner concealed the money lest he suffer some danger, so that he could regain his money safely at a later date. Prompted by this small find an overview of the emergency hoards concealed in mainland Greece during the reign of Gallienus (AD 253-268) has been undertaken, so that conclusions concerning their geographical distribution, the quality, and the quantity of hoards can be deduced. When looking for reasons why a farmer would feel the need to hide his money, one possible explanation comes from the literary evidence. In Historia Augusta, Vita Gallieni 13,8, the Herulians are going through Boeotia and sacking villages and farms. Their course, in combination with the findspots of the emergency hoards and the scattered information collected from the partly preserved Itinerarium Antonini 325/6, of Diocletianus era, and Tabula Peutingeriana map, of the second half of the 4th century AD, helps strengthen the argument that Boeotians had reason to hide their money until it was safe to go back to their homes. Finally, it is likely that the Herulian going through Boeotia is more than possible, since the German intruders eventually fled northwards to Epirus and Macedonia. The Chaironeia/2001 hoard constitutes one of a lost link in a chain of emergency hiding places deposited during the reign of Gallienus. To the unproved indication of Herulian presence in Lebadeia could be added now the more secure proof of Chaironeia, which is based on the heavier numismatic evidence. The fact that the Herulian troops were persecuted by the Roman legions could be a good reason for the absence of well-founded destruction remains throughout Boeotia.
Schatzfund römischer Zeit von Theben (Böotien)
Der in 1975 in Theben aufgefundene Schatzfund, en... more Schatzfund römischer Zeit von Theben (Böotien)
Der in 1975 in Theben aufgefundene Schatzfund, enthält 25 Münzen aus der römischen Kaiserzeit: 24 Sesterze und 1 Dupondius, die sich von Titus (79-81) bis Faustina I (139-141) spannen. Die letzten Münzen des Schatzfundes sind die posthumen Prägungen von Faustina I, die den Zeitpunkt der Deponierung des Schatzfundes auf 144 A.D. oder bald danach festlegen. Das Auffinden eines solchen “Schatzes” in Böotien läßt sich aus dem persönlichen Interesse der Kaiser Hadrian und Antoninus Pius an den böotischen Sachen –inschriftlich bestätigt– erklären. Die Präsenz der einzigen Münze aus zypriotischer Prägestätte, aus Trajans Regierungszeit, kann dadurch erläutert werden, dass der Besitzer des Schatzfundes eine zypriotische Phase in seiner kaiserlichen administrativen Laufbahn aufwies. Die Niederlegung des Schatzfundes könnte vielleicht mit den Wirren von 157 A.D. in der Provinz Achaia in Zusammenhang stehen.
The paper publishes two multiple burials from the cemetery of Akraiphia in Boeotia by combining a... more The paper publishes two multiple burials from the cemetery of Akraiphia in Boeotia by combining archaeological and anthropological analysis. The burials date in the late roman / early-christian era (4th-6th century A.D.) but took place in earlier tombs of the 4th century B.C. which they re-used.
Grave 157 contained the skeletons of at least 10 individuals (7 adults, 3 children, of which 1 baby) . Outside the grave was found the rejected torso of a male statue, which may depict a hoplitodrome and date in the 5th century B.C. The statue was manufactured in Boeotia. Inside the grave was found a small lekythos or oinochoe.
Grave 162 contained the skeletons of at least 7 adult individuals. Inside the grave was found a spoon for unguents. One skeleton bears traces of severe trauma, which, however, was later healed. The individual who suffered this trauma (broken leg and pelvis) could not have survived without support from his social group.
An appendix publishes another multiple burial (grave 34) of an earlier date (1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.) which contained 4 individuals, buried in 2 subsequent phases. The tomb contained 6 vases, among which a lamp, an oinochoe, 2 unguentaria and 2 kantharoid mugs.
A. D. Rizakis – I. P. Touratsoglou (eds), Villae Rusticae. Family and Market-Oriented Farms in Greece under Roman Rule, Proceedings of an International Congress held at Patrai, 23–24 April 2010 (Meletemata 68), Αθήνα, 2013
In 1995, during the construction works of parallel roads alongside the Athens–Lamia National High... more In 1995, during the construction works of parallel roads alongside the Athens–Lamia National Highway (Fig. 2), below the modern village of Akraiphnion (103rd km), the 9th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities unearthed part of a Roman villa rustica with preserved dimensions 18,10×16,10 m., and orientation N.-S. (Figs. 3, 4). At least six quadrilateral rooms came to light. The southern part of the building was covered up by the National Road; due to this fact the research could not de continued towards this direction. The villa, which was founded in the Early Roman period, is situated in the narrow plain stretching below the southern slopes of the acropolis of ancient Acraiphia, ca. 700 m. away from the ancient city. Its location on the east side of the Copaïs basin (formerly a lake) is combined with the exploitation of water in the area. Inside Room III, the single room paved with a treading floor, a stone press with a collection vat were found in situ (Figs. 6, 8). This archaeological evidence proves that during a later phase, i.e. in the Middle Roman period, a wine press functioned there. A crushing stone (orbis) (Figs. 9a,b) from a rotary olive crusher (trapetum), found in the next Room IV, though not in its original place, testifies to an oil press installation either in the same or in another area. Room II was identified as the storage room by the lower part of a dolium found in situ (Fig. 10); it was mended in antiquity with lead repairs. The great number of coins dispersed in the building (Fig. 15) –unusual for a domestic house– leads us to the hypothesis that some kind of trade related to wine production and sale took place in this complex.
