Portrait herm of Herodes Atticus with the inscription:

Ηρώδης ἐνθάδε περιεπάτει

(Herodes enthade periepatei)

Herodes used to walk here

Inscription SEG 2.52 (Corinth 8,1 85).

According to museum labelling "around 175 AD", but
perhaps around 178 AD, after his death. Height 184 cm.

A chance find from near New Corinth, it was literally flushed out of the earth in 1919 when a heavy storm caused the collapse of a railway bridge and a landslide. The herm's original location is unknown, it may have come from nearby Isthmia (see below). It has also been suggested that the herm may have been set up at Kraneion (Κράνειον) at Corinth, a cypress grove with a temple of Aphrodite Melainis (Αφροδίτη Μελαίνις), a chthonic divinity worshipped in cemeteries, and a gymnasium that became a meeting place for philosophers (see Alexander and Diogenes in Corinth on the Alexander the Great page). Herodes Atticus may have had a villa there.

See:

Sarah B. Pomeroy, The Murder of Regilla: A Case of Domestic Violence in Antiquity. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2007.

Maud W. Gleason, Making Space for Bicultural Identity: Herodes Atticus Commemorates Regilla, Version 1.0, July 2008. Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics, Stanford University.

According to available evidence, Herodes Atticus and Annia Regilla had six children.

The tomb was built by Herodes Atticus for his deceased wife on his estate, known as the Pagus Triopius (Triopius Farm), in the Valle della Caffarella, between the Via Appia and the Almone river, outside the Aurelian Wall. Since Annia Regilla is thought to have been buried near Athens (although her tomb has not yet been found, see below), this may have been a cenotaph (κενοτάφιον, kenotaphion, symbolic empty grave) or shrine to her, unless her remains had been returned to Rome.

The area around the tomb is open to the public
on Saturdays and Sundays, 10 am - 4 pm (6 pm in summer).

It is thought that the estate, on the left side of the Via Appia between the second and third milestones, may have originally belonged to the family of Annia Regilla, and have been part of her dowry when she married Herodes Atticus. As part of his efforts to proclaim his grief over her death, Herodes renamed the estate Triopion (Τριόπιον, perhaps after the mythical hero Triopas [13]), dedicated to the gods of the underworld and the funeral cult of Regilla. The area included a temple dedicated to Demeter and Persephone and the "new Demeter", the deified Faustina Major (Annia Galeria Faustina, circa 100-140 AD), wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius. A statue of Annia Regilla, "neither god nor mortal", stood in the temple (see below).

The temple of Demeter and Persephone on the Triopion estate of Herodes Atticus near the Via Appia, southeast of Rome. The ruined building was restored by Pope Urban VIII Barberini in 1634, when it was stabilized by massive buttresses, and the spaces between the four Corinthian columns of the front porch (pronaos) were bricked up.

It was believed at the time to have been the Tempio di Bacco (temple of Bacchus), because of an inscribed cylindrical altar found inside (see image, right) that had been dedicated to Dionysus in the second half of the 2nd century by the hierophant Apronianus, a high priest of Demeter at Eleusis.

One of two inscribed marble columns from the temple of Demeter and Persephone in the Triopion.

Circa 138-161 AD. Found in 1607 near the
Tomb of Caecilia Metella on the Via Appia, Rome.

The Greek inscriptions on the two columns as well as those on two marble steles (see below) found at the site of the Triopion are unsurprisingly known as the "Triopian inscriptions". As with other dedications and memorials set up by Herodes Atticus, the dedications include curse texts (see below), threatening thieves and vandals with the wrath of the underworld deities:

καὶ ℎοι κίονες Δέμετρος καὶ Κόρες ἀνάθεμα καὶ χθονίον θεο͂ν· καὶ ὀδενὶ θεμιτὸν μετακινε͂σαι ἐκ το͂ Τριοπίο ℎό ἐστιν ἐπὶ το͂ τρίτο ἐν τε͂ι ℎοδο͂ι τε͂ι Ἀππίαι ἐν το͂ι ℎερόδο ἀγρο͂ι. ὀ γὰρ λο͂ιον το͂ι κινέσαντι· μάρτυς δαίμον Ἐνℎοδία

And these columns are an offering to Demeter, Kore, and the chthonic deity. No one is permitted to remove anything from the Triopion which is at the third [milestone] of the Appian Way in the land of Herodes. No good will come to him who moves it: Enhodia the [underworld] daimon is witness.

Inscription IG XIV 1390 (IGUR II 339a and IGUR II 339b at The Packard Humanities Institute).

Two marble marble steles, found at the site of the Triopion around the same time as the columns, are inscribed with an epitaph for the heroized Annia Regilla, written in Greek hexameter verse. Stele B was discovered in 1607 and stele A around 1616. They were acquired by Cardinal Scipione Borghese for his collection in the Villa Borghese on the Pincian Hill, Rome, and they remained there until 1808, when they were taken to Paris by Napoleon, and are now in the Louvre.

The first and main part of the epitaph is the fifty nine line poem on stele A, which is 122 cm tall. At the top, written in letters larger than the rest of the text, is the signature of Marcellus (Μαρκέλλου, genitive), believed to be the poet Marcellus of Side (Μάρκελλος Σιδήτης, Markellos Sidetes), otherwise known for long poems on medical remedies, werewolves and fish.

The text, dense with ancient literary allusions to deities, heroes and mythological events, refers to a shrine surrounding a seated statue of Regilla in the sanctuary, "the sacred image of the well-girt wife" dedicated to the New Deo (Faustina Major) and the Old (Demeter). Roman women, addressed as "daughters of the Tiber", are invited to bring her sacred offerings. She is praised as "she of the beautiful ankles", "descended from Aeneas and was of the race of Ganymede". She had been an attendant to Faustina in her youth and a priestess of her cult.

Being "neither mortal, nor divine", Regilla "has neither sacred temple nor tomb, neither honours for mortals, nor honours like those for the divine". This seems to indicate that the nearby "Tomb of Annia Regilla" (see above) had not yet been built. The poem also states that she is buried in Attica: "In a deme of Athens is a tomb for her like a temple". Frustratingly for historians and archaeologists, the name of the deme is not given, and the tomb has yet to be found.

Herodes is described on one hand as a proud descendant of Kekrops, Keryx and Theseus. "In Greece there is no family or reputation more royal than Herodes'. They call him the voice of Athens." On the other hand he is portrayed as a pitiable "grieving spouse lying in the middle of his widower's bed in harsh old age", mourning the loss of his wife and children, who have been snatched from his "blameless house". We are told that "half of his many children" had already died at the time the dedication was made and that "two young children are still left", probably Elpinike and Atticus Bradua, who is also alluded to in the text.

The thirty nine line inscription on the 117 cm high stele B calls upon the goddesses Athena and Nemesis to protect "this fruitful estate of the Triopeion sacred to Deo [Demeter], a place friendly to strangers, in order that the Triopeion goddesses be honoured among immortals". Addressing the reader, the poem continues: "For you Herodes sanctified the land and built a rounded wall encircling it not to be moved or violated, for the benefit of future generations." The last part contains a curse text, threatening divine retribution on anyone who disturbs the sanctity of the estate.

