HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Athenian Treasury (
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
: Θησαυρός των Αθηναίων) at
Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...
was constructed by the
Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
to house dedications and votive offerings made by their city and citizens to the sanctuary of
Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
. The entire treasury including its sculptural decoration is built of
Parian marble Parian marble is a fine-grained, semi translucent, and pure-white marble quarried during the classical antiquity, classical era on the Greece, Greek List of islands of Greece, island of Paros in the Aegean Sea. A subtype, referred to as Parian ' ...
. The date of construction is disputed, and scholarly opinions range from 510 to 480 BCE. It is located directly below the Temple of Apollo along the Sacred Way for all visitors to view the Athenian treasury on the way up to the sanctuary. Pausanias mentions the building in his account of the sanctuary, claiming that it was dedicated from the spoils of the
Battle of Marathon The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens (polis), Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Achaemenid Empire, Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaph ...
, fought in 490 BCE against the
Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...
. The Battle of Marathon can be seen in some of the images of the
metope A metope (; ) is a rectangular architectural element of the Doric order, filling the space between triglyphs in a frieze , a decorative band above an architrave. In earlier wooden buildings the spaces between triglyphs were first open, and ...
s which compare their victory to mythology. By using the founder of Athens,
Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...
, to show the victories of Athens, the treasury established Athens as one of the most powerful
polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...
(city-states) of Greece. The Athenian treasury
metope A metope (; ) is a rectangular architectural element of the Doric order, filling the space between triglyphs in a frieze , a decorative band above an architrave. In earlier wooden buildings the spaces between triglyphs were first open, and ...
s display the earliest known presence of Theseus in a large-scale sculpture. Prior to this treasury, Theseus had been depicted on vase paintings, but no architectural depictions have been found. Although Herakles was also depicted in the metopes, the added heroic character showed the Athenians' increasing devotion to Theseus. The pairing of the two heroes was a metaphor alluding to the Battle of Marathon. The metopes show Athenian identity and how they viewed their enemies both foreign or domestic. The Athenian treasury was the first at a Panhellenic sanctuary that was dedicated by Athens. Several other city-states built treasuries at Delphi. The building was excavated by the French School at Athens, led by Pierre de La Coste-Messelière, and reconstructed from 1903 to 1906. The structure is still visible ''in'' ''situ'', although the metopes are reproductions; the originals are in the museum of Delphi.


Mythology and the metopes

The main characters of the metopes are from common Athenian mythology, showing these heroes undergoing their many trials. The metopes show Theseus, the mythological founder and king of Athens. His mother, though human, was possessed by
Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...
at the time of conception. The labors of Theseus began in order to claim the throne as he travels through the six entrances to the
underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...
. Each labor is depicted in the form of a metope, his strength metaphorically showing Athenian prowess on the international stage that was Greece at the time. Herakles at the time was the second most mentioned and decorated hero to appear in Athens. Athens wanted to be seen as related not just to their own personal hero Theseus but to connect him to Herakles as a relation to the gods. Each metope contains a single deed done by each hero as they tried to reach their goal. This put the polis-hero on equal level to Herakles; a later version of Theseus that occurred after 460 BCE even had Theseus using his club against Periphetes, making him look similar to Herakles. The metopes also draw parallels between the two heroes with the bull which Herakles captured as his seventh labor from
Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
and which later Theseus captures and sacrifices to Apollo and
Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...
.


Metopes

The thirty metopes of the treasury are 67 cm tall and 62–64 cm wide, nine along the long sides (north and south) and six along the short (east and west), depicted the labors of Theseus and Herakles. This is the earliest surviving juxtaposition of the two. Many of these metopes were found scattered around the surrounding area, and the order to which they would have appeared is disputed. Thesean metopes include: * Theseus and Athena * Theseus and Sinis * Theseus and the Crommyonian sow * Theseus and Sciron * Theseus and Cercyon * Theseus and Procrustes * Theseus and the Bull of Marathon * Theseus and the
Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "par ...
* Theseus and the Captive Amazon Heraklean metopes include: * Heracles and the Nemean Lion * Heracles and the Ceryneian Hind * Heracles and the
Centaur A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version o ...
* Heracles and Cycnus * Heracles and Orthrus * Geryon * Cows of Geryon (three metopes)


Inscription

The platform upon which the treasury stands has a prominent inscription on its south face; it is dated internally to post-490 BCE. ΑΘΕΝΑΙΟΙ Τ � ΑΠΟΛΛΟΝ � ΑΠΟ ΜΕΔ�Ν ΑΚ �ΟΘ�ΝΙΑ ΤΕΣ ΜΑΡΑΘ �Ι Μ �ΧΕ�. The Athenians dedicated this to Apollo as first fruits from the Persians at the
Battle of Marathon The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens (polis), Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Achaemenid Empire, Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaph ...
.


