the Acropolis of Athens - The north slope of the Acropolis - Part 2 - The Mycenaean Fountain, the Sanctuary of Aphrodite and Eros to the Sanctuary of Aglauros

See also the part of the Peripatos along the

south slope of the Acropolis on gallery page 34.

The "Mycenaean Fountain" and a chairlift on the north slope of the Acropolis.

The "Mycenaean Fountain" is actually a well-like construction inside the lower entrance to a hidden passageway up to the Acropolis, built in a wide, 40 metre deep natural cleft in the rock. An eight-section stairway of wood and stone led from the northwest corner of the Arrephorion (Αρρηφόριον, the House of the Arrephoroi) on the Acropolis down to this cave-like entrance, above the level of the Peripatos.

Discovered in 1896 by Panagiotis Kavvadias (Παναγιώτης Καββαδίας, 1850-1928), it was later excavated by the American archaeologist Oscar Broneer (1894-1992), who dated the original construction to the 12th century BC. [1]

Some scholars have associated the passageway with the Festival of Arrephoria, described byPausanias. During the festival young Athenian girls brought the arrheta (unspeakable, secret) offerings from the Acropolis to Athena at night, passing through a hidden underground passage to the Sanctuary of Aphrodite and Eros (see photos below). [2]

An information board explains the fountain but not the chair lift up the stone stairway which leads up to an elevator to the top of the Acropolis (see photos below). Presumably, this arrangement is to provide access to the Acropolis for disabled people. It seems strange that there is no sign to inform visitors.

For further information about disabled access to the Acropolis

see Practical information on gallery page 1.

The elevator up to the Acropolis from the north slope.

The "Pre-Parthenon" (or "Parthenon 2"), was designed to replace the earlier Archaic temple, known as the "Hekatompedon", which had been built around 575-550 BC. It was under construction around 488-480 BC, but was destroyed during the Persian invasion of 480-479 BC before it had been completed. Its parts were later redeployed elsewhere, mainly to provide fortifications for the Acropolis.

See a model of the Acropolis as it may have appeared in 480 BC,

just before the Persian invasion, on gallery page 2.

The small sanctuary is on a raised platform at the foot of the rock of the Acropolis, in antiquity entered from the Peripatos by a ramp. It was identified in 1931 by its excavator, the American archaeologist Oscar Broneer, on the basis of two rock-cut inscriptions. [3] One is the name of Aphrodite, and the other refers to the Festival of Eros on the fourth day of the month of Mounichion (near the end of spring). The inscriptions, in two square niches (just to left of centre in the photo), are very faint and almost impossible to read.

As at the cave sanctuaries (see previous page), several niches were cut into the rock for votive offerings. Fragments of dedicatory statues and reliefs were discovered here, including carved plaques with male and female genitals, offerings to Aphrodite and Eros as deities of reproductive fertility.

A large marble thesaurus (treasure box) found here and dated to the 4th century BC, had a similar function to a collection box in a modern church. On the front is the inscription "Treasury for the prenuptial offerings to Aphrodite Ourania", below which is a relief of a one drachma coin, presumably an indication of the expected minimum donation. Aphrodite Ourania (Αφροδίτη Οὐρανία, Heavenly Aphrodite) was the patron goddess of love and marriage, and newlyweds sacrificed to her in the hope of a happy and productive marriage. The thesaurus is in the Acropolis Museum, Inv. No. Π 66-67.

Appearing like a gaping hole beneath the Acropolis, this is by far the rock's largest cave, 14 metres wide at its mouth and 22 metres deep. Today the area around the cave mouth is surrounded by fallen rocks and earth, making the approach to the sanctuary impossible for visitors.

Like the other cave sanctuaries, niches have been cut in the rock of its inner walls. It was identified as the Sanctuary of Aglauros (Αγλαύρειον, Aglaureion) following the discovery in 1980 by the Greek archaeologist Georgios Dontas (Γεώργιος Δοντάς) [4] of an inscribed marble stele just to the east of the cave. The inscription, dated 247/6 or 246/5 BC, is a decree of the Athenian Demos honouring Timokrite, priestess of the nymph Aglauros. The identification is still a matter of debate, and another cave on the north side of the Acropolis had been previously identified as the sanctuary.

Aglauros, one of the three daughters of daughter of Kekrops, the mythical king of Athens, jumped from the Acropolis to her death to save the city from a prolonged siege, in obedience to a prescription of the Oracle of Delphi. [5] Athenian ephebes (adolescent youths) met at her shrine when they reached the age of 18, to collect their arms and swear an oath of loyalty to the state.

According to Herodotus and Pausanias, it was from the Sanctuary of Aglauros that the soldiers of the Persian king Xerxes gained access to the Acropolis which they sacked in 480 BC. [6]

The model shows relative size of the huge cave of the "Sanctuary of Aglauros"

and the high, steep sides of the Acropolis rock above it. Also visible is the

Peripatos around the foot of the Acropolis and other roads radiating from it.

Model by M. Korres and P. Dimitriadis. Acropolis Museum, Athens.