Architectural member with relief decoration

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Inventory number

Ακρ. 2444

Category

Architectural member

Period

Roman Period

Date

1st-2nd cent. AD

Dimensions

Height: 0.27 m
Length: 0.55 m
Width: 0.22 and 0.11 m

Material

Marble from Penteli

Location

First Floor, North

Description
Bibliography

Architectural member from a corner, bearing relief decoration. It was found east of the Beulé gate, during the excavations conducted on the Acropolis in 1880. Two sockets to receive metal clamps on the bottom surface and one on the upper, as well as the metal joint that is preserved on the left corner, indicate that it forms part of a greater monument.

The front side is decorated with the attributes of goddess Athena. On the left, an owl is perched over a volute that springs from the palmette decorating the left corner. An olive tree filled with fruit occupies the middle of the scene and next to it a snake uncoils its body as it slithers to the right. This decorative band, which would have been continued on the neighbouring blocks, is crowned by a Lesbian cyma.

The depiction of Athena’s symbols led many scholars to ascribe this member to the crowning part of the Great Altar outside the Erechtheion, as part of the repairs made after the destruction caused by Sulla on the Acropolis in 86 BC. However, others do not associate it with the altar and attribute it to a base of a dedication.

Bohn, R., «Bericht über die Ausgrabungen auf der Akropolis zu Athen im Frühjahr 1880, II», Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts. Athenische Abteilung 5, 1880, σελ. 314-315
Mobius, H., «Attische Architekturstudien: 2. Zwei Anthemienfriese im Stile des Erechtheions», Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Athenische Abteilung LII, 1927, σελ. 184-189, πίν. ΧΧΙΙ, 5, αρ. κατ. B
Μπρούσκαρη, Μ., Μουσείον Ακροπόλεως. Περιγραφικός κατάλογος, Αθήνα, 1974, σελ. 21, εικ. 7, αρ. κατ. 2444
Holtzmann, B., L’ Acropole d’Athènes. Monuments, cultes et histoire du sanctuaire d’Athèna Polias, Paris, 2003, σελ. 216-217, εικ. 192
Ohnesorg, A., Ionische Altäre : Formen und Varianten einer Architekturgattung aus Insel- und Ostionien, Archäologische Forschungen, 21, Berlin, 2005, σελ. 18 και υποσημ. 89-90
Di Cesare, R., «L'Acropolie dall'ellenismo all'impero 'umanistico'. Aspetti politici di monumenti.», στο R. Krumeich, C. Witschel (επιμ.), Die Akropolis von Athen im Hellenismus und in der römischen Kaiserzeit, Wiesbaden, 2010, σελ. 242