A. D. Rizakis – I. P. Touratsoglou (eds), Villae Rusticae. Family and Market-Oriented Farms in Greece under Roman Rule, Proceedings of an International Congress held at Patrai, 23–24 April 2010 (Meletemata 68), Αθήνα, 2013
The Boiotian villae rusticae of Roman times are distributed in four broad regions: in northwester... more The Boiotian villae rusticae of Roman times are distributed in four broad regions: in northwestern Boiotia (Chaironeia), along the northeastern and south-southwestern coasts of the Copaϊs (Akraiphia, Aliartos), in central (Thebes, Thespies) and southeastern Boiotia (Tanagra). They are all, without exception, situated close to astea. They are built near or upon the main roads; some along the banks of rivers or near the shores of lakes. They are small poor residences, built with stone rubble and mud–sometimes with spolia in second use. Installations combined with rustic economy, i.e. wine (Chaironeia, Akraiphia, Thebes, Tanagra) and oil presses (Tanagra), have come to light in some of them, as well as storerooms for the storage of various products in pithoi (dolia). Open air vats and baths are also related to villae, which have not yet been located. Industrial installations of a large scale (ceramic kilns), associated with trade activity, have been discovered in Akraiphia and on the eastern Boiotian coasts close to the South Euboian Gulf (Dilesi, Aulis). The villae founded in Early Roman times still existed during the Middle Roman period. In the Chaironeia region this rustic model was discontinued after the Herulian invasion in Greece (268 AD.), while in the Copaϊs region (Akraiphia, Aliartos) it is abandoned with the Visigothic invasion of Alaricus a century later (395-396 AD). On the contrary, in the Thespies and Tanagra regions the villa rustica flourished during the Late Roman period (late 4th – early 7th c. AD).
M. Lagogianni-Georgakarakos – E. Papi (eds), Hadrianus – Αδριανός. Hadrian, Athens and the Gymnasia (Exhibition Catalogue, Athens, National Archaeological Museum, 28.11.2017 – 31.12.2018), Athens 2018, 87-90 (in Greek, Italian and English), 2018
M. Lagogianni-Georgakarakos – E. Papi (eds), Hadrianus – Αδριανός. Hadrian, Athens and the Gymnasia (Exhibition Catalogue, Athens, National Archaeological Museum, 28.11.2017 – 31.12.2018), Athens 2018, 158-161, 236-241 (in Greek, Italian and English), 2018
The current paper examines issues of diachronic life quality and mobility in Boeotia, central Gre... more The current paper examines issues of diachronic life quality and mobility in Boeotia, central Greece. Boeotia is a region with a tumultuous history as its strategic location facilitated its active involvement in major socio-political events, such as the Pelopon-nesian war, the Third Sacred War, Roman invasions, and civil conflicts, to list just a few. The bioarchaeological study of 293 skeletons from the Akraiphia cemetery aimed at testing whether the Hellenistic period and early Roman era were more stressful than preceding time periods, as attested by historical evidence, as well as whether the Roman era was characterised by increased human mobility, as expected on the basis of isotopic studies from other parts of the Roman Empire. The combination of palaeopathological lesions, nonspecific stress markers, and dental wear supported increased hardship for the Akraiphia population during the Hellenistic, Roman, and post-Roman periods, as well as similar living conditions for men and women diachron-ically. Finally, biodistances calculated on the basis of dental nonmetric traits suggested a phenetic divergence between the Hellenistic period and the Roman era, likely linked with increased human mobility within the Roman Empire.
The current paper examines issues of diachronic life quality and mobility in Boeotia, central Gre... more The current paper examines issues of diachronic life quality and mobility in Boeotia, central Greece. Boeotia is a region with a tumultuous history as its strategic location facilitated its active involvement in major socio-political events, such as the Pelopon-nesian war, the Third Sacred War, Roman invasions, and civil conflicts, to list just a few. The bioarchaeological study of 293 skeletons from the Akraiphia cemetery aimed at testing whether the Hellenistic period and early Roman era were more stressful than preceding time periods, as attested by historical evidence, as well as whether the Roman era was characterised by increased human mobility, as expected on the basis of isotopic studies from other parts of the Roman Empire. The combination of palaeopathological lesions, nonspecific stress markers, and dental wear supported increased hardship for the Akraiphia population during the Hellenistic, Roman, and post-Roman periods, as well as similar living conditions for men and women diachron-ically. Finally, biodistances calculated on the basis of dental nonmetric traits suggested a phenetic divergence between the Hellenistic period and the Roman era, likely linked with increased human mobility within the Roman Empire.
The lecture and presentation have been implemented in the circle "Religion and Money in Antiquity... more The lecture and presentation have been implemented in the circle "Religion and Money in Antiquity", taking place at the National Hellenic Research Foundation in December 2017.