Another inscription from the Triopion is a bilingual dedication to Annia Regilla, in Greek and Latin, on a 198 cm high grey marble column, thought to have been a base for a statue or bust (see drawing, right). Around 309 AD the other side of the column was reinscribed as a milestone (the seventh from the Porta Capena), during repair works to the Via Appia by Emperor Maxentius. In the Middle Ages it was moved to the Sant' Eusebio monastery on the Esquiline Hill, Rome, where it was found in 1698. It was later seen in the monastery garden by Cardinal Alessandro Albani who purchased it for his collection. It is now in the Capitoline Museums. Inv. No. NCE 2532.

Ἀννία · Ῥηγίλλα
Ἡρῴδου γυνή, τὸ φῶς
τῆς οἰκίας, τίνος ταῦ-
τα τὰ χωρία γέγοναν

Annia · Regilla
Herodis uxor
lumen domus
cuius haec
praedia
fuerunt

Annia Regilla, wife of Herodes, the light of the house, to whom these lands once belonged.

Inscription IG XIV 1391 (= CIG 6184 and IGUR II 340 at The Packard Humanities Institute).

The wording is similar to a dedication on an inscribed altar found in the mid 19th century at a ruined church between Kifissia and modern Marousi.

Ἀππία Ἀννία Ῥηγίλλα Ἡρῴδου γυνή, τὸ φῶς τῆς οἰκίας

Appia Annia Regilla, wife of Herodes, the light of the house.

Inscription IG II² 13200 at The Packard Humanities Institute.

The "Townley Caryatid" from the Triopion.

Circa 140-170 AD. Classicist Neo-Attic style. Found 1585-1590 near the Via Appia.

Pentelic marble. Over lifesize, height 220 cm (237 cm with restored plinth).

The restored frontal figure wears a tall, tapering kalathos (a headdress particularly associated with the cult of Demeter), decorated with a row of palmettes and lotus buds, a row of rosettes and a bead-and-reel rim; rosette earrings, a bead necklace above a strap necklace with seed-shaped pendants; a peplos and a himation, fastened at the shoulders by large round buttons; and platform sandals. She has a melon hairstyle, with corkscrew locks falling over her back. The head faces forward, the fnely-carved face is expressionless, the lips slightly parted. Her raised right forearm is extended forwards with her open hand palm upwards. Her left arm is at her side. Her bent left leg is visible through the thin peplos, the left foot advanced. The right leg is obscured by the vertical folds of the peplos, beneath which the front of the foot can be seen.

The figure is one of six caryatids, differing in several details, found at the Triopion site. They formed a colonnade in a religious sanctuary, probably of the temple of Demeter and Persephone built by Herodus Atticus. This is one of two caryatids found 1585-1590 at the Triopion site, the other is in the Vatican Museums, Inv. No. 2270. Another three were discovered in 1765 and are now in the Villa Albani-Torlonia, Rome (see Antinous), including a fragmentary caryatid, the head of which is attached to part of a pilaster signed by two unknown Athenian sculptors, Kriton and Nikolaos:

ΚΡΙΤΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΝΙΚΟΛΑΟΣ ΑΘΗΝΑΙΟΙ ΕΠΟΙΟΥΝ

A sixth fragmentary caryatid was discovered during excavations in 2003-2005.

The "Townley Caryatid" was acquired by Pope Sixtus V (Felice Peretti di Montalto, 1521-1590) and kept at the Villa Peretti Montalto, which was sold in 1696 to Cardinal Giovanni Francesco Negroni and became known as Villa Negroni. Antiquities in the collection of the villa were sold in 1785 to the art dealer Thomas Jenkins (1724-1798). The caryatid was among a number of artworks from the collection purchased from him in 1786 by the British collector Charles Townley, who believed it to be a statue of Isis.

ἡ είου πάλὴ καὶ ἡ βουλὴ τῶν ἑξακοσίων καὶ ὁ δῆμος Κλαυδίαν Ἀθηναΐδα εὐεργεσίας ἕνεκεν.

ἡ ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγουλὴ καὶ ἡ βουλὴ τῶν ἑξακοσίων καὶ ὁ δῆμος τὸν ἀρχιερέα τῶν Σεβαστῶν διὰ
βίου Τιβ Κλαύδιον Ἀττικὸν Ἡρώδην Μαραθώνιον εὐεργεσίας ἕνεκεν.

Athens Epigraphical Museum. Inv. No. EM 10313.
Inscription IG II² 3594 / 5 (IG III 664 and IG III 665 [15]).

The Nymphaeum (Greek, νυμφαῖον, nymphaion) was an monumental fountain on the lower slope of the Kronion (Κρόνιον, Kronos Hill), on the north side of the Altis, the sacred area of the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia. It stood between the Heraion (Ἥραιον, Temple of Hera) and the terrace of treasuries set up by Greek cities. Supplied with water by a 4 kilometre long aqueduct fed by local springs, it is thought to have been the first construction to provide the sanctuary with running, fresh water in its long history. Previously water was taken from wells and the Kladeos river (Κλάδεος), which was a winter torrent and sometimes dry in summer. Fresh water had often been in short supply during the Olympic Games, which were held in the hottest months July and August. [16]

The 33 metre wide fountain was at least 13 metres tall, perhaps as high as 18 metres, and because of its hillside position at the highest part of the Altis, it stood above the level of the sanctuary's centre. It thus dominated the area, and only the 23.5 metre tall Temple of Zeus was taller.

Built of brick and clad in marble, the Nymphaeum consisted of a semicircular basin with a diameter of 16.8 metres into which water poured through a row of bronze spouts decorated with stone lion head reliefs. In turn water from spouts in the front wall of the basin flowed into a 21.9 metre long and 3.43 metre wide rectangular pool 2.5 metres below it. From the front wall of this lower pool spouts fed a long channel which ran along the front of the monument and around the sanctuary. At either end of the long pool stood a monopteros (μονόπτερος, an open, circular, temple-like building [17]) with a conical marble roof supported by a ring of eight Corinthian columns, in which stood a statue, probably of an emperor. Parts of the two monopteroi stand on the site (see photos, right).

Over and around the curved rear edge of the top basin was a three-storey exedra (semicircular recess) supported at the rear by buttresses, designed as the decorative crown of the monument. The spouts along the front wall of the lowest storey fed water from the aqueduct into the basin below. Each of the two top storeys had a row of 12 arched niches framed by double Corinthian columns, in which stood statues of Herodes Atticus, Regilla, the emperors Antoninus Pius, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius as well as members of their respective families. In a central niche on each storey (probably the sixth niche from the left) stood a statue of Zeus (see photo below).

Regilla's inscribed bull statue (see below) is thought to have stood on top of the centre of the wall of the top basin. According to the inscription on its side the fountain was dedicated by Aspasia Annia Regilla to Zeus. It is thought that she initiated and paid for the building of the Nymphaeum, while her husband Herodes Atticus financed the construction of the aqueduct.

"He [Herodes] also dedicated the stadium at Pytho to the Pythian god, and the aqueduct at Olympia to Zeus..."

Philostratus, The lives of the Sophists, section 551, page 149 [see note 4].

It has been suggested that the fountain should properly be called the Nymphaeum of Annia Regilla, although some scholars believe that Herodes may have been responsible for its construction and dedicated it in his wife's name.

