Cynosarges ( grc-gre, Κυνόσαργες ''Kynosarges'') was a famous temple of

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adopt ...

, public gymnasium, and surrounding grove located just outside the walls of

Ancient Athens Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for perhaps 5,000 years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC, and its cultural achieve ...

on the southern bank of the Ilissos river and near the Diomeian gate. The modern suburb of Kynosargous is named after it.

Overview

Its exact location is unknown but it is generally located in what is now the southern suburbs of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

.''The Stones of Athens'', Wycherley, R.E., Princeton 1978.Pg 229 Its name was a mystery to the ancients that was explained by a story about a white or swift dog, etymologising the name as ''Kynos argos'', from

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

of ''kyon'' (dog) and ''argos'' (white, shining, or swift). The legend goes that on one occasion when Didymos, an Athenian, was performing a lavish sacrifice, a white (or swift) dog appeared and snatched the offering; Didymos was alarmed, but received an

oracular An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

message saying that he should establish a temple to

in the place where the dog dropped the offering.

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for ...

mentions a shrine there in 490/89 BC, and it became a famous sanctuary of Heracles that was also associated with his mother

Alcmene In Greek mythology, Alcmene () or Alcmena (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλκμήνη or Doric Greek: Ἀλκμάνα, Latin: Alcumena means "strong in wrath") was the wife of Amphitryon by whom she bore two children, Iphicles and Laonome. She is best k ...

, his wife Hebe and his nephew/helper

Iolaus In Greek mythology, Iolaus (; Ancient Greek: Ἰόλαος ''Iólaos'') was a Theban divine hero. He was famed for being Heracles' nephew and for helping with some of his Labors, and also for being one of the Argonauts. Family Iolaus was t ...

. It appeared that Heracles and Hebe each had a dedicated altar whereas Alcmene and Iolaus shared one. A renowned gymnasium was built there; it was meant especially for ''nothoi'', illegitimate children. The Cynosarges was also where the Cynic

Antisthenes Antisthenes (; el, Ἀντισθένης; 446 366 BCE) was a Greek philosopher and a pupil of Socrates. Antisthenes first learned rhetoric under Gorgias before becoming an ardent disciple of Socrates. He adopted and developed the ethical side o ...

was said to have lectured, a fact which was offered as one explanation as to how the sect got the name of Cynics. A festival was held at Cynosarges in honour of Heracles in the month of Metageitnion, at which twelve ''nothoi'' were chosen to be ''parasitoi'' (fellow diners), who ate a meal with the cult statue of the god. They returned for smaller meals each month for a year where a priest would perform sacrifices. People who refused to serve as ''parasitoi'' were liable to be prosecuted in the Athenian court system. Clement recorded that

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the a ...

, who claimed Heracles as an ancestor, was honoured with a cult at the site. Archaeological excavations were carried out in 1896-7 by Campbell Cowan Edgar, then a student at the

British School at Athens The British School at Athens (BSA) ( el, Βρετανική Σχολή Αθηνών) is an archaeological research institute, one of the eight British International Research Institutes supported by the British Academy. Under UK law it is a registe ...

Notes

References

* Athenaeus of Naucratis, '' The Deipnosophists or Banquet of the Learned.'' London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1854
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Athenaeus of Naucratis, ''Deipnosophistae''. Kaibel. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Lipsiae. 1887
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, '' The Histories'' with an English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920.
Online version at the Topos Text Project.Greek text available at Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Suida, ''Suda Encyclopedia'' translated by Ross Scaife, David Whitehead, William Hutton, Catharine Roth, Jennifer Benedict, Gregory Hays, Malcolm Heath Sean M. Redmond, Nicholas Fincher, Patrick Rourke, Elizabeth Vandiver, Raphael Finkel, Frederick Williams, Carl Widstrand, Robert Dyer, Joseph L. Rife, Oliver Phillips and many others
Online version at the Topos Text Project.

External links

*{{cite IEP , url-id=cynosarg , title=Cynosarges Ancient Greek buildings and structures in Athens Ancient Greek religion Cynicism Former buildings and structures in Greece Heracles Gymnasiums (ancient Greece) Festivals in ancient Athens

Overview

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References

External links