The full text of the lecture, as article, entitled "Marmorgeraete raetselhafter Zweckbestimmung" und das Problem ihrer Deutung, is published in AA 2013/1, 57-84 and uploaded here
The lecture and presentation have been implemented in the circle "Religion and Money in Antiquity... more The lecture and presentation have been implemented in the circle "Religion and Money in Antiquity", taking place at the National Hellenic Research Foundation in December 2017.
The full text of the lecture, as article, entitled "Marmorgeräte rätselhafter Zweckbestimmung" und das Problem ihrer Deutung, is published in AA 2013/1, 57-84, and has also been uploaded in academia.edu.
The full text of the entry, as article, entitled "Marmorgeräte rätselhafter Zweckbestimmung" und das Problem ihrer Deutung, and published in AA 2013/1, 57-84, is also uploaded in academia.edu, 2015
The peculiar marble slab was recorded in the Inventory Book of the Museum as an artefact of obscu... more The peculiar marble slab was recorded in the Inventory Book of the Museum as an artefact of obscure use, and was interpreted as a painter’s palette, or votive offering. A recent study, however, in which nine more similar finds are included, recognized on it the depiction in relief of a miniature olive oil press.
To decipher the representation on its surface, one should begin from the small circular base on which sacks full of olives were squeezed. Through the spout of the base, oil poured into the trough where it remained at rest for the solid ingredients to subside. In the end, the pure product was stored in the half-buried in the ground pithos jar. The fragmentary remains at the edge of the slab belong to the broken feet of a table, onto which the grinding of olives would have been performed by means of a cylindrical crusher.
The solution to the ancient riddle, regarding the purpose of all marble artifacts of this kind, in all probabilty, is to be found in the oblong slot on the inside of the pithos jar, which was suitable for inserting coins, exactly as in modern cash boxes. In the remaining objects of the same type the pithos jar has no bottom. It is then highly probable that these slabs were placed as lids on stone containers, into which sums of money were being collected that might have been related to the production of olive oil.
Η περίεργη μαρμάρινη πλάκα καταγράφηκε στο Ευρετήριο του Μουσείου ως σκεύος παραδόξου χρήσεως, και ερμηνεύτηκε ως παλέττα ζωγράφου, ή ως ανάθημα. Μια πρόσφατη μελέτη της όμως, που περιέλαβε εννέα ακόμη παρόμοια ευρήματα, αναγνώρισε σ’ αυτήν την ανάγλυφη απεικόνιση ενός μικρογραφικού ἐλαιουργείου.
Για να αποκρυπτογραφήσει κανείς την αναπαράσταση της επιφάνειας, θα πρέπει να ξεκινήσει από τη μικρή κυκλική βάση συμπίεσης, πάνω στην οποία πιέζονταν τα σακιά με τις ελιές. Από την προχοή της βάσης το λάδι έρρε στη σκάφη, όπου παρέμενε για την καθίζηση των στερεών συστατικών. Στο τέλος το προϊόν, καθαρό, αποθηκευόταν στο μισοχωμένο στο έδαφος πιθάρι. Τα υπολείμματα στη μια άκρη της πλάκας ανήκουν στα σπασμένα πόδια ενός τραπεζιού, πάνω στο οποίο θα γινόταν η σύνθλιψη των ελιών με έναν κυλινδρικό σπαστήρα.
Η λύση του αρχαίου γρίφου για τον προορισμό όλων των μαρμάρινων αντικειμένων του είδους αυτού κρύβεται πιθανότατα στη μακρόστενη σχισμή μέσα στο πιθάρι, που ήταν κατάλληλη για τη ρίψη νομισμάτων, όπως στους σημερινούς κουμπαράδες. Στα υπόλοιπα αντικείμενα του ίδιου τύπου, το πιθάρι δεν έχει πυθμένα. Είναι, λοιπόν, πιθανό οι πλάκες αυτές να τοποθετούνταν ως καλύμματα πάνω σε λίθινα κιβώτια, μέσα στα οποία συγκεντρώνονταν χρηματικά ποσά, που ίσως αφορούσαν στην παραγωγή ελαιολάδου.
M. Lagogianni-Georgakarakos – E. Papi (eds), Hadrianus – Αδριανός. Hadrian, Athens and the Gymnasia (Exhibition Catalogue, Athens, National Archaeological Museum, 28.11.2017 – 31.12.2018), Athens 2018, 151, 195 Cat no. 13 (in Greek, Italian and English), 2018
Η Βοιωτία ξεκινά την έκδοση κοινού νομίσματος προς το τέλος του δεύτερου μισού του 6ου αι. π.Χ., ... more Η Βοιωτία ξεκινά την έκδοση κοινού νομίσματος προς το τέλος του δεύτερου μισού του 6ου αι. π.Χ., με σύμβολο τη βοιωτική ασπίδα. Περί τα μέσα του 5ου αι. π.Χ. πολλές βοιωτικές πόλεις κόβουν ήδη το δικό τους νόμισμα. Όμως η κυριαρχία της Θήβας στο Κοινό των Βοιωτών στο β'μισό του 5ου αι. π.Χ. σήμανε την υιοθέτηση του θηβαϊκού νομίσματος ως κοινού βοιωτικού νομίσματος.
