Sanctuary of Zeus Polieus

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The sanctuary of Zeus Polieus , Zeus as the protector of the city, in Athens was on the highest point of the Acropolis at its eastern end. The facility was about 8 meters northeast of the Parthenon . It was a spacious area, which was divided into two complexes by enclosing walls: a rectangular western courtyard area of ​​about 26 × 17 meters, which was accessible through a small gate system on the southwest corner, and an irregularly designed eastern area. This could be entered via several entrances, including from the western courtyard. On its south side, the foundation traces of a small temple of Anten , in the middle of which there was a sacrificial pit for the ashes of burnt victims, and the remains of an elongated altar table have been preserved.

The sanctuary is connected to the archaic rites around the animal sacrifice called bouphonia , which was offered to Zeus on the festival of Dipolieia in the month of Skirophorion . Pausanias writes in this context:

There [on the Acropolis] are statues of Zeus, one by the hand of Leochares, another by Polieus ... They put barley mixed with wheat on the altar of Zeus Polieus and leave both unguarded. The ox that they have already prepared for the sacrifice goes to the altar and eats the grain. They call one of the priests an ox butcher; he kills the ox, throws the ax aside and runs away. The rest, however, bring the ax to court and pretend they do not know the perpetrator.

The sacrifice presumably took place at the altar table in front of the small temple of the Ante, while the oxen selected for this purpose stayed in the western courtyard during the year. At least one inscription from 485 BC speaks. BC, which regulates the handling of the ox dung, for a permanent presence of the animals on the Acropolis. The complex was built around 500 BC. Dated.

literature

  • Maria S. Brouscaris: The monuments of the Acropolis. Archaeological guide . GD of Antiquities and Restoration, Athens 1978, pp. 88-90.

Remarks

  1. ^ Pausanias 1, 24, 4.
  2. ^ Inscriptiones Graecae I² 3/4.

Coordinates: 37 ° 58 ′ 18.5 ″  N , 23 ° 43 ′ 38.3 ″  E