Pythion and Asclepion of Paros

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remains of the Asklepieion

As Pythion and asclepieion of Paros ( Greek Ιερά του Ασκληπειού και του Πυθίου Απόλλωνα Iera tou Asklepeiou kai tou Pythiou Apollona , sanctuary of Asklepios and Pythian Apollon ') is an archaeological excavation site on the Greek Cycladic island Paros designated. It is located on the west coast of the island on the southwestern outskirts of Parikia (Παροικιά), the capital of Paros. The excavation of the sanctuaries took place from 1897 to 1899 by Otto Rubensohn for the German Archaeological Institute .

location

Sketch of the location of the Asklepieion and Pythion southwest of Parikias (1901)

The location of the Asklepieion has not been forgotten since ancient times, although at the beginning of the excavations only sparse remains of the structure were preserved. The excavation site is located on two terraces on the northern slope of the 43.3 meter high Arakas (Αρακάς, pea mountain '). The altar of the sanctuary of the Pythian Apollo , the Pythion, stood on the 35.4 meter high upper terrace, the sanctuary of Asklepios or Asklepieion on the 25.2 meter high terrace directly to the north below. About 60 meters north of the temple remains of the Asclepion runs the coastline that forms the Ormos Parikias sea inlet (Όρμος Παροικιάς, Bay of Parikia ').

Between the center of Parikia in the northeast and the location of the Asklepieion lies the Agia Anna (Αγία Άννα) elevation , which was still undeveloped around 1900 and is now part of the village with a church, houses and hotels. Below the excavation site, the main road runs from Parikia via Parasporos to the southwest. An entrance building for visitors was built on the northeast edge of the former Asklepieion, which is currently not in operation and is in ruins. A staircase surrounded by natural stone walls leads from the street past the building to the 70 meter long and 30 meter wide lower terrace with the foundations of the Asklepieion. On the west side, a dirt path leads to the upper terrace, the former location of the Pythion's altar.

history

From the manuscripts of Cyriacus of Ancona , who visited Paros in 1444, drawings of sculptures and inscriptions are known that could be assigned to Paros and the Asklepieion. The facility was used as a quarry by the residents of Parikia for centuries, in order to block parts of it, including many stones with inscriptions, in the houses of the village. During his excavations in and near Parikia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the archaeologist Otto Rubensohn therefore also looked for the remains of the sanctuary of Asklepios southwest of the village.

East side of the Asklepieion

Rubensohn found three plains on the north side of Mount Arakas . The path from Parikia to the west coast ran on the lowest point near the coast. The terrace above was partly artificially filled. On top of it was the east-west facing structure of the Asklepieion. According to Rubensohn, at the end of the 5th century B.C. The cult of Asclepius, and with him that of Hygieia in the same place, the older cult of Apollon Pythios and took over its original veneration. The oldest inscription of the Asklepieion, in which the name of Asklepios is mentioned, comes from the first half of the 4th century BC. Chr.

Parts of the asclepion and remains of the retaining wall to the upper terrace

The basis for the choice of location was a spring on the rock face to the upper terrace, on which Rubensohn discovered remains of the foundations of the holy district of Apollon. The dimensions of this structure can no longer be clarified. Rubensohn only found in the southern area in front of the summit of the Arakas a wall in an east-west direction with a length of 37.5 meters with few interruptions and a north-south wall of 17 meters in length at the western end at right angles. The latter could have reached to the northern edge of the upper terrace, but without a foundation bedding in the ground. At this point, retaining walls had been built from the lower terrace to stabilize the upper one.

Marble pool from the younger spring

From the inscriptions found, Rubensohn concluded that the sanctuary of Apollon Pythios as early as the 7th century BC. Must have passed. In addition to the sacred area on the upper terrace, the center of which was the altar, the Pythion had buildings serving the purpose of a sanatorium at the sacred spring of the lower terrace. After the rededication from an Apollonian healing place to an Asklepieion at the end of the 5th century BC. The older buildings were initially continued to be used. Only in the 4th century BC BC, probably in its second half, a conversion or new building was carried out, which was possibly connected with the development of a new spring eleven meters west of the previous healing spring.

