Parthenon. It seems that this point of view was greatly admired by the ancients. Dicaearchus alludes to this view when he speaks (l.c.)of "the magnificent temple of Athena, called the Parthenon, rising above the theatre, and striking the spectator with admiration." (Leake, p. 183, seq.) Dodwell, vol. i. p. 299; Wordsworth, p. 89, seq.)
6. The Odeium of Herodes or Regilla.
The Odeium or Music-theatre[1] of Regilla also lay beneath the southern wall of the Acropolis, but at its western extremity. It was built in the time of the Antonines by Herodes Atticus, who called it the Odeium of Regilla in honour of his deceased wife. It is not mentioned by Pausanias in his description of Athens, who explains the omission in a subsequent part of his work by the remark that it was not commenced at the time he wrote his first book. (Paus. vii. 20. § 3.) Pansanias remarks (l. c.) that it surpassed all other Odeia in Greece, as well in dimensions as in other respects; and its roof of cedar wood was particularly admired. (Philostr. Vit. Soph. ii. 1. § 5.) The length of its diameter within the walls was about 240 feet, and it is calculated to have furnished accommodation for about 6000 persons. There are still considerable remains of the building; but, "in spite of their extent, good preservation, and the massive material of which they are composed, they have a poor appearance, owing to the defects of the Roman style of architecture, especially of the rows of small and apparently useless arches with which the more solid portions of the masonry are perforated, and the consequent number of insignificant parts into which it is thus subdivided." (Mare, vol. ii. p. 91.) It is surprising that Stuart should have supposed the remains of this comparatively small Roman building to be those of the great Dionysiac theatre, in which the dramas of the Athenian poets were performed.
7. Cave of Apollo and Pan, and Fountain of Clepsydra.
The Cave of Apollo and Pan, more usually called the Cave of Pan, lay at the base of the NW. angle of the Acropolis. It is described by Herodotus (vi. 105) as situated below the Acropolis, and by Pausanias (i. 28. § 4) as a little below the Propylaea, with a spring of water near it. The worship of Apollo in this cave was probably of great antiquity. Here he is said to have had connection with Creusa, the mother of In; and hence the cave is frequently mentioned in the "Ion" of Euripides. (Paus. l.c.; Eurip. Ion, 506, 955, &c.) The worship of Pan in this cave was not introduced till after the battle of Marathon, in consequence of the services which he rendered to the Athenians on that occasion. His statue was dedicated by Miltiades, and Simonides wrote the inscription for it. (Simonid. Reliqu. p. 176, ed. Schneidewin.) A statue of Pan, now in the public library at Cambridge, was discovered in a garden a little below the cave, and may possibly be
ATEENAE. the identical figure dedicated by Miltiades. The cave measures about 18 feet in length, 30 in height, and 15 in depth. Then are two excavated ledges cut in the rock, on which we may suppose statues of the two deities to have stood, and also numerous niches and holes for the reception of votive offerings.
The fountain near the cave, of which Pausanias does not mention the name, was called Clepsydra (KAsfnSllM), more anciently Empedo (V>><^). It derived the name of Clepsydra from its being supposed to have had a subterraneous communication with the harbour of Phalerum. (Aristoph. Lysistr. 912, Schol. ad loc. ad Vesp. 853, Av. 1694; Hesych. s. vv. KAe^-iSpa, K^rf-lfpinay, nOm.) "The only access to this fountain is from the enclosed platform of the Acropolis above it. The approach to it is at the north of the Northern wing of the Propylaea. Here we begin to descend a flight of forty-seven steps cut in the rock, but partially cased with slabs of marble. The descent is arched over with with niches cut in its sides. In the chapel is a well, surmounted with a peristomium of marble: below which is the water now at a distance of about 30 feet."(Wordsworth.) This flight of steps is seen in the annexed coin from the British Museum, in which the cave of Pan is represented at the foot, and the statue of Athena Promachus and the Parthenon at the summit. The obverse is the size of the coin: the reverse is enlarged.
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COIN SHOWING THE CAVE OF PAN, THE PARTHENON AND ATHENA PROMACHUS.
8. The Aglaurium.
The sanctuary of Aglaurus, one of the three daughters of Cecrops, was also a cavern situated in the northern face of the Acropolis. It is evident from several passages in the Ion of Euripides (8, 296, 506, 953, 1413) that the Aglaurium was in some part of the precipices called the Long Rocks, which ran
- ↑ An Odeium (^iSfioir) was, in its form and arrangements, very similar to a theatre, from which it differed chiefly by being roofed over, in order to retain the sound. It appears to have been originally designed chiefly for musical rehearsals, in subordination to the great choral performances in the theatre, and consequently a much smaller space was required for the audience.
