middle helladic to the late helladic i shaft graves 6 страница

The Agora continued to be developed into the Hellenistic and Roman periods (Figure 5.8). A plan of the site around 150 ce shows several new stoas on the south and east. The new South Stoa lies at an angle over its predecessor and has additional wings to make an enclosure. Immediately in front of it was another stoa, the “Middle Stoa," that now was the boundary of the central open space. On

	To Prison								5.8 Reconstructed plan of Agora of Athens, c. 150 ce. Photo: American School of Classical Studies at Athens: Agora Excavations.

the east is the Stoa of Attalos, built by the ruler of Pergamon over the Square Peristyle with the law courts. On the east the tholos remains, but the bouleuterion and metroon were rebuilt, with the metroon now facing toward the Agora. The space became more congested under the Romans. Marcus Agrippa (d. 12 все), son-in-law of the first emperor Augustus (reigned 31 BCE-14 ce), built an Odeion or concert hall in the open space in front of the Middle Stoa. The Romans also dismantled a fifth-century все temple dedicated to Ares and reassembled it in the central open space during the late first century все.

In addition to buildings, an agora was an important public place for the display of sculpture and painting. Monumental paintings, sculpted reliefs, and statues were found in the stoas and shrines, as well as free-standing works in the open areas. One of the most famous in the Athenian Agora was the statue group commemorating the Tyrannicides, or Tyrant-Killers, by Kritios and Nesiotes. Fragments of the base for the sculpture have been found in the excavations, but the original bronze statues are gone and the original location for the base is uncertain. We do have marble copies of the original bronze statues that give us a very good idea of their appearance (Figure 5.9). In the composition we see the young man Harmodios (right) stepping forward with a sword over his head and the bearded adult Aristogeiton (left) holding a mantle and sword straight out, as they step out of the crowd along the Panathenaic Way to strike the tyrant Hipparchos in 514 все.

To understand the importance of the dedication and its subject, we need to remember the story and its context. Peisistratos had taken control of Athens in 546 все and established himself as a tyrant, that is, someone who illegally usurped the power of the polis and ruled individually. After his death in 527, his sons Hippias and Hipparchos succeeded him as tyrants. According to historical sources, Hipparchos had sought the affection of the young Harmodios in a pederastic relationship, an aspect of Greek culture and identity that we will discuss in Chapter 13. Upon being rejected in favor of Aristogeiton, Hipparchos alleged that Harmodios’s sister was not a virgin, forcing her to be dropped from her role as the kanephoros in the Panathenaia. To avenge the insult to the family, Harmodios and Aristogeiton plotted to attack the tyrants and managed to step out of the crowd and stab Hipparchos during the Panathenaia. When Hippias was later expelled from Athens in 510 and a new democratic constitution was established under Kleisthenes in 507, the city commissioned a statue group to honor Harmodios and Aristogeiton, now labeled as the Tyrannicides or Tyrant- Killers. These statues, made by Antenor in bronze, were taken by the Persians when they sacked Athens in 480/479. On its return, the city government commissioned a replacement sculpture from Kritios and Nesiotes that was dedicated in 477-476. It is this second statue group that was copied in the marble statues we see today.

The work commemorated individuals who were model citizens, but were not true-to-life portraits as we think of them. Their importance to the city can be seen in the quick replacement of the original statues, and in the frequent literary references to their actions and the mimicking of their poses in art, such as the figure of Theseus attacking the Kremmyon Sow in the Kodros Painter kylix modeled on Aristogeiton (see Figure 9.8, page 220). The inscription was apparently placed on the front side of the base with the figures, and in reading it, the viewer would be in the position of the tyrant Hipparchos, about to be murdered. The statues not only honor heroes of the polis, but also serve as warnings when the viewer reads the inscriptions about the potential fate of tyrants.