Η αρχαία Ακραιφία (ή Ακραίφνιον ή Ακραίφνια ή Ακραίφια) ήταν χτισμένη στην ανατολική όχθη της Κωπ... more Η αρχαία Ακραιφία (ή Ακραίφνιον ή Ακραίφνια ή Ακραίφια) ήταν χτισμένη στην ανατολική όχθη της Κωπαΐδας και στα βορειοδυτικά της λίμνης Υλίκης. Με έκταση 47 τ.χλμ. και περίμετρο 34,6 χλμ. η Ακραιφία συγκαταλέγεται μεταξύ των μικρών πόλεων της Βοιωτίας, εντός της χώρας των οποίων δεν υπήρχαν δευτερεύοντες οικισμοί (κώμες). Ωστόσο, υπήρξε από τα πρώτα μέλη της ένωσης των βοιωτικών πόλεων υπό την ηγεσία της Θήβας. Συμμετείχε διαδοχικά και στα τρία βοιωτικά Kοινά, όμως με την έλευση των Ρωμαίων τήρησε φιλορωμαϊκή στάση και δέχθηκε προνόμια γι’ αυτό.
Το Κοινό των Βοιωτών υπήρξε το παλαιότερο πρότυπο ομοσπονδιακής οργάνωσης στον ελληνικό χώρο. Το ... more Το Κοινό των Βοιωτών υπήρξε το παλαιότερο πρότυπο ομοσπονδιακής οργάνωσης στον ελληνικό χώρο. Το γενικό σχήμα του ομοσπονδιακού αυτού κράτους ήταν διμερές στη δομή του: στην κορυφή ήταν η κεντρική κυβέρνηση που απαρτιζόταν από τους αντιπροσώπους των πόλεων και στη βάση βρίσκονταν οι πόλεις. Υπήρχαν ειδικά αξιώματα και θεσμοί που λειτουργούσαν εντός του Κοινού. Διακρίνονται τρεις περίοδοι λειτουργίας του Βοιωτικού Κοινού: το πρώτο Κοινό διήρκεσε από το 446 έως την Ειρήνη του Βασιλέως το 387/386 π.Χ., το δεύτερο από το 379 έως το 338 π.Χ. και το τρίτο από το 338 έως το 171 π.Χ. Μετά τη ρωμαϊκή κατάκτηση το Κοινό διαλύθηκε και ανασυστάθηκε, με θρησκευτικό, κυρίως, χαρακτήρα.
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The figure depicts Attis in an open tunic, a type created in Rome and later spread throughout the Roman Empire. The research focuses on the one hand on the search of the provenance of the statuette and on the other
on the interpretative correlations that have been formulated for the type of captive Attis.
Das Relieffragment Athen, Nationalmuseum Inv. 2636 ist im Jahre 1904 im Piräus beschlagnahmt worden. Den erhaltenen Abschnitt der Darstellung beherrscht die Gestalt eines Kriegers mit Schild, der sich nach links auf ein Kultbild des Apollon zubewegt, das auf einer Basis steht und einen Bogen in der linken Hand hält. Am rechten Rand ist der rechte Fuß einer weiteren Gestalt erhalten, zu der der Krieger seinen Kopf zurückwendet. In der Kriegergestalt wird Neoptolemos erkannt, der vor seinen Verfolgern ins Heiligtum des Apollon in Delphi flieht. Technische Details führen zu dem gesicherten Ergebnis, dass das Fragment von einem Relieffries stammt, der sich im Inneren eines Heiligtums des Apollon Pythios in Athen befunden hat. Bekanntlich wurde Apollon Pythios in Athen auch als Apollon Patroos verehrt, dessen Tempel auf der Agora errichtet wurde. Anhand der Überlieferung, die Vergoldung des Altars des Apollon Patroos sei von dem sehr reichen Athener Neoptolemos, Sohn des Antikles, finanziert worden, wird die Hypothese aufge- stellt, dass derselbe Mann auch die Kosten für die Herstellung der Statue übernommen haben könnte, wodurch sich die Wahl des Neoptolemosmythos für den Reliefschmuck der Statuenbasis erklären würde. Die letztgenannte Annahme führt nahezu zwangsläufig zur wahrscheinlichen Herkunft des beschlagnahmten Fragments von der Athener Agora.
The two funerary “palmette” stelai (nos. 17, 16) published here are from ancient Tanagra. They are housed in the recently-renovated Museum of Schematari in the village of this name.
Stele no. 17 is of a gray Boeotian “marble”. It is surmounted by a wide palmette crowning element with relief decoration (a nine-petaled palmette at the center, and three-petaled half-palmettes at the corners). On the front of the body of the stele there is a carved petal-shaped niche, supported on its sides by pilasters with capitals (a part of the left side is preserved). Within the niche is a relief depiction of a frontal female head, broken off at the base of the neck. On the basis of stylistic criteria, the scene in the niche may be dated to the late Tra- janic-early Hadrianic period. The similar finishing of stele and crowing element argues in favour of their hav- ing been done at the same time. However, a series of individual features (part of the stem on the left side (facing the monument) of the crowning element, saddle-shaped cross-section of the crowning element, the stele’s construction material) raise the serious possibility that this stele is the product of a reworked earlier Hellenistic palmette stele from which traces of its existing decoration have been completely erased, and the present result is an original work of the Roman Imperial age.
