Shrine of the Muses (Helikon)

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Base of the 9 Muses of Onestus (1st century BC). Today in the courtyard of the Thebes Archaeological Museum .

The Muse sanctuary in eastern Helikongebirges was 4.5 kilometers west of today's Askri in the Greek countryside Viotia . It belonged to Thespiai , which organized the musical competitions here . The valley between the sanctuary and Askri was called the Valley of the Muses in ancient times, which is why the sanctuary is sometimes also called the Valley of the Muses . The Hippocrene spring is located about 2 km west of the Muses' sanctuary .

description

The most important part of the sanctuary was the sacred grove of the Muses, which lay in the east of the Valley of the Muses and stretched on both sides of the Permessos River. The foundations of a large altar were found on the right bank of the Permessus. It had north-south orientation, was 9.80 m long and 5.80 m wide. Using the building material, which consisted of a combination of porosity , conglomerate and limestone , the excavator dated the remains of the building to the 3rd century BC. About 40 m west of the altar an Ionic columned hall was found - also with north-south orientation. It had a length of 96.70 m and a depth of 13 m. To the north of the portico, on the other side of the Permessos, further foundations were found, which probably belonged to another portico.

An ancient theater from the end of the 3rd or beginning of the 2nd century BC was found about 300 m southwest of the portico. The rows of seats, which were not made of stone, were in a semicircular, natural recess. The stage was 22.20 m wide and 10.50 m deep and had a proskenion . Many inscriptions were found in the sanctuary. There was also a semicircular base for the nine muses of the poet and sculptor Onestos.

exploration

The Greek archaeologist Panagiotis Stamatakis made the first test excavations in 1882 at the church ruins of Agia Trias and found foundation walls that he assigned to a temple. Today it is assumed that it is the remains of an altar. From 1888 to 1890, the French painter Paul Jamot carried out systematic excavations on behalf of the École française d'Athènes . Here the altar, the portico and the theater were discovered.

Lore

The aloids Otos and Ephialtes are said to have founded the muse sanctuary. They worshiped the three muses Melete (zeal), Mneme (memory) and Aoide (song). Pieros later came from Macedonia and brought the cult to worship nine muses, whom he had met in Thrace . He himself had nine daughters whom he named after the Muses. For this reason it was said that the people referred to as the children of the Muses were the grandchildren of Pieros.

On the way from Thespiai to the sanctuary, you passed the Aganippe spring. Pausanias remarked that Aganippe is the daughter of Termessus. This meant that the Aganippe flowed into the Termessos, as the Permessos were also called. On the further way you passed the picture of Eupheme , the wet nurse of the muses, and a rock painting of Linos . Before sacrificing to the muses, sacrifices were made here to Linos.

In the sanctuary there was a statue with all the muses by the artist Kephisodotos the Elder and three other statues with three muses each. One again came from Kephisodotos. The others from Strongylion and Olympiosthenes . A bronze statue represented the fight between Apollo and Hermes for the lyre. There was also a statue of Dionysus from Lysipp . Sulla brought a statue of Dionysus from the hand of Myron from Orchomenos and consecrated it to the muses.

Artists were erected statues in the muse sanctuary. There was a statue of the blind Thamyris with a broken kithara , the Arion of Lesbos on a dolphin, the flute player Sakadas, Hesiod and Orpheus singing to animals. Also Arsinoe II. Was on a bunch depicted riding and Telephus , son of Hercules , as he is suckled by a doe. Then there was a statue of Priapus , the son of Dionysus . Among the tripods consecrated here was the one that Hesiod received as the winner in Chalkida on the Euripus in the singing competition.

history

The oldest finds come from the Geometric Period . From the 6th century BC The muse sanctuary can be proven. When the Museia, as the musical competitions were called, is not known. End of the 3rd century BC The games were reorganized, further competitions were added and the games were held every five years. The heyday of the games lasted until the 1st century BC. The sanctuary experienced a second heyday in the 2nd century AD until the program was shortened in the 3rd century. In 330 Constantine the Great transferred the statues of the Muses to his new capital, Constantinople , where their trace was lost.

literature

Web links

Commons : Shrine of the Muses (Helicon)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Pausanias: Travels in Greece , 9.29.1-4
  2. ^ Pausanias: Travels in Greece , 9.29.4-7
  3. ^ Pausanias: Travels in Greece , 9.30,1
  4. ^ Pausanias: Travels in Greece , 9.30.2-31.3

Coordinates: 38 ° 19 ′ 16 ″  N , 23 ° 3 ′ 33 ″  E