It was for long generally agreed by scholars that the Nymphaeum was built between 149 and 153 AD, particularly since it is thought that Regilla was the priestess of Demeter Chamyne during the 233rd Olympiad in 153 AD and that the building was completed by the opening of the games. However, some scholars believe that it may have been completed around 160 AD or even later, after Regilla's death. It is not mentioned by Pausanias, who visited Olympia around 155 AD. This makes the dating of the various statues more difficult to estimate.

A number of bases of the statues from the Nymphaeum, many in fragments, were found by archaeologists in 1880-1888 in or near the Nymphaeum, and others were discovered in 1877-1878 built into the floor of an early Christian church. Inscriptions on the surviving bases state that the statues of the emperors' and their family members were dedicated by Herodes Atticus, while the statues of Herodes, Regilla and their family members were dedicated by the citizens of the city of Elis (Ἦλις), in whose territory Olympia stood and who controlled the Olympic Games.

Some of the surviving statue bases now stand in front of the remains curved back wall of the Nymphaeum, and can be seen in the photo above. Unfortunately, they are too high and far away from the footpath to read the inscriptions.

Many of the statues headless statues, displaced heads and other fragments from the Nymphaeum are now in the Olympia Archaeological Museum, while some are currently in the nearby Museum of the History of the Ancient Olympic Games. Other statues were taken to Berlin by the German archaeologists, as part of an agreement with the Greek government. See photos below.

Regilla also dedicated a statue in the sanctuary of the health goddess Hygieia (see Asklepios) in the Altis at Olympia. The surviving marble statue base is inscribed simply:

Ῥήγιλλα Ὑγείαι

Regilla to Hygieia

Marble statue of the "Large Herculaneum
Woman" type, now headless, thought
to depict Aspasia Annia Regilla.

From the Nymphaeum in Olympia.
Mid 2nd century AD. Height 183 cm.

Headless marble statue of the "Large
Herculaneum Woman" type, believed
to depict an empress, perhaps Sabina,
wife of Emperor Hadrian.

From the Nymphaeum in Olympia.
Mid 2nd century AD. Height 180 cm.

The two statue bodies are remarkably similar, even to the individual folds on the garments.

See also two statue bodies from Patras below.

Marble statue of the "Small Herculaneum
Woman" type, thought to depict Athenais,
third child and second daughter of
Herodes Atticus and Annia Regilla.

From the Nymphaeum in Olympia.
Mid 2nd century AD. Height 180 cm.

The features of the portrait head are
those of an adolescent, although it has
been estimated that Athinais may have
been around ten years old at the time
the Nymphaeum was completed.

Headless "Small Herculaneum Woman" type
marble statue, thought to depict Athenais,
the second daughter of Herodes Atticus
and Annia Regilla.

Found in the Altis, Olympia.
Mid 2nd century AD.

Olympia Archaeological Museum.
Inv. No. Λ 161.

Headless marble statue of a woman,
believed to depict Elpinike, second child
and first daughter of Herodes Atticus
and Annia Regilla. The figure holds a phiale
(libation bowl) in her lowered right hand.

From the Nymphaeum of Herodes Atticus,
Olympia. Mid 2nd century AD.

Headless marble statue of a yound male
in a toga, believed to depict Regillus, fifth
chlid and third son of Herodes Atticus
and Annia Regilla.

From the Nymphaeum of Herodes Atticus,
Olympia. Mid 2nd century AD.

Headless marble statue of a man in a toga,
believed to depict Herodes Atticus.

From the Nymphaeum of Herodes Atticus,
Olympia. Mid 2nd century AD.

Marble statue of a nude Zeus from the
Nymphaeum of Herodes Atticus, Olympia.

Mid 2nd century AD. Thought to by a copy
of a work by Myron, around 460 BC.
Pentelic marble. Height 167 cm.

The torso, parts of the head and other
fragments were found over many years
at the Nymphaeum and various places
around Olympia, some built into later
walls of buildings. The fragments were
first reassembled in 1972.

Olympia Archaeological Museum.
Inv. No. Λ 109.

(The torso was originally numbered
Λ 170 and the head Λ 109.)

Currently exhibited in the Museum
of the History of the Ancient Olympic
Games, Olympia.

Built of white stone blocks reused from an equestrian monument, the altar has been dated to the 2nd century AD. It has been suggested that it may have been set up for Regilla when she was priestess of Demeter in 153 AD, or even financed by her.

According to Pausanias, the epiphet of Demeter in the ancient Peloponnesian district of Elis (Ἦλις) was Chamyne (Χαμύνη), and there was a sanctuary of the goddess on the low hill north of the Olympic stadium (race track). At the time of his visit to Olympia, around 155 AD, new Pentelic marble statues of Demeter and Persephone (the Maid) in the sanctuary had been donated by Herodes Atticus.

In 2006 the remains of what are thought to be the sanctuary of Demeter Chamyne were discovered by chance during the digging of a water supply project, around 150 metres northeast of the stadium. They include a large building, dubbed Building A, built of local limestone, oriented east-west and divided into four rooms. Dated to the early 5th century BC, it is thought to have served a cult function, and in one of the rooms was a stone feature, perhaps an altar, surrounded by votive objects.

Objects discovered during the ensuing archaeological excavations of 2007 and 2008 include 34 bronze coins of the 5th - 4th century BC, several terracotta figures, most depicting human female subjects, but also animals, particularly bovines and goats, as well as silens and masks. One depicts a two-headed Kerberos with sacrificial cakes in its mouth, and another Kerberos figure is inscribed [Δά]ματρι, Κόρ[αι], [Βα]σιλεῖ, dedicated to Demeter, Persephone (Kore) and Plouton (Basileus, king of Hades). Part of a Roman period baths was also discovered on the site.

The office of cult priestess of Demeter Chamyne, appointed or "bestowed" (awarded) by the Elians "from time to time", which indicates that it was an honorary and temporary position for the duration of an Olympiad. She was the only woman allowed to attend the Olympic Games, and watched the competitions while seated on the altar of Demeter Chamyne, halfway along the length of the race course, directly opposite the stand of the competition judges (Ἑλλανοδίκαι, Hellanodikai). "Maidens" (παρθένοι, parthenoi, virgins), girls or unmarried young women, were admitted to Olympia, and there were also games for girls, a series of foot races known as the Heraia (Ἡραῖα, in honour of Hera; Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 5, chapter 16, sections 2-8).

"Now the stadium is an embankment of earth, and on it is a seat for the presidents of the games. Opposite the umpires is an altar of white marble. Seated on this altar a woman looks on at the Olympic games, the priestess of Demeter Chamyne, which office the Eleans bestow from time to time on different women. Maidens are not debarred from looking on at the games."

Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 6, chapter 20, sections 8-9.

"The other side of the course is not a bank of earth but a low hill. At the foot of the hill has been built a sanctuary to Demeter surnamed Chamyne. Some are of the opinion that the name is old, signifying that here the earth gaped for the chariot of Hades and then closed up once more. Others say that Chamynus was a man of Pisa who opposed Pantaleon, the son of Omphalion and despot at Pisa, when he plotted to revolt from Elis; Pantaleon, they say, put him to death, and from his property was built the sanctuary to Demeter.