Plan drawing of the archaeological survey of the Asklepieion from 1902

The new construction of the Asklepieion was a rectangular structure with a length of 45.5 meters. The dimension from the inside edge of the south wall to the inside edge of the destroyed north wall was 17.5 meters. The dimensions of the older building are unknown today due to the destruction of its structures when the new building was erected. The Asklepieion of the 4th century BC Chr. Had a hall opened by pillars on both sides, in the east and in the west. The entrance to the sanctuary was on the east. The center of the Asklepieion was a 23.5 × 17 meter rectangular inner courtyard . Here the main altar of the sanctuary stood under the open sky in an axis with the newly constructed spring basin. Immediately to the west of the marble basin of the younger spring there were two adjoining exedra or aedicules on the back wall of the sanctuary , although Rubensohn's interpretation of whether it was seating niches or bases of sculptures was not determined. It should be remembered that in addition to Asklepios, his daughter Hygieia was also venerated in the sanctuary. Among the structural elements, finds of Doric capitals of various sizes should be emphasized.

"Apollon" from Paros

Sculptures and inscriptions should be mentioned among the individual finds. The most important sculpture is an archaic kouros made of coarse-grain Parian marble that was found on the northwest corner of the sanctuary. Its location and the existing damage suggest that it was built in ancient times when the Asklepieion was rebuilt in the 4th century BC. BC, was spilled. In addition to the nose, the sculpture lacks the right arm and both legs below the knees. The front, which was facing up when found, is badly weathered and the left arm was broken into three pieces. The height obtained is 1.035 meters. Because of its age, Rubensohn referred to the Kouros as "Apollon" or assigned to the sanctuary of Apollon Pythios. The youth figure that is now in the Louvre in Paris was made around 540 BC. Manufactured.

The inscriptions found show two types of consecrations in the Asklepieion. This includes dedications of gratefully convalescent or people pleading for health, as well as dedicatory inscriptions donated by parents for their sons, including so-called hair consecrations on the occasion of adolescence. All dedicatory inscriptions were directed to Asklepios and Hygieia. In the Roman Empire , as elsewhere, the cult of Asclepius enjoyed a great boom. The god entered Paros in close relation to the cult of the sexes. As a nickname of Asklepios, two are known from the inscriptions of Paros, Sōtēr (Σωτήϱ, "savior") and Hypataios (Ὑπαταῖος), each of which is attested twice. While the first is a common surname of the god, the second, meaning “God of Hypata ”, is otherwise only used for Thera for Asklepios and is still known from Epidaurus as the surname of Apollo .

literature

  • Otto Rubensohn : Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 189–238 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
  • Friedrich Hiller von Gaertringen : Inscriptiones Graecae Vol. XII, 5 Berlin 1903, No. 147-153 (Pythion). Br. 154-183 (Asklepieion).
  • Milena Melfi: Il complesso del Pythion-Asklepieion a Paro. In: Annuario della Scuola archeologica di Atene e delle missioni italiane in Oriente 80, 2002, pp. 327–359.
  • Milena Melfi: I santuari di Asclepio in Grecia. Volume 1, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, Rome 2007, ISBN 88-8265-347-1 , pp. 433-455.
The "Apollon" from Paros on panel XI of the Athenische Mitteilungen, Volume 27, on Paros III by Otto Rubensohn

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Τα Αξιοθέατα της Πάρου. (No longer available online.) Abettergreece.com, Jan 11, 2014, archived from the original on May 12, 2014 ; Retrieved May 6, 2014 (Greek). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.abettergreece.com
  2. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros II . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 26 , 1901, pp. 182-183 , panel X ( archive.org ).
  3. ↑ a b Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 189 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  4. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros I . History of the scientific exploration of Paros. In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 25 , 1900, pp. 356 ff . ( Text archive - Internet Archive ).
  5. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 220 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  6. ↑ a b c d Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 236–237 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  7. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 222 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  8. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 192–193 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  9. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 197 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  10. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 219 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  11. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 201 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  12. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 205–206 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
  13. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 208 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  14. ↑ a b Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 210–212 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  15. ↑ a b Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 213–214 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
  16. ↑ a b Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 215 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  17. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 216 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  18. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 230-231 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
  19. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, panel XI ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  20. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 233 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  21. ↑ Inventory number Ma 3101 = MND 888; Louvre database .
  22. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 224–225 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
  23. ↑ Otto Rubensohn: Paros III. Pythion and Asklepieion . In: Communications of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department . tape 27 , 1902, pp. 228-229 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
  24. ↑ IG XII 5, No. 156.

Web links

Commons : Pytion and Asklepieion of Paros  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 37 ° 4 ′ 41.3 "  N , 25 ° 8 ′ 26.4"  E