Tomb of Theron

Location of Theron's tomb (No. 5) in Akragas

The so-called Tomb of Theron ( Italian Tomba di Terone ) is a Hellenistic tomb in Agrigento in Sicily , the ancient Akragas . The grave, which has been standing upright since ancient times, is located outside the ancient city area in the necropolis in front of the southern city wall.

Name and date

According to local tradition, the building is known as the grave of the tyrant Theron († 473/2 BC). However, for typological and stylistic reasons, the tomb can be dated to the Hellenistic period and was probably used as a heroon (memorial building) in the 3rd century BC. BC Roman city of Akragas was built.

description

Theron's grave in a 19th century photo

It is a building with a square base and a house-shaped superstructure ( naiskos ). The smooth plinth (height 3.91 m; 4.81 m length) with a foot profile is closed at the top by a cornice. At the corners of the superstructure (height 3.73 m) there are Ionic columns with Attic bases . In between, false doors are indicated on all sides . The corner columns of the building, which tapers slightly towards the top, have a Doric entablature with a smooth architrave and a metope triglyph frieze . On the superstructure was a now lost, probably pyramid-shaped attachment.

literature

Hanns Gabelmann : Roman tombs of the early imperial era. (= Small writings on the knowledge of the Roman occupation history of Southwest Germany. No. 22). Society for Prehistory and Early History in Württemberg and Hohenzollern, Stuttgart 1979, p. 72.
Hans Lauter : The architecture of Hellenism . Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1986, ISBN 3-534-09401-8 , p. 216.
Janos Fedak: Monumental Tombs of the Helleistic Age . University of Toronto Press, Toronto 1990, ISBN 0-8020-2694-X , pp. 125-126.
Roger JA Wilson : Sicily under the Roman Empire. The archeology of a roman province, 36 BC - AD 535 . Aris and Philipps, Warminster 1990, ISBN 0-85668-160-1 , p. 133.
Frederick E. Winter: Studies in Hellenistic Architecture . University of Toronto Press, Toronto 2006, ISBN 0-8020-3914-6 , pp. 94. 188.

Web links

Commons : Tomb of Theron - Collection of Images

Building entry for Theron's tomb in the Arachne archaeological database

Individual evidence

↑ Lauter: 2nd third of 3rd century BC Chr .; Fedak: 2nd century BC Chr .; Gabelmann: late 2nd century BC Chr .; Wilson: around 100 BC Chr .; Winter: early 1st century BC Chr.

[1] Lauter: 2nd third of 3rd century BC Chr .; Fedak: 2nd century BC Chr .; Gabelmann: late 2nd century BC Chr .; Wilson: around 100 BC Chr .; Winter: early 1st century BC Chr.