In place of the old images of the Maid and of Demeter new ones of Pentelic marble were dedicated by Herodes the Athenian."

Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 6, chapter 21, sections 1-2.

Marble bust of Polydeukes.

Mid 2nd century AD. Purchased in Athens
in 1844, probably by Ludwig Ross.
Height 54.5 cm, width 40 cm, depth 24 cm.

Bust of Polydeukes from Herodes Atticus'
villa in Kifissia (Κηφισιά), Attica.

Mid 2nd century AD. Found in Rangavi Street,
Kifissia in February 1961, together with the
bust of Herodus Atticus at the top of the page.
Parian marble. Height 56 cm.

There are twelve portraits of Polydeukes in various Athens museums, including two portrait heads found on the South Slope of the Athens Acropolis:

Acropolis Museum. Inv. No. 2377.

National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Inv. No. 3468. Height 28.8 cm.

This foster son of Herodes Atticus is named in inscriptions as Vibullius Polydeukion (Βιβούλλιος Πολυδευκίων), but Philostratus and Lucian [18] refer to him as Polydeukes (Πολυδεύκης), perhaps a diminutive or nickname and an allusion to Polydeukes (Latin, Pollux), one of the Dioskouroi. Some scholars believe that the nomen Vibullius indicates that he may have been a blood relative of Herodes. There are around 34 known ancient portraits of the youth who was first recognized as Polydeukes by the German archaeologist Karl Anton Neugebauer in 1931, when only 8 ancient examples were known [19].

Philostratus reported on Herodes Atticus' grief on the death of two of his daughters, Athenais (he calls her Panathenais, Παναθηναίδι) and Elpinice (Elpinike), on his relationship with his son Atticus (Atticus Bradua) and the statues he set up of his three adopted sons.

"Thus, then, his grief for Regilla was quenched, while his grief for his daughter Panathenais was mitigated by the Athenians, who buried her in the city, and decreed that the day on which she died should be taken out of the year. But when his other daughter, whom he called Elpinice, died also, he lay on the floor, beating the earth and crying aloud: 'O my daughter, what offerings shall I consecrate to thee? What shall I bury with thee?' Then Sextus the philosopher who chanced to be present said: 'No small gift will you give your daughter if you control your grief for her.'

He mourned his daughters with this excessive grief because he was offended with his son Atticus. He had been misrepresented to him as foolish, bad at his letters, and of a dull memory. At any rate, when he could not master his alphabet, the idea occurred to Herodes to bring up with him twenty four boys of the same age named after the letters of the alphabet, so that he would be obliged to learn his letters at the same time as the names of the boys. He saw too that he was a drunkard and given to senseless amours, and hence in his lifetime he used to utter a prophecy over his own house, adapting a famous verse as follows:

'One fool methinks is still left in the wide house.' *

And when he died he handed over to him his mother's estate, but transferred his own patrimony to other heirs. The Athenians, however, thought this inhuman, and they did not take into consideration his foster sons Achilles, Polydeuces and Memnon, and that he mourned them as though they had been his own children, since they were highly honourable youths, noble-minded and fond of study, a credit to their upbringing in his house.

Accordingly he put up statues of them hunting, having hunted, and about to hunt, some in his shrubberies, others in the fields, others by springs or in the shade of plane trees, not hidden away, but inscribed with execrations on any one who should pull down or move them. Nor would he have exalted them thus, had he not known them to be worthy of his praises. And when the Quintilii during their proconsulship of Greece censured him for putting up the statues of these youths on the ground that they were an extravagance, he retorted: 'What business is it of yours if I amuse myself with my poor marbles?'"

* Paraphrase of Homer, The Odyssey, Book 4, line 498, with "house" substituted for "deep".

Lifesize marble portrait head of Polydeukes
from the Roman baths at Isthmia.

Mid 2nd century AD.

Isthmia Archaeological Museum.
Inv. No. IS 78-12.

Found in spring 1978 during excavations
directed by American archaeologist
P. A. Clement. One of two heads of
Polydeukes (the other Inv. No. IS 437,
not on display) found in the area of the
2nd century AD bath complex at Isthmia
(Ισθμία), 16 km east of Ancient Corinth.
It has been suggested that the baths,
which included a large mosaic floor with
depictions of Poseidon (the patron deity
of Isthmia) and Amphitrite, may have
been built by Herodes Atticus as
a dedication to Polydeukes.

Marble portrait head of Polydeukes from Corinth.

Mid 2nd century AD. Found 6 April 1964 at
Alonia Ayiannotika, east of the ampitheatre,
1.2 km northeast of Ancient Corinth. Perhaps
from the area of the Kraneion (see above).
It was stolen along with a large number of
antiquities during a violent burglary of the
museum on 12 April 1990. It was recovered
by police and returned to the museum on 25
January 2001. Height 28 cm, height of head
24 cm, width 22 cm, depth 21.5 cm.

Corinth Archaeological Museum.
Inv. No. S 2734.

Headless herm with an inscription dedicated to the
"hero Polydeukion", probably by Herodes Atticus.

Mid 2nd century AD. Found in the ruins of a chapel in Kifissia, northeast of Athens,
where Herodes Atticus had a villa [see note 7]. Pentelic marble. Height 155 cm.

The Greek inscription on the chest of the herm shaft:

Ἥρως Πολυδευκίων
ταῖσδέ ποτ’ ἐν τριό-
δοις σύν σοι ἐπε-
στρεφόμην

Hero Polydeukion, once I walked here with you at this crossroads.

Inscription IG II² 13194.

The longer inscription at the bottom of the herm shaft includes a curse text: the threat of a curse on vandals and thieves, as with the statues "inscribed with execrations on any one who should pull down or move them" mentioned by Philostratus (see above), and the columns from the Triopion in Rome (see above).

For the Greek text of the longer inscription, see:
IG II² 13194 at The Packard Humanities Institute.

The English traveller Richard Chandler (1737-1810), who visited Kifissia on 5th May 1766 on his way from Athens to Marathon, reported on the herm and Herodus Atticus' habit of placing protective inscriptions on memorial sculptures:

"We soon arrived at Cephisia, a village situated on an eminence by a stream near the western extremity of mount Pentele. It was once noted for plenty of clear water and for pleasant shade suited to mitigate the heat of summer. It has a mosque [the old Agia Paraskevi church, see note 7], and is still frequented, chiefly by Turks of Athens, who retire at that season to their houses in the country. The famous comic poet Menander was of this place.

Atticus Herodes, after his enemies accused him to the emperor Marcus Aurelius as guilty of oppression, resided here and at Marathon; the youth in general following him for the benefit of his instruction. Among his pupils was Pausanias of Caesarea, the author, it has been affirmed, of the description of Greece.

Atticus Herodes had three favourites, whose loss he lamented, as if they had been his children. He placed statues of them in the dress of hunters, in the fields and woods, by the fountains, and beneath the plane-trees; adding execrations, if any person should ever presume to mutilate or remove them.

