Thorikos

-Small But Mighty: Thorikos Explained-

Factual Information:

  • Alternate spellings: Thoricus

    • Greek: Θορικός

  • Located on the east coast of Attica, north of Cape Sounion

    • Comprised of three areas:

      • A double-bay harbor by the Aghios Nikolaos peninsula

      • The Adami plain with the lower reaches of the Potami valley

      • The double-peaked Velatouri Hill (highest point: 144 meters asl)

  • One of the original 12 cities of Kekrops thus part of the political unification under Theseus

  • Phyle of Akamantis

    • Sent five representatives to the Boule

-Thorikos in Myth-

Though the inscriptions of Thorikos remains fragmented, as seen in the Sacrificial Calendar of Thorikos, this site still holds place in a couple of myths. Mentioned below are these myths and also the calendar which is believed to have given the site its name. From this calendar, it can be concluded that ritual and cult life within this site were once highly active.

Red-Figure Hydra by the Varrese Painter, c. 340 BCE, now in the Altes Museum in Berlin

Metaneria (to the left) offering a bundle of wheat to Demeter who is shown on a throne (to the right)

"And she, that queen among goddesses answered them saying: 'Hail, dear children, whosoever you are of woman-kind. I will tell you my story; for it is not unseemly that I should tell you truly what you ask. Doso is my name, for my stately mother gave it me. And now I am come from Crete over the sea's wide back, —not willingly; but against my liking, by force of strength, pirates brought me thence. Afterwards they put in with their swift craft to Thoricus, and there the women landed on the shore in full throng and the men likewise, and they began to make ready a meal by the stern-cables of the ship.'"

Homer, "Hymn To Demeter", Lines 120-125

Red-figure lekythos by the Pan Painter, c. 470 BCE, showing Kephalos and Laelaps, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Pherekydes in the 5th century BC recorded the myth of Kephalos and Prokris. Kephalos was the king of Thorikos who was known for his beauty and married to Prokris, daughters of King Erechtheus of Athens. The marriage had little trust which would lead to the death of Prokris at the hands of Kephalos and suicide of Kephalos.

The Sacrificial Calendar of Thorikos, a stele from the 4th century BCE, Epigraphical Museum of Athens

Hesychios, a lexicographer from the 5th century AD, determined that the name of this deme came from a hero whom is mentioned in the stele above.

-Here From the Start: A Small Timeline-

4100 - 3100 BCE

First signs of human activity on the Velatouri hill

3200 BCE

Mining began on Velatouri

2000 - 1050 BCE

Several tombs from the Mycenaen period remain along with pottery and stone tools (tomb III is the only true tholos from this time)

6th century BCE

Evidence for cult activity shown in Insula 10 where a small sanctuary (possibly for Hygieia)

late 6th century/ early 5th century BCE

The creation of the theater of Thorikos

484/3 BCE

The Lavrion mines provided strong and stable materials that would increase the Athenian power as a polis through naval power (see Laurion Silver Mines)

late 5th century

The Doric Stoa with a special area believed to be a sanctuary for Demeter

408/7 BCE

Maritime fortress made towards the end of the Peloponnesian War

380-375 BCE

The sacrificial calendar that was used to spread cultic activity on an annual timeline while also naming heroes and heroines

-Big Finds: Archaeological Unearthings at Thorikos-

Topographical map of Thorikos with a key signaling the important archaeological discoveries

Tomb III reconstruction at Thorikos

The transformation of tombs: Mycenaean Graves

Showing evidence of local elites and trade connections, the Mycenaean tombs at Thorikos also conveyed the transformation of graves on mainland Greece. The various offerings found at tomb V tell a date during the start of the Mycenaean era or Late Helladic I. The construct of tomb V is that of a cist grave with an elongated rectangle (just like tomb IV) attached to it which was believed to be a place for cult activity by its excavator. This tomb also has a low platform that is believed to be an altar where people would continue to make offerings and celebrate the deceased; the painted pottery from the archaic and classical periods on the upper level of this tomb connect to the idea of cult honoring manners. Tomb IV shows the transformation in graves as there are aspects from tholos III that are present: a circular peribolos wall and an invisible relieving triangle. Tomb III is the only true tholos, as seen to the left, holding grave goods that date the grave to after 1500 BCE. With the grave goods found in these tombs, it is believed that during the 2nd millennium BCE the power of the elite class was strong which was due to the exploitation of materials at the site.

Sheet gold pendant with a butterfly in repoussé

Aerial view of the Theater of Thorikos, built during the late 6th/ early 5th century BCE

The Theater of Thorikos

The location of this theater was between two mines on the exterior of a marble and limestone quarry. The eastern mine, or mine no. 6, was utilized during the classical period; whereas, the western mine, mine no. 3, dated to the 3rd millennium BCE and was continuously used in classical times. The theater itself was mutlipurposeful. Not only are there inscriptions south of the theater instructing drama, but it was used as a civic center for meetings to occur.

Plan of the stoa, "Demeter Temple," at Thorikos

The Double Doric Stoa Or a Sanctuary?

Below the Velatouri hill in the Adami plain is where this supposed temple is located with large carved blocks of local marble containing column drums. The French architect, Julien-David Le Roy was the first to come across these blocks in 1754, believing he had discovered a temple; however, in 1813, the British Society of Dilettanti analyzed the marble to determine that it was in fact a stoa. The date of the stoa places it being built during the time of the Peloponnesian War around the late 5th century BCE. The belief of this being a sanctuary or temple of Demeter came down to her importance at Thorikos and her name on the Sacrificial Calendar.

-Bibliography-

Textual:


Camp, John. The Archaeology of Athens. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001.


H.F. Mussche, 1994. “Thorikos during the Last Years of the Sixth Century B.C.” in The Archaeology of Athens and Attica under the Democracy, eds. W.D.E. Coulsen, et al., Oxford, pp. 211-215.


McDonald, W.A, 1961. “A Geometric Grave Group from Thorikos in Attica,” Hesperia 30, pp. 299-304.

Miles, Margaret M. “The Vanishing Double Stoa at Thorikos and Its Afterlives.” Autopsy in Athens. Recent Archaeological Research on Athens and Attica. Ed. Margaret M. Miles. Oxford, Oxbow Books, 2015: 163-180.

Mountjoy, P. A. "Thorikos Mine No. 3: The Mycenaean Pottery." The Annual of the British School at Athens 90 (1995): 195-227.

Paga, Jessica. Building Democracy in Late Archaic Athens. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021.