Construction

The Athenian Treasury in Delphi was built according to a typical
distyle in antis In classical architecture, distyle in antis denotes a temple with the side walls extending to the front of the porch and terminating with two antae, the pediment being supported by two columns or sometimes caryatids. This is the earliest ty ...
design, with two antae framing two columns. The ancient writer and traveler Pausanias was “emphatic that the Athenian Treasury was built eaning financedfrom the spoils from the landing of the
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
n general Datis at
Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...
”. This means that a date later than 490 BCE, after the Battle of Marathon and accounting for time of construction would be acceptable to Pausanias. Despite being a
primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an Artifact (archaeology), artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was cre ...
, Pausanias on occasion may have been misguided or misinformed, and classical scholars still debate the date of construction. John Boardman notes that “on a purely archaeological, architectural and stylistic grounds the Treasury has appeared to many scholars to date around 500 BCE, and some would put it earlier.” Recent findings compiled by
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
professor Richard T. Neer, referencing excavations from 1989 (summarized by Pierre Amandry in 1998), advocates for the latter date:
A ledge of 0.30 meters in width projects from the Treasury’s stereobate along its south side only, and that this ledge helps to support the Marathon base. In other words, the plan of the Treasury takes the base into account from the earliest phase of construction. The two structures are thus integral, and both must date after the battle of Marathon in 490 BCE. With this archaeological datum, the chronology of the Athenian treasury must be considered settled. Pausanias was correct.
It has been suggested to have an earlier construction date due to the late Archaic style used for the architecture. The Doric style was modeled after the use of wood to create structures. The paintings inside the treasury were dated back to the 480's BCE, making specialists believe construction started before the military victory.


Votive offerings

The treasury was made to contain votive offerings such as spoils of war and kouros. This is where the famous twin kouros statues, Kleobis and Biton, were found. They were originally made at the Temple of Athena in Argos, but were given to the Athenian Treasury as a mark of respect. Because Athens was a superpower at the time, many city-states paid it for protection. The treasury was not only an offering to the gods, but a statement of their power, showing off arms, statuettes, and other pottery. The treasury was also a statement about the wealth of their new government. After transitioning from a tyrant ruled city-state into a democracy, the Athenians sought to internationally display their increased military success, wealth and prosperity. Votive offerings were often given after a great win, a prayer, or a funeral piece. These offerings were given by all Greeks to the gods in a sign of worship. Having a separate treasury allowed Athenians to show more of their prominent victories and achievements, establishing their identity as a people and also to show the rest of Greece that they were elites in the hierarchy.


Role at a Panhellenic sanctuary

A Panhellenic sanctuary was open to all of the city-states. The Athenians took this chance to display their civic pride and prosperity to not only the other city-states but to the gods and show them that they deserved their favor. This treasury held and displayed the votive offerings dedicated to the god Apollo at Delphi. The amount of dedications given would determine the power, range, and existence of the god. The treasury would house and protect the most durable offerings and also precious offerings that could withstand time. The Athenian Treasury is one of the more elaborate treasuries, showing the prosperity of Athens. The dedications belonged to Apollo and were not allowed to leave the sanctuary. The offerings stay within the temenos but were buried in votive pits once they were found to no longer be practical to display. The offerings would become more elaborate as the status of the Athenians increased, especially after winning a war in which they thought Apollo had shown them favor.


The site of Delphi

It is important to note the historical and geographical importance of the area in which the Athenian treasury is located. The Athenians, Siphnians, and the Sikyonians each had their own treasury lining the pathway to the Temple of Apollo, at the site of Delphi. The geographical location of the Temple of Apollo was significant in Greek mythology as it was the destination where two eagles, placed at opposite ends of the earth by Zeus, met. This temple was considered an
oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...
, where Apollo could communicate to humans through the
Pythia Pythia (; ) was the title of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as th ...
. The Greeks, their leaders and other foreign leaders journeyed to the temple of Apollo seeking advice from the Pythia, despite misinterpretations often leading to twists in fate. Much like the Olympics today, the site of Delphi hosted the Pythian Games as a dedication to Apollo, in the site's Greek theater. As well as athletic competitions, the Pythian Games also held poetry, dance and music contests, drawing in spectators and crowds. The presence of the oracle and the Pythian Games, allowed the Athenians to showcase their treasury on an international scale.


See also

*
Siphnian Treasury The Siphnian Treasury was a building at the Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek cult centre of Delphi, erected to host the offerings of the polis, or city-state, of Sifnos, Siphnos. It was one of a number of treasuries lining the "Sacred Way", the proc ...


References


External links

* Michael Scott
"Delphi: The Bellybutton of the Ancient World"
39:56 minutes. BBC 4. {{Authority control Ancient Greek buildings and structures in Delphi Commemoration of the battle of Marathon Votive offering Buildings and structures in Central Greece Culture in Classical Athens