One of the hermae or Mercuries was found in a ruinous church at Cephisia, and is among the marbles given by Mr. Dawkins to the university of Oxford. This represented Pollux, but the head is wanting. It is inscribed with an affectionate address to him; after which the possessor of the spot is required, as he respects the gods and heroes, to protect from violation and to preserve clean and entire, the images and their bases; and if he failed, severe vengeance is imprecated on him, that the earth might prove barren to him, the sea not navigable, and that perdition might overtake both him and his offspring; but if he complied, that every blessing might await him and his posterity. Another stone with a like formulary, was seen there by Mr. Wood; and a third near Marathon."

Richard Chandler, Travels in Greece, chapter 34, page 160. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1776. At the Internet Archive.

Other inscribed herm shafts with dedications to Polydeukes, Memnon and Achilles have been found, usually in rural locations and mentioning hunting or deities associated with hunting and rural occupations, such as Artemis (the huntress) and Hermes as "the protector of shepherds". The inscription on another herm of Polydeukes found at the village of Kato Souli (Κάτω Σούλι), 7 km east of Marathon, states that it was set up by Herodes where he used to hunt with the youth. A longer inscription below this dedication threatens a curse on anyone who disturbs the memorial.

Πολυδευ-
κίωνα, ὃν ἀν-
θ’ υ[ἱ]οῦ ἔστε-
<ρξ>εν καὶ ἐνθά-
δε Ἡρώδης <ἀν>
-
έθηκεν ὅτι ἐν-
θάδε καὶ περὶ
θήραν εἶχον.

Polydeukion, whom Herodes loved as if he were a son. Herodes set it up here where they used to hunt.

Inscriptions IG II² 3970 (dedication to Polydeukes) and IG II² 13190 (longer curse text).
At The Packard Humanities Institute.

A now headless herm of Memnon is inscribed:

ΜΕΜΝΩΝ ΤΟΠΑΔΕΙΝ

Memnon topaz [friend of Artemis]

Typical of such hero reliefs, the deceased is shown with a horse. He stands facing forwards, wearing only a chlamys (riding cloak). To the left is a tree, with two birds perched on branches, and a snake, which appears to be feeding from the youth's right hand, entwined around the trunk. Around the tree are a cuirass, greaves (under the snake), a sword, a spear and a round shield with a Gorgoneion (see Medusa) at its centre. On the right is a slave, depicted at a smaller scale, holding out a crested Attic helmet in his raised right hand. Behind him a loutrophos (a tall vase) with a conical lid stands on a pedestal. Loutrophoi were often used in Greece as grave markers, particularly for unmarried men.

The heroically nude figure with a horse has been compared to depictions of the Dioskouroi, and it has been suggested that Polydeukes may have had family connections with Sparta and even claimed descent from the divine twins (Ellen E. Perry, 2001, pages 269-470 [see note 7]).

It has also been argued that the relief may depict Achilles (Ἀχιλλεύς, Achilleus), another of Herodes Atticus' three adopted sons, rather than Polydeukes. Two of the main arguments appear to be that only Achilles was mentioned as being heroized, and that the figure on the relief does not resemble other depictions of Polydeukes. However, as can be seen from the inscribed herm above, Polydeukes was certainly referred to as a "hero". The facial features and hairstyle of the main figure on the relief are very similar to those on several extant heads and busts identified as portraits of Polydeukes, although on this relief he appears younger. No known sculpture yet found has been definitely identified as a portrait of Achilles, making comparison impossible. [21]

The relief was found at the monastery in Loukou, and taken on 13th April 1831 to the museum on Aegina, where it remained for many years. It was first recorded and published by the French architect Guillaume Abel Blouet (1795-1853), head of the architecture and sculpture team of the Institut de France's Morea Expedition 1829-1833, in which antiquarians (including architects, a sculptor and a philologist), geologists and topographers accompanied a French military expedition to the Peloponnese and Attica during the Greek War of Independence (1821-1832).

Image source: Guillaume Abel Blouet, Expédition scientifique de Morée, ordonnée par le gouvernement français: Architecture, sculptures, inscriptions et vues du Péloponèse, des Cyclades et de l'Attique, Volume 3 (of 3), planche 91, text on pages 55-57. Firmin Didot, Paris, 1838. At the Internet Archive.

The members of the scientific expedition arrived by ship at Navarino (today Pylos, Πύλος), southwestern Peloponnese, on 3rd March 1829, following the defeat of Ottoman and Egyptian forces at the Battle of Navarino on 20 October 1827, and the landing of French troops there in August 1828. Blouet published his report on the expedition in three volumes 1831-1838.

Statuette of Artemis Ephesia, patron
goddess of Ephesus. Part of the large
art collection found at the Villa of
Herodes Atticus Eua (Loukou), Arkadia
in the Peloponnese.

A marble Amazon-Caryatid relief on a pilaster
from a gatepost at Herodes Atticus' villa at Eua.
The figure was inspired by one of the statues of
Wounded Amazons in the Temple of Artemis in
Ephesus (see Polykleitos). The pilaster is topped
by a Corinthian-type capital with acanthus leaves,
and on the front of the base is a relief of a pelte
(πέλτη), the type of shield used by the Amazons.

2nd century AD. Found in the Monastery of
Loukou in Kynouria, Arkadia. Height 190 cm.

Both sculptures above suggest a cultural link between the family of Herodes Atticus and Ephesus. It has been suggested that the Amazon-Caryatid relief may be an adaptation of the Mattei type of Amazon statue, although this idea has been challenged. It was first mentioned by the Scottish historian and philhellene George Finlay (1799-1875), who visited Astros and the Monastery of Loukou in 1827 and 1828. In a note for 18 July 1827 he wrote:

"Near this Monastery amidst some ruins is a statue of an Amazon with a base on which is represented a shield. The head is surmounted by a capital of acanthus. It has been a pilaster and is 7 1/2 feet high. Near is another draped and mutilated statue and beyond 2 columns of grey granite 2 ft 6 in diameter and 10 ft long 2. Others were it is said destroyed by orders of Veli Pasha and remains of them scattered about. Another is said to be buried to preserve it."

See: Guy D. R. Sanders, George Finlay in Lakonia and Arkadia. In: Jan Motyka Sanders (editor), Φιλολακων: Lakonian studies in honour of Hector Catling, pages 195-204. British School at Athens, London, 1992. Article at academia.edu.

When Guillaume Abel Blouet of the French Morea Expedition (see above) arrived at Loukou a few years later in 1831, the Amazon was found near the monastery, armless and broken into four fragments:

"Cariatide en marbre, trouvée dans le voisinage du monastère de Loukou. Ce fragment, d’un très-beau caractère et auquel manquent les bras, est brisé en quatre morceaux."

Guillaume Abel Blouet, Expédition scientifique de Morée, ordonnée par le gouvernement français: Architecture, sculptures, inscriptions et vues du Péloponèse, des Cyclades et de l'Attique, Volume 3 (of 3), planche 88, text on pages 55-57. Firmin Didot, Paris, 1838. At the Internet Archive.

Blouet appears to have been so impressed by the sculpture that he used it to illustrate the frontispiece of the first volume of his book on the Morea expedition. In the text he refers to more than one caryatid: "des cariatides romaines de Loucos près d’Astros".