Stele no. 16 is of a white, probably Pentelic marble, and it too has a palmette crowning element. On its main body inside the vaulted niche, whose apse is supported on either side by pillars with capitals, a scene with three frontal figures (their faces deliberately cut off) has been carved. The stele is the product of a re- worked earlier palmette funerary stele of the Hellenistic age, from whose crowning element only a part of the palmette remained. The niche was created during the Roman Imperial age; the three relief figures were carved inside it, as were the inscriptions on the pediment of its crowning element, the vaulted epistyle of its niche, and its plinth. There is a discussion of problems concerning: a) the sex of the two adult figures in the scene; b) the inscriptions, which do not correspond to the figures they accompany; c) the profession of the right- hand figure in light of the attribute he holds, and d) the stele’s date.
In the Middle Hellenistic period, while workshops in central, southern (Thebes, Thespiae) and east Boeotia (Tanagra) continued the traditional baroque style, artisans of Chaironeia in northwestern Boeotia differed. Once students of the Thespian baroque masters, the Chaironean craftsmen created a naïv version of the baroque tradition using local, thick grained gray-blue marble. This new naïv style eventually spread throughout Phocis and Doris.
The first one (inv. no. 6956), possibly of naiskos type with pilasters and pediment, is of dark grey marble. On the shaft, a man with a beard is depicted standing to face. He is wearing a short chiton with sleeves and a chlamys fastened on his right shoulder. In his lowered right hand, he is holding a knife with a curved blade. By his right side, a slender-looking vine is rising. Based on the type of knife the man can be identified with a vine-grower. He is depicted during his repose, as it was usual for the Greek grave stelai with relative representations. Based on iconographical and stylistic criteria, the gravestone should be dated in the second half of the 2nd century A.D.
The second stele (inv. no. 15496), from which only its left half is preserved, is of naiskos type with pilasters, epistyle and pediment and is made of white, thick-grained marble. On the shaft, a shoemaker is depicted sitting on a small bench to the right inside his workshop, as indicated by the tools i.e. an awl and a chisel hanging on the wall in the background of the relief. Here, what is most interesting is the tool with the large handle and the flat surface which the man is holding in his right hand. We don’t know what it was like, since there are no depictions of it either in vase-painting or in sculpture. However, its use is described by Plato and its name is cited in the Latin grammarian Festus. It is likely that shoemakers used it to stretch the leather on the shoe-last, so that every wrinkle could be eliminated and their work be facilitated. The stele is close to the Italian gravestones with relative thematic material. It should be dated around the middle of the 3rd century A.D.
There are recognizable stylistic similarities with 4th century BC works but its rendering is stiff and "dry" without the energy and pathos of post Classical examples. It should be dated to the end of the 2nd or the beginning of the 1st century BC, and could be seen within the stylistic tradition of that era. Although the decorative role of Skylla in ancient art is known, it is more likely that the statuette comes from a central acroterion of a funeral stele.
Die zehn rechteckigen Marmorplatten, die aus Athen und Eleusis stammen, bilden eine eigene geschlossene Denkmälergruppe und konnten bis heute nicht gedeutet werden. Anhand einer systematischen Untersuchung auf der Basis einer detaillierten Katalogisierung legt diese Studie eine Deutung und Datierung der Marmorplatten vor. Indizien wie die Reliefdarstellungen, vor allem von Ölpressen, und Abarbeitungen weisen darauf hin, dass es sich um Abdeckplatten von θησαυροί handelt, in denen Geldbeträge verwahrt wurden, die zweifellos mit der Produktion und dem Vertrieb von Olivenöl verbunden waren. Die Platten können in den Späthellenismus und die frühe Kaiserzeit datiert werden; sie standen offenbar mit der breiten Übernahme von Elementen der römischen Wirtschaftsverwaltung in Zusammenhang, die in dieser Zeit in verschiedenen Bereichen erkennbar wird.
The figure depicts Attis in an open tunic, a type created in Rome and later spread throughout the Roman Empire. The research focuses on the one hand on the search of the provenance of the statuette and on the other
on the interpretative correlations that have been formulated for the type of captive Attis.
Das Relieffragment Athen, Nationalmuseum Inv. 2636 ist im Jahre 1904 im Piräus beschlagnahmt worden. Den erhaltenen Abschnitt der Darstellung beherrscht die Gestalt eines Kriegers mit Schild, der sich nach links auf ein Kultbild des Apollon zubewegt, das auf einer Basis steht und einen Bogen in der linken Hand hält. Am rechten Rand ist der rechte Fuß einer weiteren Gestalt erhalten, zu der der Krieger seinen Kopf zurückwendet. In der Kriegergestalt wird Neoptolemos erkannt, der vor seinen Verfolgern ins Heiligtum des Apollon in Delphi flieht. Technische Details führen zu dem gesicherten Ergebnis, dass das Fragment von einem Relieffries stammt, der sich im Inneren eines Heiligtums des Apollon Pythios in Athen befunden hat. Bekanntlich wurde Apollon Pythios in Athen auch als Apollon Patroos verehrt, dessen Tempel auf der Agora errichtet wurde. Anhand der Überlieferung, die Vergoldung des Altars des Apollon Patroos sei von dem sehr reichen Athener Neoptolemos, Sohn des Antikles, finanziert worden, wird die Hypothese aufge- stellt, dass derselbe Mann auch die Kosten für die Herstellung der Statue übernommen haben könnte, wodurch sich die Wahl des Neoptolemosmythos für den Reliefschmuck der Statuenbasis erklären würde. Die letztgenannte Annahme führt nahezu zwangsläufig zur wahrscheinlichen Herkunft des beschlagnahmten Fragments von der Athener Agora.