Other statues, such as the Doryphoros or Spear-Bearer made by Polykleitos and originally in the agora in the city of Argos (see Figure 10.7, page 243), were more universalizing but idealistic models. We will discuss this work more extensively in the chapter on fifth-century art, but for now can note that it is a representation of the heroic-athletic ideal of the Greek man set in a place where citizens would see it as they conducted their business in the city. Statues of women or goddesses are rarer, but the Aphrodite of Melos from the second century came from a gymnasium in the agora at Melos (see Figure 14.17, page 362).

Smaller reliefs were dedicated in the agora to commemorate events and victories by groups or individuals. A fragmentary fourth-century relief from the Athenian Agora, for example, shows five

This is also the place to mention a particular type of storage jar, the Panathenaic amphora, that was commissioned by Athens to award victors in the games (Figure 5.11). The value of the prize was not the vase, but the oil that it contained. The decoration of the vase, large and with a pointed end so that it could be placed securely in a circular opening in the floor or bench for storage, served to identify the special source of the contents. On one side is a picture of Athena striding forward with a spear, the Athena Promachos (foremost fighter). On either side are columns with cocks on them, and to the left is the inscription Ton Athenethen athlon, “from the games at Athens” On the reverse side we see a charioteer driving his team of four horses at full gallop. The style is deliberately more archaic than other work by the same artist, the Kleophrades Painter (to compare it to another work of the artist, see Figure 9.7, page 219), but this is typical of these amphora, whatever workshop was commissioned to make them. Greek viewers used the term archaios to describe statues and paintings such as this. For them, it had associations with old cult statues and heirlooms, and so had a status

houses and domestic spaces

The Greek household is less well known than its public spaces and architecture, as there is no site like Pompeii where both the houses and their contents have been well preserved. Since much of the material used to build houses - timber, mud brick, and roughly worked stone - does not endure or remain in place, most houses are known only by their foundations and floors. Houses at some sites like Priene, gradually abandoned after its harbor silted up, and Olynthos in northern Greece, destroyed in a military campaign of Philip II of Macedon in 348 все, have been excavated with some household remains, but luxury items such as jewelry and metalwork would have been salvaged or looted, the furniture broken and decayed except for metal fittings. Much of the pottery used in the household was utilitarian and discarded when broken, and sometimes valuable items were placed in the graves of household members, making it difficult to gauge the full extent of art in a domestic context. Most houses would seem to have been plainly decorated on the exterior, but there was not much in the way of large-scale work to be found inside given the modest scale of the houses and their rooms. It is only in the fourth century and later that larger houses, including villas and palaces, began to be built that could feature mosaics and statues.

Most Greek houses were organized around a courtyard, usually facing to the south so that the sun could provide light and warmth. As can be seen in the plan of a house from Olynthos, labeled A vii 4, access to the house was restricted to one main door that led from the street to the courtyard (Figure 5.12, i). Many Greek houses had a porch or colonnade on one side that made a transition from the open courtyard to the enclosed rooms of the house. In this Olynthos house, this took the form of a long porch (f on the plan) with two columns flanking the courtyard; the porch continued

The courtyard of the Olynthos house A vii 4 was paved with cobblestone and had stairs to an upper floor. The rooms to the east and west of the courtyard were single-story and the most publicly oriented rooms of the house. Room h has a separate door to the street. Small weights found in several nearby rooms suggest that it was used as a shop/workshop by the household, thus making the street door convenient for dealing with the public without disturbing the rest of the household. On the southeast side were a square, paved room (k) and forechamber (j) that was the dining room or andron (men’s room), where the symposion would be held, which we will consider in more detail below. Couches would have lined the walls of the andron, leaving the center open. The north end of the house was two-story, with the columns of the pastas supporting a balcony above, as can be seen in the reconstruction. This arrangement meant that sunlight would reach the courtyard and the

Many excavated houses in Greece are not as regular as the houses of Olynthos and underwent many alterations in the course of their existence. For example, some houses near the Silen Gate at Thasos in northern Greece were built in the mid-fourth century bce on the remains of some shops and were later remodeled in the Hellenistic period. These houses were much narrower and rectangular in plan than those at Olynthos (Figure 5.14). House A on the left had a courtyard (3) set back from the street with a narrow hall (2) leading to it. Room 5 resembles a pastas opening into the back rooms (6-7), but had walls facing the courtyard rather than columns. Room 1 may have served as an andron. The remains of a staircase in the courtyard suggest that a second floor was added to this house by the third century, as shown in the reconstruction (Figure 5.15).