Guillaume Abel Blouet, Expédition scientifique de Morée, ordonnée par le gouvernement français: Architecture, sculptures, inscriptions et vues du Péloponèse, des Cyclades et de l'Attique, Volume 1 (of 3), frontispiece, text on page 3. Firmin Didot, Paris, 1831. At the Internet Archive.

Presumably, like the Polydeukes relief (see above), it was first taken to Aegina and later to Athens.

I have not yet found any information about the statuette of Artemis Ephesia, one of many Roman period copies of the cult statue at the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. The most famous example, "the Beautiful Artemis Ephesia", now in the Ephesus Museum, Selçuk, was made 125-175 AD, during Herodus Atticus' lifetime, and possibly during his time as prefect in Asia Minor. It is tempting to think that this small statuette found at his villa at Louka was a memento from a stay at Ephesus, where he may have purchased it or received it as a gift.

Marcus Antonius Polemon (Μάρκος Ἀντώνιος Πολέμων, circa 90-144 AD), also known as Polemon of Laodicea (Πολέμων ὁ Λαοδικεύς) or Polemon of Smyrna, was from a prominent East Greek family of Roman consular rank. He was born in Laodicea on the Lycus (Λαοδίκεια πρὸς τοῦ Λύκου; Latin, Laodicea ad Lycum), southwestern Anatolia, in the area of Caria and Lydia, which became the Roman Province of Phrygia Pacatiana. [22]

Polemon was a master of rhetoric and, like Herodes Atticus, a prominent member of the Second Sophistic. He spent much of his life in the Ionian city of Smyrna (Σμύρνα; today Izmir, Turkey), where he became a much-honoured citizen. He was also a friend of Emperor Hadrian, and in 131/132 AD he gave the dedicatory oration for the enormous Temple of Olympian Zeus (the Olympieion) in Athens, the building of which was first begun around 174 BC but was finally completed by Hadrian.

Philostratus dedicated a chapter to Polemon in The lives of the Sophists, Book I, section 25, pages 106-137 (in the Loeb edition, see note 4). He described Herodes Atticus' first meeting with Polemon when he sought him out as a teacher on a visit to Smyrna during his period as prefect of Asia Minor. Philostratus also quoted Herodes' own impressions of Polemon. The account of Polemon's oration at the dedication of the Olympieion is on pages 110-113.

The bust was found during excavations in 1888 near the northern peribolos (περίβολος, perimeter wall) of the Sanctuary of Olympian Zeus (the Olympieion) in Athens, buried among 86 sculptures and fragments. Although many of the finds are now thought to have been taken from other sanctuaries and contexts, this bust was assumed to be from the Olympieion and identified as a portrait of Polemon. The identification is purely conjectural, apparently first suggested by the Hungarian archaeologist and art historian Anton Hekler (Antal Hekler, 1882-1940). There is no other known portrait of Polemon.

The Panathenaic Stadium (Παναθηναϊκό Στάδιο, Panathenaiko Stadio), nicknamed the Kallimarmaro (Καλλιμάρμαρο, Beautiful Marble), is the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble. The U-shaped, 50,000-seat racecourse replaced the first stadium here, built around 330 BC, during the administration of Lycurgus (Λυκοῦργος, Lykourgos; circa 390-324 BC), on the site of the old Panathenaic racecourse, between the hills Agra (Άγρα) and Ardettos (Αρδηττού), south of the Ilissos river. It was the location of the games of the Great Panathenaea festival, held every four years in honour of Athena.

It is thought that the theatrical and athletic contests of the festival were previouly held in the Agora. Lycurgus' ambitious building projects in Athens also included the rebuilding of the Theatre of Dionysos, as well as the construction of the naval arsenal in Piraeus (designed by the architect Philon of Eleusis) and the Lyceum gymnasium (on the site of the ancient sanctuary of Apollo Lykeios and the location of Aristotle's Lyceum). Not much has survived of this first stadium but it is thought to have been similar to others built in Greece around this time, with one end curved and closed, and the other end open, much like it appears today. The audience probably sat on the surrounding hillsides.

Its construction was financed by Eudemos of Plataia who had previously promised to donate a large sum of money to the city for the anticipated war against Philip II of Macedonia. After Philip decisively defeated the combined Theban and Athenian army at Chaironeia in 338 BC, effectively ending the war before it could begin, Eudemos' contribution was not required, and he used his wealth to construct the stadium. He was honoured in a decree of 329 BC:

Resolved by the people; Lykourgos, son of Lykophron of Boutadai proposed it. Since Eudemos in former times announced to the people a gift of 4,000 drachmas for the war if needed, and now has provided for the construction of the stadium and the Panathenaic theatre a thousand pairs of draft animals and arranged all things for the procession before the Panathenaia as he promised; resolved by the people to praise Eudemos ...

Around 470 years later, according to Philostratus, Herodes Atticus was put in charge of the organization of the Panathenaic Festival, and built the stadium, which was completed within four years. Philostratus also wrote that there was a temple of the goddess Tyche near the stadium.

"Furthermore he held the office of archon eponymus at Athens, and the curatorship of the pan-Hellenic festival; and when he was offered the crowning honour of the charge of the Panathenaic festival he made this announcement:

'I shall welcome you, O Athenians, and those Hellenes that shall attend, and the athletes who are to compete, in a stadium of pure white marble.'

In accordance with this promise he completed within four years the stadium on the other side of the Ilissus, and thus constructed a monument that is beyond all other marvels, for there is no theatre that can rival it.

Moreover, I have been told the following facts concerning this Panathenaic festival. The robe of Athene that was hung on the ship was more charming than any painting, with folds that swelled before the breeze, and the ship, as it took its course, was not hauled by animals, but slid forward by means of underground machinery. Setting sail at the Cerameicus with a thousand rowers, it arrived at the Eleusinium, and after circling it, passed by the Pelasgicum: and thus escorted came by the Pythium, to where it is now moored. The other end of the stadium is occupied by a temple of Fortune [Tyche] with her statue in ivory to show that she directs all contests.

Herodes also changed the dress of the Athenian youths [ephebes] to its present form, and was the first to dress them in white cloaks, for before that time they had worn black cloaks whenever they sat in a group at public meetings, or marched in festal processions, in token of the public mourning of the Athenians for the herald Copreus, whom they themselves had slain when he was trying to drag the sons of Heracles from the altar."

As with other extravagant buildings in Athens, including the Parthenon, the stadium was not universally popular. Herodes' father had promised in his will to pay every Athenian citizen one mina in cash every year, with an initial payment of 5 minae. However, according to Philostratus, his freedmen, who had somehow made themselves executors of his will, refused to pay most of the money out, using various legalistic pretexts. Many Athenians blamed Herodes for this, leading to hatred of their would-be benefactor and accusations that the stadium had been built at their expense. Charges laid by the Athenians against Herodes concerning the will led to a trial in Rome around 140-142 AD.

"When the will had been read, the Athenians made a compact with Herodes that by paying them each five minae down he should redeem his obligation to keep up continued payments. But when they came to the banks to get the sum that had been agreed upon, then and there they had to listen to the recital of contracts made by their fathers and grandfathers, showing that they were in debt to the parents of Herodes, and they were held liable for counter-payments, with the result that some received payment of only a small sum, others nothing at all, while some were detained in the market-place as debtors who must pay.