The two funerary “palmette” stelai (nos. 17, 16) published here are from ancient Tanagra. They are housed in the recently-renovated Museum of Schematari in the village of this name.
Stele no. 17 is of a gray Boeotian “marble”. It is surmounted by a wide palmette crowning element with relief decoration (a nine-petaled palmette at the center, and three-petaled half-palmettes at the corners). On the front of the body of the stele there is a carved petal-shaped niche, supported on its sides by pilasters with capitals (a part of the left side is preserved). Within the niche is a relief depiction of a frontal female head, broken off at the base of the neck. On the basis of stylistic criteria, the scene in the niche may be dated to the late Tra- janic-early Hadrianic period. The similar finishing of stele and crowing element argues in favour of their hav- ing been done at the same time. However, a series of individual features (part of the stem on the left side (facing the monument) of the crowning element, saddle-shaped cross-section of the crowning element, the stele’s construction material) raise the serious possibility that this stele is the product of a reworked earlier Hellenistic palmette stele from which traces of its existing decoration have been completely erased, and the present result is an original work of the Roman Imperial age.
Stele no. 16 is of a white, probably Pentelic marble, and it too has a palmette crowning element. On its main body inside the vaulted niche, whose apse is supported on either side by pillars with capitals, a scene with three frontal figures (their faces deliberately cut off) has been carved. The stele is the product of a re- worked earlier palmette funerary stele of the Hellenistic age, from whose crowning element only a part of the palmette remained. The niche was created during the Roman Imperial age; the three relief figures were carved inside it, as were the inscriptions on the pediment of its crowning element, the vaulted epistyle of its niche, and its plinth. There is a discussion of problems concerning: a) the sex of the two adult figures in the scene; b) the inscriptions, which do not correspond to the figures they accompany; c) the profession of the right- hand figure in light of the attribute he holds, and d) the stele’s date.
In the Middle Hellenistic period, while workshops in central, southern (Thebes, Thespiae) and east Boeotia (Tanagra) continued the traditional baroque style, artisans of Chaironeia in northwestern Boeotia differed. Once students of the Thespian baroque masters, the Chaironean craftsmen created a naïv version of the baroque tradition using local, thick grained gray-blue marble. This new naïv style eventually spread throughout Phocis and Doris.
The first one (inv. no. 6956), possibly of naiskos type with pilasters and pediment, is of dark grey marble. On the shaft, a man with a beard is depicted standing to face. He is wearing a short chiton with sleeves and a chlamys fastened on his right shoulder. In his lowered right hand, he is holding a knife with a curved blade. By his right side, a slender-looking vine is rising. Based on the type of knife the man can be identified with a vine-grower. He is depicted during his repose, as it was usual for the Greek grave stelai with relative representations. Based on iconographical and stylistic criteria, the gravestone should be dated in the second half of the 2nd century A.D.
The second stele (inv. no. 15496), from which only its left half is preserved, is of naiskos type with pilasters, epistyle and pediment and is made of white, thick-grained marble. On the shaft, a shoemaker is depicted sitting on a small bench to the right inside his workshop, as indicated by the tools i.e. an awl and a chisel hanging on the wall in the background of the relief. Here, what is most interesting is the tool with the large handle and the flat surface which the man is holding in his right hand. We don’t know what it was like, since there are no depictions of it either in vase-painting or in sculpture. However, its use is described by Plato and its name is cited in the Latin grammarian Festus. It is likely that shoemakers used it to stretch the leather on the shoe-last, so that every wrinkle could be eliminated and their work be facilitated. The stele is close to the Italian gravestones with relative thematic material. It should be dated around the middle of the 3rd century A.D.
There are recognizable stylistic similarities with 4th century BC works but its rendering is stiff and "dry" without the energy and pathos of post Classical examples. It should be dated to the end of the 2nd or the beginning of the 1st century BC, and could be seen within the stylistic tradition of that era. Although the decorative role of Skylla in ancient art is known, it is more likely that the statuette comes from a central acroterion of a funeral stele.
Die zehn rechteckigen Marmorplatten, die aus Athen und Eleusis stammen, bilden eine eigene geschlossene Denkmälergruppe und konnten bis heute nicht gedeutet werden. Anhand einer systematischen Untersuchung auf der Basis einer detaillierten Katalogisierung legt diese Studie eine Deutung und Datierung der Marmorplatten vor. Indizien wie die Reliefdarstellungen, vor allem von Ölpressen, und Abarbeitungen weisen darauf hin, dass es sich um Abdeckplatten von θησαυροί handelt, in denen Geldbeträge verwahrt wurden, die zweifellos mit der Produktion und dem Vertrieb von Olivenöl verbunden waren. Die Platten können in den Späthellenismus und die frühe Kaiserzeit datiert werden; sie standen offenbar mit der breiten Übernahme von Elementen der römischen Wirtschaftsverwaltung in Zusammenhang, die in dieser Zeit in verschiedenen Bereichen erkennbar wird.
