ATHENS Pelasgian Zeus cannot be regarded as proved, nor is it easy to abandon the generally received view that this was the scene of the popular assemblies of later times, notwithstanding the apparent unsuitability of the ground and insufficiency of room for a large multitude. These difficulties are met by the assumption that the Cyclopean retaining-wall rose to a considerable height, supporting a theatre-like structure capable of seating many thousand persons. The pre-historic rock-dwellings in this neighbourhood (the quarter of Melite) have been found to extend to a considerable distance towards the S.E. in the direction of Phaleron. The Hellenic Period.—While modern research has added considerably to our knowledge of pre-historic Athens, astill greater light has been thrown on the architecture and topography of the city in the earlier historic or “ archaic ” era, the subsequent age of Athenian greatness, and the period of decadence which set in with the Macedonian conquest. We must here group these important epochs together, as distinguished from the later period of Roman rule, and confine ourselves to a chronological record of the principal discoveries by which they have been illustrated in recent years. In 1870, the Greek Archaeological Society undertook a series of excavations in the Outer Cerameicus which had already been partially explored by various of°research scholars. The operations, which were carried 1870-74. on at intervals till 1890, resulted in the The discovery of the Dipylon Gate, the principal D<. pylon. entrance 0f ancient Athens. The Dipylon consists of an outer and an inner gate separated by an oblong courtyard and flanked on each side by towers; the gates were themselves double, being each composed of two apertures intended for the incoming and outgoing traffic. An opening in the city wall a little to the south-west, supposed to have been the Sacred Gate {lepa ttvXij), was in all probability an outlet for the waters of the Eridanus. This stream, which has hitherto been regarded as the eastern branch of the Ilissus rising at Ksesariane, has been identified by Dorpfeld with a brook descending from the southern slope of Lycabettus and conducted in an artificial channel to the north-western end of the city, where it made its exit through the walls, eventually joining the Ilissus. The channel was open in Greek times, but was afterwards covered by Roman arches; it appears to have served as the main drain of the city. Between this outlet and the Dipylon were found a boundary-stone, inscribed opos KepapbCLKov, which remains in its place, and the foundations of a large rectangular building, possibly the Pompeion, which may have been a robing-room for the processions which passed this way. On both sides of the Dipylon the walls of Themistocles, faced on the outside by a later wall, have been traced for a considerable distance. The excavation of the outlying cemetery revealed the unique “Street of the Tombs” and brought to light a great number of sepulchral monuments, many of which remain in situ. Especially noteworthy are the stelcB or reliefs representing scenes of leave-taking, which, though often of simple workmanship, are characterized by a touching dignity and restraint of feeling. ^In this neighbourhood were found a great number of i th century tombs containing pottery with geometric designs. A considerable portion of the district remains unexplored. Within the same period was carried out the complete excavation of the Dionysiac theatre. The site, w hich had been accurately determined by Leake, was The Dionysiac explored by Strack in 1862, and the researches theatre. subsequently undertaken by the Greek Archaeological Society were concluded in 1879. It was not,
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however, till 1886 that traces of the original Greek orchestra were pointed out by Dorpfeld. The arrangements of the stage and orchestra as we now see them belong to Roman times; the cavea or auditorium dates from the administration of the orator Lycurgus (337-323 B.c.), and nothing is left of the theatre in which the plays of Aeschylus and Sophocles were acted, save a few small remnants of polygonal masonry. These, however, are sufficient to mark out the circuit of the ancient orchestra, on which the subsequently-built proscenia encroached. The oldest stage-building was erected in the time of Lycurgus; it consisted of a rectangular hall with square projections (7rapacr/o/cia) on each side; in front of this was built in late Greek or early Roman times a stage with a row of columns which intruded upon the orchestra space ; a later and larger stage, dating from the time of Nero, advanced still further into the orchestra, and this was finally faced (probably in the 3rd century a.d.) by the “bema” of Phsedrus, a platform-wall decorated with earlier reliefs, the slabs of which were cut down to suit their new position. The remains of two temples of Dionysus have been found adjoining the stoa of the theatre, and an altar of the same god adorned with masks and festoons: the smaller and earlier temple probably dates from the 6th century B.c., the larger from the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 4th century. Immediately west of the theatre of Dionysus is the sacred precinct of Asclepius, which was excavated by the Archaeological Society in 1876-78. Here ^ ^ct were discovered the foundations of the celebrated pig!o^ Asclepieion, together with several inscriptions and a great number of votive reliefs offered by grateful invalids and valetudinarians to the god of healing. Many of the reliefs belong to the best period of Greek art. A Doric colonnade with & double row of columns was found to have extended along the base of the Acropolis for a distance of 54 yards; behind it in a chamber hewn in the rock is the sacred well mentioned by Pausanias. The colonnade was a place of resort for the patients ; a large building close beneath the rock was probably the abode of the priests. The great excavations on the Acropolis, begun in November 1885 and completed in December 1888, rank among the most surprising achievements of Compleie modern research. The results of these opera- excavation tions, which were conducted by the Archseo- of the logical Society under the direction of Kavvadias f£™p°gS’ and Kawerau, must be summarized with the utmost brevity. The great deposits of sculpture and pottery now unearthed, representing all that escaped from the ravages of the Persians and the burning of the ancient shrines, afford a startling revelation of the development of Greek art in the 7th and 6 th centuries. Numbers of statues—among them a series of draped and richly-coloured female figures — masterpieces of painted pottery, only equalled by the Attic vases found in Magna Grsecia and Etruria, and numerous bronzes, were among the treasures of art now brought to light. All belong to the “ archaic ” epoch; only a few remains of the greater age were found, including some fragments of sculptures from the Parthenon and Erechtheion. Among the inscriptions now discovered was a record of the gold and ivory bought for the great statue of Athena Parthenos, which enables us to determine the ratio of silver to gold in the age of Phidias. We are principally concerned, however, with the results which add to our knowledge of the topography and architecture of the Acropolis. The entire area of the summit was now thoroughly explored, the excavations being carried down to the surface of the rock, which on the southern