This treatment exasperated the Athenians, who felt they had been robbed of their legacy, and they never ceased to hate Herodes, not even at the time when he thought he was conferring on them the greatest benefits. Hence they declared the Panathenaic stadium was well named, since he had built it with money of which all the Athenians were being deprived."

Pausanias also mentioned that the stadium was built by Herodes Atticus.

"A marvel to the eyes, though not so impressive to hear of, is a race-course of white marble, the size of which can best be estimated from the fact that beginning in a crescent on the heights above the Ilisus it descends in two straight lines to the river bank. This was built by Herodes, an Athenian, and the greater part of the Pentelic quarry was exhausted in its construction."

Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 1, Chapter 19, Section 6.

It seems that Pausanias (or his sources) were exaggerating in claiming that the construction of the stadium almost exhausted the suppply of marble at the quarries on Mount Pendeli. Marble is still quarried there today. Pentelic marble was used to restore the stadium at the end of the 19th century, and more recently other ancient monuments such as the Parthenon.

After the prohibition of pagan religious festivals and games by Emperor Theodosius I in the late 4th century AD, the stadium was abandoned. During the Middle Ages most of its marble was plundered for use as building material elsewhere, and its remains gradually became covered in earth and forgotten. It was excavated and partially restored in 1869. The Zappas Olympics, financed by the wealthy Greek benefactor Evangelis Zappas (Ευάγγελος Ζάππας), were held here in 1870 and 1875. Following a more complete restoration in 1895 (work continued until 1900) by the architects Ernst Ziller and Anastasios Metaxas (Αναστάσιος Μεταξάς), it was the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, and four of the nine sports were contested here.

Two of the four ancient herms found by archaeologists during excavations still stand at the near turn of the racetrack (see photo above right). Another of the herms is displayed in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens (see photos on Pergamon gallery 2, page 15).

Entrance to the stadium used to be free, but the Athens municipality now charges for admission. There is a small museum beneath the east side of the stadium, accessed through the tunnel whose entrance can be seen on the right of the photo, just above the curved turning of the track. The permanent exhibition includes a collection of Olympic torches (see Come on, baby, light my fire at The Cheshire Cat Blog).

The Panathenaic Stadium, Pangrati, Athens
Tickets (from 1 January 2022): €10; reductions (students and visitors over 65 year old) €5.
Free Admission: children under 6 years; visitors with disabilities and person accompanying them.
Opening hours:
March - October 8:00 - 19:00;
November - February 8:00 - 17:00.

Herodes Atticus also financed the rebuilding of the temple of Athena and the cult statue of the goddess in the Attic deme of Myrrinous (Μυρρινοῦς), east of Athens. The dedication is known only from an inscription on a statue base, discovered in the Panagia church at Merenda (Μερέντα), which is in the territory of the ancient deme [23].

Ἡρώδης Ἀττικοῦ
Μαραθώνιος τὸν νεὼν
ἐπεσκεύασεν καὶ τὸ
ἄγαλμα ἀνέθηκεν
τῇ Ἀθηναίᾳ.

Herodes Atticus from Marathon rebuilt the temple and dedicated the statue of Athena.

The hills are part of the slope southeastwards from the Ilissos river up to Mount Ymittos. The river itself now runs undeground beneath the busy Vassileos Konstandino Avenue, which continues southwestwards from the stadium as Ardittou then as Kallirrois. Agrai, the ancient district around the stadium is known today as Mets.

I have also marked in blue the names of Odos Irodou Attikou and Odos Rigillis, the streets named after Herodes Atticus and Annia Regilla. For some reason they are separated by two blocks of housing which include the former palace of the crown prince (Palais du prince royal), now the official residence of the Greek president.

On the east side of Syntagma Square (Plateia tou Syntagmatos, Constitution Square) stands the former Royal Palace (Palais du Roi), now the Vouli, the Greek parliament. Around it the former Royal Garden (Kipos Basilikos, Jardin du Palais) is now the National Garden (Kipos Ethnikos) public park.

According to Pausanias, Herodes Atticus renovated the stadium at Delphi, the venue of the Pythian Games, cladding the seating of local Parnassian limestone in Pentelic marble.

"Adjoining the sacred enclosure is a theatre worth seeing, and on coming up from the enclosure ... and here is an image of Dionysus, dedicated by the Cnidians. The Delphian race-course is on the highest part of their city. It was made of the stone that is most common about Parnassus, until Herodes the Athenian rebuilt it of Pentelic marble."

Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 10, chapter 32, section 1. At Perseus Digital Library.

Philostratus alluded to Herodes' renovation of the stadium among a list of his benefactions at places in Greece and Italy:

"He also dedicated the stadium at Pytho [Delphi] to the Pythian god [Apollo] ..."

Philostratus, The lives of the Sophists, Book II, chapter 1, sections 551, page 149 [see note 4].

The Delphi stadium stands to the northwest and above the precinct around the Sanctuary of Apollo, at the highest point of the ancient city (altitude 654 metres). It was used for athletic contests, including footraces. Chariot races were held on the plain below the city.

Work on the stadium, including the construction of a monumental arched gateway at the eastern end, is thought to have been undertaken around 167 AD, and to have been the last large building project at Delphi in Antiquity. The stadium had twelve levels of seating on the north side, six on the south, curved seating at the western end, and had capacity of around 6500-7000 spectators. The racetrack was 25.5 metres wide and 177.55 metres long , equivalent to 600 Delphian feet which was one Delphic stadion.

The marble was completely removed at some later period. The twelve tiers of seating covered with limestone slabs on the north side of the stadium were cut into the rock of the slope and have survived. However, the six tiers of seating on the south side and the semicircular western end (sphendone) were built on an artificial terrace which has collapsed, and much of it has been washed away over the centuries.

The Roman Odeion in Ano Polis (the upper city), on the west side of Patras, is thought to be a little older than the Odeion of Herodes Atticus in Athens, and to have been built around the mid second century AD, during the reign of Antoninus Pius or Marcus Aurelius. It is not known who built the theatre, and little information concerning its history has survived in ancient literature or inscriptions.

In the photo above can be seen part of the odeion's outer wall, behind which is the surviving 8 metre high section of the skene (stage house) with three arched doorways. As on the Odeion of Herodes Atticus, arched recesses in the skene wall originally held statues. The semicircular cavea (audience seating area) has a diameter of 48 metres and was supported by a strong retaining wall reinforced by buttresses. The semicircular orchestra (performing area) is 10 metres in diameter.

Pausanias described the odeion as being near the agora (market place) of Patras, and compared it to the larger odeion in Athens:

"Next to the market-place is the Music Hall, where has been dedicated an Apollo well worth seeing. It was made from the spoils taken when alone of the Achaeans the people of Patrae helped the Aetolians against the army of the Gauls. The Music Hall is in every way the finest in Greece, except, of course, the one at Athens. This is unrivalled in size and magnificence, and was built by Herodes, an Athenian, in memory of his dead wife. The reason why I omitted to mention this Music Hall in my history of Attica is that my account of the Athenians was finished before Herodes began the building."

Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 7, chapter 20, section 6. At Perseus Digital Library.