Das Relieffragment im Athener Archäologischen Nationalmuseum Inv. 12059 unbekannter Herkunft stammt von der linken Eckplatte des Tympanons eines kleinen Giebels und trägt die Reliefdarstellung eines nach links gelagerten Papposilens, der durch das eng anliegen- de wollene Trikot identifiziert werden kann. Das Relief ist zusammen mit der vortretenden Standleiste, auf dem der Silen liegt, aus demselben Block gearbeitet. Das Relieffragment Inv. 4760 im Akropolis-Museum, das die Figur eines nach rechts gelagerten Papposilens mit einem identischen Wolltrikot zeigt, ist auf der Grundlage der Maße, der technischen Merkmale und des Stils der gegenüberliegenden rechten Ecke desselben Giebels zuzuweisen. Mit dem rechten Arm stützt der Papposilen sich auf einen Weinschlauch, dessen Hals er auf eine Weise zusammendrückt, dass sich der Wein in das Trinkhorn ergießen kann. Die beiden Relieffragmente stammen vom Giebel eines kleinen Gebäudes, sehr wahrscheinlich eines tempelförmigen choregischen Monuments. Der Naiskos, der aufgrund des Reliefstils in die 2. Hälfte des 4. Jhs. v. Chr. datiert werden kann, stand (sehr wahrscheinlich) an der Tripodenstraße östlich vom Eingang zum Dionysosheiligtum.
15 of the 134 burials dated from post Classical to Roman times contained coins (11,2%); 26 of the total 29 bronze coins recovered were Ancient Greek and the remaining 3 were of Roman date. The most common Ancient Greek coins belong to the Boiotian mint with 18 coins (69%), while the Lokrian examples are the second most prominent with 3 coins (11,5%). A single coin (3,9%) is represented from each of the following types: Macedonia (Philipp V), Krannon (Thessalian Histiaiotis), Histiaia (Euboia), Athens and Phlious. The 3 Greek Imperial coins were issued respectively as follows: in Corinth during the reign of Antoninus Pius, in Laconian Las of the reign of Caesar Geta and in Kleonai in the Argolid during the reign of Plautilla.
The «death-coin» appeared in burials from the Akraiphia cemetery dating from the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 3rd century BC making them contemporaneous with the cemeteries at Haliartos, Halai (Lokris), and Oropos (West Attica). With the exception of a single hoard of 3 coins (Grave 10) the rule was a single death-coin in each grave. The low frequency of its appearance is not surprising, since archaeological evidence has shown that the rite was not widespread in Classical and Hellenistic times and certainly did not appear consistently in the Greek world, being restricted to specific groups of people. The presence of coins in graves, usually connected with the belief that the dead had to pay for their journey to the underworld –»Charon’s obol»–, seems to be at last a very simple interpretation.
Inside the tiled-roof grave no. 263 and near the feet of the deceased, an intact, unpainted savings bank with a narrow slot in the neck came to light. It included a coin hoard of 8 (eight) bronze coins whose condition ranges from poor to mediocre. The coins are identified as following: 1 of the Locrian League, 4 of the Phocian and 3 of the Boiotian League.
The coins, especially the Locrian and the Phocian ones, dating in the 4th-3nd century B.C., are extremely worn and they should be dated one century prior to the latest one, that of the Boiotian League, issued in the first half of the 2nd century B.C. Nevertheless the older coins were still in circulation by that time. On the grounds of the fairly worn condition of the latest coin it can be deduced that 146 B.C. is the terminus post quem of the burial itself, while the terminus ante quem remains open. The latter at the same time indicates the date of the coin bank itself. Both the coin bank and the coin hoard acted as offerings to the deceased.
The date of the latest coin, issued from 266 to the middle of 267 or to the beginning of AD 268, establishes either the date of hoard’s concealment or the date of farmhouse’s abandonment. The short space between the earliest and the latest coin of the hoard, 10-11 years, the almost good condition of the coins, and their small number suggests that the house’s owner concealed the money lest he suffer some danger, so that he could regain his money safely at a later date.
Prompted by this small find an overview of the emergency hoards concealed in mainland Greece during the reign of Gallienus (AD 253-268) has been undertaken, so that conclusions concerning their geographical distribution, the quality, and the quantity of hoards can be deduced.
When looking for reasons why a farmer would feel the need to hide his money, one possible explanation comes from the literary evidence. In Historia Augusta, Vita Gallieni 13,8, the Herulians are going through Boeotia and sacking villages and farms. Their course, in combination with the findspots of the emergency hoards and the scattered information collected from the partly preserved Itinerarium Antonini 325/6, of Diocletianus era, and Tabula Peutingeriana map, of the second half of the 4th century AD, helps strengthen the argument that Boeotians had reason to hide their money until it was safe to go back to their homes.
Finally, it is likely that the Herulian going through Boeotia is more than possible, since the German intruders eventually fled northwards to Epirus and Macedonia. The Chaironeia/2001 hoard constitutes one of a lost link in a chain of emergency hiding places deposited during the reign of Gallienus. To the unproved indication of Herulian presence in Lebadeia could be added now the more secure proof of Chaironeia, which is based on the heavier numismatic evidence. The fact that the Herulian troops were persecuted by the Roman legions could be a good reason for the absence of well-founded destruction remains throughout Boeotia.