House B had a similar hall (2) from the street leading to its courtyard (5); room 1 had a doorway to the street as well and may have served as a shop. The north side of this house (7-9) is similar in plan to House A, but the area around the courtyard has been subdivided into three rooms (3, 4, 6) rather than one. Both houses, then, have a more private and enclosed section to the north and their public spaces to the south next to the street. A second floor was not put onto this corner house, but during a remodeling the doorway was moved from the south and was closed off and a new doorway was opened on the east side (5), giving direct access from the street into the courtyard.

House C across the road was much simpler than these, and consisted of an enclosed courtyard with an entrance on the south side, and a house with two rooms on the north side, each opening to the south and the courtyard, which constitutes the largest area of the house. Indeed, the plan of this house recalls the remodeled houses at Zagora from the late eighth century (see Figure 4.22, lower, page 93), with small rooms for storage and living set off an irregular courtyard. It would appear that the owners of this house had more modest means than those of the other two, but have the essential features of a courtyard with limited access, storage, and living/work space.

We can get a sense of the objects to be found in a domestic context by looking again at the plan of the house in Olynthos (see Figure 5.12). The icons on the plan show the type of artifacts found in

Examples of these types of objects are found at other sites. Drinking, eating, and cooking vessels have been found in the Agora excavations (Figure 5.16). Cooking and household vessels in the bottom row were plain and utilitarian. Vessels used in the symposion, such as pitchers and drinking cups, could be more finely made with a black glaze, thinner walls, more elaborate handles, and some painted and incised decoration. There are examples of pottery in the black-figure and red-figure techniques with figural decoration from households, but usually in a very fragmentary state and much less common than the plain and black-glaze ware seen here. The ensemble found in the debris from the destruction of a house in the Agora that we saw in Chapter 1 provides a glimpse of these wares and how they were accumulated over the course of years (see Figure 1.10, page 14). The household finds from Priene mostly date to the Hellenistic period (Figure 5.17). These include both plain pottery and a small fragment of red-figure work, mold-made bowls, lamps, and small metal objects such as spoons, lamps, tools, bells, and weapons.

textiles

The presence of loom weights in houses shows the importance of weaving and textile production in the house, a task performed by its women. Most textiles would have been utilitarian and plain, but we know from literary sources that some were very elaborate and could feature intricate patterns and

The excavations of the royal tombs at Vergina have provided a rare example of the most costly type of weaving (Figure 5.18). The trapezoidal cloth has a wave-motif border around its edge, framing lush vegetal forms of leaves, flowers, tendrils, and birds that fill out the interior compartment. The use of threads made of gold and purple, a rare and expensive pigment, would have made this a costly work and a truly royal grave good. Color and shine would have been important visual qualities

The regard for elaborate textiles can be glimpsed through literary sources. The garment woven for the statue of Athena on the Acropolis that was presented during the Panathenaia was made by specially selected women and girls in a designated building and featured the battle of the gods and giants on it. The incident surrounding the Tyrannicides, when the sister of Harmodios was removed from the procession, shows how much prestige and care would have been worked into the gift to the goddess. Euripides, in his play Ion, has a servant recount how Ion, the son of Apollo and Creusa, set up a tent for a feast at Delphi:

He took from store some sacred tapestries, a wonder to behold. And first he cast above the roof [of the tent] a wing of cloth, spoil from the Amazons, which Heracles, the son of Zeus, had dedicated to the god. And there were figures woven in design: For Uranus was mustering the stars in heaven’s circle; and Helios drove his horses toward his dying flame and trailed the star which shines bright in the West. While black-robed Night, drawn by a pair, urged on her chariot, beside the stars kept pace with her. The Pleiades and Orion, his sword in hand, moved through the Sky’s mid-path; and then, above, the Bear who turned his golden tail within the vault. The round full moon threw up her rays, dividing the month; the Hyades, the guide most sure for sailors; then light’s herald, Dawn, routing the stars. (Euripides, Ion 1141-1158; tr. Willetts)

We can get an indirect picture of these high-end works in their domestic context by turning to a skyphos showing Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, with their son Telemachos (Figure 5.19). Penelope sits in a chair in her quarters of the house and contemplates the pressure on her to marry one of the suitors who are staying there, eating and drinking the provisions of the house. Odysseus has been gone ten years since the end of the Trojan War, and he has been given up for dead by all but his family. A loom is set up behind her and we see the end border hanging from the rolled fabric. On it

The tunic on the kanephoros at Delphi on a fifth-century Attic krater (see Figure 7.17, page 174) is another example of prestige textiles, and its intricate motifs and fringe distinguish this woman from those around her in the procession, and from the more plainly dressed maenads below. Some idea of the rich coloristic effects of textiles can be seen in the clothing of the seated king Priam on a large Apulian krater fragment from the fourth century (see Figure 12.18, page 307). Yellow, red, brown, and white set on the red surface of the clay reveal an interest in both pattern and color, and a similarly ornate cloth is worn by Hermes who reaches to touch the king. The display of richly ornamented cloth would signify the status and wealth of its owner as he or she moved through the city. That most of them were undoubtedly designed and made by women also means that we have lost a significant group of Greek artists and their art as well.

the symposion

It is within the context of the house that we should also consider the symposion of the Greeks. This was a gathering of men who would be invited to the house of the host in the evening. The symposion was held in a modest-sized room, such as the rooms at the back of stoas in the Agora or in a specially designated room in the house called the andron or men’s room. The reconstruction in Figure 5.20 shows a dining room in the South Stoa of the Agora at Athens, but its configuration and size are nearly the same as the andron at Olynthos that we saw earlier (see Figure 5.12, k). The
symposiasts would recline on one-armed klinai or couches, drinking wine and interacting with each other. One or two men would recline on each kline, resting his weight on the left arm and using the right hand to hold the cup. Before each kline is a small table on which food and cups could be placed. The klinai were set against the wall of the room, leaving the center open and the symposiasts facing one another.

Based on descriptions in literary accounts, the symposion began with the welcoming of guests and washing in the courtyard, after which the guests would go to the andron to eat lightly. Following the meal, the symposiasts would have a drinking party that would start with a poured libation and a hymn. Slaves or servants would mix the wine with water and then serve the symposiasts. There might also be entertainers hired for the occasion, who might include women. Activities could include conversation, debate, singing, recitals of poetry, dancing, and/or sex (see Figure 13.1, page 321). Literary sources suggest that the women of an elite family would typically be sequestered from the proceedings in other areas of the house. We will discuss the household relations of men and women further in Chapter 13.

Many of the vases used in the symposion are themselves decorated with sympotic pictures. One of the earliest examples is a Corinthian krater from the beginning of the sixth century (Figure 5.21). Six men sit on four klinai, with a woman standing in front of them. The inscriptions identify this as a mythological scene, with king Eurytios seated in the left-center kline talking to his son Didalon. His other sons, Toxos and Klytios to the left and Iphitos to the right, are helping to entertain Herakles, who sits alone on the couch at the far right end. The woman is not a slave but Eurytios’s daughter, Iole. While the symposion seems orderly here, in the end Herakles kills Eurytios and his sons and sacks the city of Oichalia, perhaps because of drunkenness or because Iole had been promised to him as the prize in an archery contest. This and other pictures are reminders that events at the symposion can get out of hand and require balance and moderation by the symposiasts.