The spoils (loot) from which the statue of Apollo was made were probably from the battles fought in central Greece in 279 BC by a Greek coalition against the invading Gauls led by Brennus. This was around 439 years before the building of the Roman odeion. We are not told whether an older theatre or odeion stood on the site before. In the agora stood a temple of Olympian Zeus and a sanctuary of Apollo, and nearby were sanctuaries of Asklepios, Athena, Nemesis, Aphrodite and Dionysus. There was also a stadium, the ruins of which can still be seen.

At the end of the third century AD the odeion was destroyed by fire, and gradually disappeared beneath layers of earth. Rediscovered in 1889, it was excavated 1957-1960. It was restored and partially reconstructed 1959-1961, with the addition of tiers of marble seating. The top tiers are brick. It can now seat around 2,200 spectators and is used for performances and concerts in the summer.

Roman Odeon of Patras archaeological site
(Ρωμαϊκό Ωδείο Πατρών)
Paleon Patron Germanou Street and Sotiriadou Street, 26225 Patras.
600 metres southeast of the city centre.
The site takes up a large block between four streets. The entrance is on Sotiriadou Street. Sarcophagi, mosaics and other local archaeological finds are displayed around the site.

Two marble statues of women (both now headless) found in Patras. According
to the museum labelling they are copies of statues of the Nymphaeum of Herodes
Atticus in the Sanctuary of Zeus, Olympia (see above): the statue on the left is
thought to have portrayed Empress Sabina, and that on the right Annia Regilla.

2nd half of the 2nd century AD. Found in a Roman Villa
at Voud Square, Patras, Peloponnese, Greece.

The heads of the statues were made separately then inserted into the holes on the bodies where the neck should be. It was thus possible for sculptors to make portrait heads of specific persons and place them on more generic bodies. It also meant that the statues' owners could change the heads to suit shifting political realities. If, for example, an emperor or politician fell from grace or power, his statue head could be replaced with that of his successor.

The "Large Herculaneum Woman" type statue on the left may be classified as generic, and as can be seen from the photos above, the bodies of most of the statues of mortals on the nymphaeum in Olympia are quite generalized, with no personal attributes, so that they cannot be identified as individuals. Some of the statues have been identified by matching the shape and size of their bases to inscribed pedestals, often found separately. Many identities are tentative or speculative, and remain subjects of debate.

Here we have two generic female statue bodies, similar to those in Olympia, but they are by no means identical, as can be seen by comparing the photos of the "Sabina" statues from Olympia and Patras below.

The "Sabina" statue from the
Nymphaeum in Olympia.

The remains of the Odeion of Ancient Corinth (Αρχαία Κόρινθος) stand to the west of the Forum and the temple of Apollo, and immediately to the south of the larger theatre. Built in the mid-late first century AD of poros limestone, it was reconstructed in the second century, perhaps around 175 AD, by Herodes Atticus, who added a facade and a skene (stage house) and clad the seating, walls and orchestra floor in marble.

Iz was rediscovered by American archaeologists in 1907 and first excavated in 1927-1928. The roofed concert hall, used for musical events and rhetorical competitions, was built on the natural slope of a hill. In the middle of the 64 metre long facade was a 2.65 metre wide doorway. Between the facade and the skene a long corridor led to two wings at either side, each containing three rooms. The skene was around 63 metres long, 15 metres wide and decorated with opus sectile mosaics. Other parts of the odeion were also decorated with high quality mosaics. The cavea (audience seating area) was slightly less than a semicircle in form, and could seat around 3000 spectators. A large colonnaded courtyard connected the odeion to the nearby theatre, similar to the way in which the Stoa of Eumenes connected the Odeion of Herodes Atticus and Theatre of Dionysos in Athens.

Following damage caused by fire in the early third century AD, the odeion was rebuilt around 225 AD, during the reign of Severus Alexander (222-235 AD), when it was converted into a gladiatorial arena. Some time later it fell into disuse and was destroyed in the late fourth century, perhaps in the earthquakes of 365 AD and 375 AD or during the Gothic invasion of Alaric I in 396 AD.

Although Philostratus wrote that Herodes Atticus built the odeion, archaeological evidence indicates that he remodelled the existing building.

"But I must not neglect to mention also the roofed theatre which he [Herodes Atticus] built for the Corinthians, which is far inferior indeed to the one at Athens [the Odeion of Herodes Atticus] but there are not many famous things elsewhere which equal it."

Philostratus, The lives of the Sophists, section 551, page 149 [see note 4].

There are two natural springs named Peirene at Corinth, the upper Peirene spring is at the top of Acrocorinth (its lower slope can be seen in the background). The lower Peirene, in an area of the city which during the Roman period became part of the Forum, was in use from at least the Neolithic period, and the first attempts at water management were made during the Geometric period. It was surrounded by a succession of constructions from the Archaic period. Following the destruction of Corinth by the Roman consul Lucius Mummius in 146 BC, the fountain house was rebuilt with successive further embellishments, including a renovation by Herodes Atticus.

According to one myth, mentioned by Pausanias, the Peirene spring was formed when Artemis accidentally killed Kenchrias, and his mother Peirene (Πειρήνη), daughter of the river god Acheloos and a lover of Poseidon, literally dissolved into tears there. This myth has similarities to that of Niobe.

"On leaving the market-place along the road to Lechaeum you come to a gateway, on which are two gilded chariots, one carrying Phaethon the son of Helius, the other Helius himself. A little farther away from the gateway, on the right as you go in, is a bronze Heracles. After this is the entrance to the water of Peirene. The legend about Peirene is that she was a woman who became a spring because of her tears shed in lamentation for her son Cenchrias, who was unintentionally killed by Artemis.

The spring is ornamented with white marble, and there have been made chambers like caves, out of which the water flows into an open-air well. It is pleasant to drink, and they say that the Corinthian bronze, when red-hot, is tempered by this water, since bronze . . . the Corinthians have not. Moreover near Peirene are an image and a sacred enclosure of Apollo; in the latter is a painting of the exploit of Odysseus against the suitors."

Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 2, chapter 3, section 2. At Perseus digital Library.

In another tale, the spring was the hoofprint of Pegasus (Πηγασος, Of the Spring, a child of Medusa), formed when the winged horse stamped its foot in irritation as the hero Bellerophon bridled him. As Pausanias pointed out, this legend was also attached to springs in Troezen and Boeotia (Description of Greece, Book 2, chapter 31, section 9). [24]

The theory that Herodes Atticus renovated the Peirene Fountain is largely based on the discovery there in 1899 of an inscribed base of a statue of his wife Annia Regilla. The inscription reads:

[Ν]εύματι Σισυφίης βoυλῆς παρὰ χεύματι πηγῶν
Ρηγίλλαv μ’ἐσοπᾶ(ι)ς, εἰκόνα σωφροσύνης
ψ(ηφίσματι) β(oυλῆς)

By the command of the Sisyphian Boule, beside the streams of the source
You see me, Regilla, an image of moderation [sophrosyne].
By decree of the city council.

Corinth Archaeological Museum. Inv. No. I 62.
Inscription Corinth 8,1 86 (also IG IV 1559).

While a number of scholars have cautiously accepted this idea, some have questioned how many of the additions to the fountain made during this period, known as the Sixth Roman Period or Second Marble Period, may be attributed to Herodes Atticus.