Der in 1975 in Theben aufgefundene Schatzfund, enthält 25 Münzen aus der römischen Kaiserzeit: 24 Sesterze und 1 Dupondius, die sich von Titus (79-81) bis Faustina I (139-141) spannen. Die letzten Münzen des Schatzfundes sind die posthumen Prägungen von Faustina I, die den Zeitpunkt der Deponierung des Schatzfundes auf 144 A.D. oder bald danach festlegen.
Das Auffinden eines solchen “Schatzes” in Böotien läßt sich aus dem persönlichen Interesse der Kaiser Hadrian und Antoninus Pius an den böotischen Sachen –inschriftlich bestätigt– erklären. Die Präsenz der einzigen Münze aus zypriotischer Prägestätte, aus Trajans Regierungszeit, kann dadurch erläutert werden, dass der Besitzer des Schatzfundes eine zypriotische Phase in seiner kaiserlichen administrativen Laufbahn aufwies.
Die Niederlegung des Schatzfundes könnte vielleicht mit den Wirren von 157 A.D. in der Provinz Achaia in Zusammenhang stehen.
Grave 157 contained the skeletons of at least 10 individuals (7 adults, 3 children, of which 1 baby) . Outside the grave was found the rejected torso of a male statue, which may depict a hoplitodrome and date in the 5th century B.C. The statue was manufactured in Boeotia. Inside the grave was found a small lekythos or oinochoe.
Grave 162 contained the skeletons of at least 7 adult individuals. Inside the grave was found a spoon for unguents. One skeleton bears traces of severe trauma, which, however, was later healed. The individual who suffered this trauma (broken leg and pelvis) could not have survived without support from his social group.
An appendix publishes another multiple burial (grave 34) of an earlier date (1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.) which contained 4 individuals, buried in 2 subsequent phases. The tomb contained 6 vases, among which a lamp, an oinochoe, 2 unguentaria and 2 kantharoid mugs.
The full text of the lecture, as article, entitled "Marmorgeraete raetselhafter Zweckbestimmung" und das Problem ihrer Deutung, is published in AA 2013/1, 57-84 and uploaded here
The full text of the lecture, as article, entitled "Marmorgeräte rätselhafter Zweckbestimmung" und das Problem ihrer Deutung, is published in AA 2013/1, 57-84, and has also been uploaded in academia.edu.
To decipher the representation on its surface, one should begin from the small circular base on which sacks full of olives were squeezed. Through the spout of the base, oil poured into the trough where it remained at rest for the solid ingredients to subside. In the end, the pure product was stored in the half-buried in the ground pithos jar. The fragmentary remains at the edge of the slab belong to the broken feet of a table, onto which the grinding of olives would have been performed by means of a cylindrical crusher.
The solution to the ancient riddle, regarding the purpose of all marble artifacts of this kind, in all probabilty, is to be found in the oblong slot on the inside of the pithos jar, which was suitable for inserting coins, exactly as in modern cash boxes. In the remaining objects of the same type the pithos jar has no bottom. It is then highly probable that these slabs were placed as lids on stone containers, into which sums of money were being collected that might have been related to the production of olive oil.
Η περίεργη μαρμάρινη πλάκα καταγράφηκε στο Ευρετήριο του Μουσείου ως σκεύος παραδόξου χρήσεως, και ερμηνεύτηκε ως παλέττα ζωγράφου, ή ως ανάθημα. Μια πρόσφατη μελέτη της όμως, που περιέλαβε εννέα ακόμη παρόμοια ευρήματα, αναγνώρισε σ’ αυτήν την ανάγλυφη απεικόνιση ενός μικρογραφικού ἐλαιουργείου.
Για να αποκρυπτογραφήσει κανείς την αναπαράσταση της επιφάνειας, θα πρέπει να ξεκινήσει από τη μικρή κυκλική βάση συμπίεσης, πάνω στην οποία πιέζονταν τα σακιά με τις ελιές. Από την προχοή της βάσης το λάδι έρρε στη σκάφη, όπου παρέμενε για την καθίζηση των στερεών συστατικών. Στο τέλος το προϊόν, καθαρό, αποθηκευόταν στο μισοχωμένο στο έδαφος πιθάρι. Τα υπολείμματα στη μια άκρη της πλάκας ανήκουν στα σπασμένα πόδια ενός τραπεζιού, πάνω στο οποίο θα γινόταν η σύνθλιψη των ελιών με έναν κυλινδρικό σπαστήρα.
Η λύση του αρχαίου γρίφου για τον προορισμό όλων των μαρμάρινων αντικειμένων του είδους αυτού κρύβεται πιθανότατα στη μακρόστενη σχισμή μέσα στο πιθάρι, που ήταν κατάλληλη για τη ρίψη νομισμάτων, όπως στους σημερινούς κουμπαράδες. Στα υπόλοιπα αντικείμενα του ίδιου τύπου, το πιθάρι δεν έχει πυθμένα. Είναι, λοιπόν, πιθανό οι πλάκες αυτές να τοποθετούνταν ως καλύμματα πάνω σε λίθινα κιβώτια, μέσα στα οποία συγκεντρώνονταν χρηματικά ποσά, που ίσως αφορούσαν στην παραγωγή ελαιολάδου.