House of Dioscurides and Cleopatra

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House of Dioscurides and Cleopatra in Delos

The House of Dioscorides and Cleopatra is a Hellenistic private house in the ancient city of Delos on the island of Delos.

In 138/7 BC BC it was expanded and equipped with statues. The peculiarity of this house is that the portrait statue is one of the few sculptures of Hellenism that can be firmly dated by an inscription.

location

The house of Dioscorides and Cleopatra is located on Insula III in the theater district of Delos. This insula is considered to be the oldest in this area. The house is below the house of Dionysus .

House of Cleopatra, Delos

House

The house was put together from two smaller houses. At an unknown point in time, Dioscurides bought the neighboring house and connected the two houses together. One house traditionally had an oikos and two side rooms. In the other house a corridor led into the courtyard, where a peristyle courtyard with 3 by 4 columns was created at the same time as the extension . This peristyle is said to have been modeled on the house of Dionysus. To the south of this peristyle is a large room with a mosaic floor, to the north a small room with two adjoining rooms.

Statuary equipment

Two portrait statues were found in the courtyard of the house. The statues were erected on a former doorstep. They stand in such a way that the person entering immediately looks at the statues of the house owners. An inscription on the base allows both the donors to be identified and the statues to be dated.

“Cleopatra, the daughter of Adrastus from Myrrhinutte,” placed her husband
Dioscurides, the son of Theodoros from Myrrhinutte, who
consecrated the two silver Delphic tripods in the temple of Apollo next to the two antas.
Under the archon of Timarchus "

Delos House of Cleopatra 04

It is said that Timarchus was in 138/7 BC. BC Archon was. This enables dating. As soon as one came through the front door, the visitor's gaze fell on the two statues. This fact and the inscription suggest that Dioscurides and Cleopatra were a married couple who liked to portray themselves and quickly became rich.

literature

  • Martin Kreeb: Investigations into the figurative decoration of Delian private houses . Chicago 1988. ISBN 0-89005-481-9 .
  • Monika Trümper : Living in Delos. An architectural study on the change in living culture in the Hellenistic period . Publishing house Marie Leihdorf, Rahden / Westf. 1998, ISBN 3-89646-318-7 .

Web links

Commons : House of Dioscorides and Cleopatra  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Kreeb: Investigations into the figurative decoration of Delian private houses . Chicago 1988, p. 19.
  2. ↑ Martin Kreeb: Investigations into the figurative decoration of Delian private houses . Chicago 1988, p. 282.
  3. ↑ Monika Trümper: Living in Delos. A building history study on the change in living culture in the Hellenistic period. Rahden / Westf. 1998, p. 273.
  4. ↑ Martin Kreeb: Investigations into the figurative decoration of Delian private houses . Chicago 1988, p. 282.
  5. ↑ Martin Kreeb: Investigations into the figurative decoration of Delian private houses . Chicago 1988, p. 21.

Coordinates: 37 ° 23 '52.3 "  N , 25 ° 16' 0.6"  E