Panathenaic Way

Panathenaic Way
Panathenaic Way in 2018
Interactive map of Panathenaic Way
TypeThoroughfare
Length1,000 m (3,300 ft)
Width10 to 12 m (33 to 39 ft)
LocationAthens
FromDipylon Gate (Kerameikos)
Major
junctions		Stoa Poikile
Altar of the Twelve Gods
Ancient Agora
Eleusinion
ToAcropolis
Construction
Commissioned5th century BC
Other
Known forRoute of the Panathenaic procession

Panathenaic Way was the main thoroughfare of ancient Athens. It ran from the outskirts of the city directly to the Acropolis, passing through the Agora of Athens, and serving as the primary route for the Panathenaic procession. The ancient sources refer to the Way either as either a dromos or a Street of Panathenaia.[1][2]

Route and Description

The Panathenaic Way was approximately 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in length and varied in width from 10 to 12 metres (33 to 39 ft) within the city, though the suburban section outside the walls could reach a width of nearly 40 metres (130 ft).[3][4] Its course remained largely unchanged for centuries. The route began at the Dipylon Gate in the Kerameikos district and ran southeast, passing the Stoa Poikile, to the Altar of the Twelve Gods, which John McK. Camp considers to be the "heart" of Athens due to its proximity to the road[5] (zero milepost of the Ancient Athens[6]). It passed the early Orchestra, the Eleusinion, and the Peripatos, finally ascending the west side of the Acropolis.[2]

According to Laura Ficuciello, the terminology for the road varied by section and function. An inscription from the second half of the 4th century BC, found on the northern bastion of the Acropolis, explicitly designates the road as the "Way of the Panathenaia" (Οδός Παναθηναίων).[7] This specific name likely applied to the urban sector of the road stretching from the Dipylon Gate to the Acropolis, which was the specific path of the religious procession (pompe) that began at the Pompeion.[8]

The road also extended northwards from the city walls towards the Academy. Ancient sources, such as Himerius, refer to this extended course—encompassing both the urban and suburban sectors between the Agora and the Academy—as the "Dromos" (Δρόμος).[9] This name reflects the road's function as a racecourse; torch races (lampadedromia) dedicated to Athena, Prometheus, and Hephaestus were held here, starting from the altars of Eros and Prometheus at the Academy and running towards the city.[9]

Several boundary stones (horoi) bearing the inscription Horos Kerameikou (Ὅρος Κεραμεικοῦ) have been discovered along the road's course, particularly in the suburban section northwest of the Agora and outside the Dipylon.[10] Scholars debate whether these stones demarcated the Kerameikos district itself or if the road itself bore the name "Kerameikos".[11] It has been suggested that the road might have served as a boundary line between the demes of Melite and Skambonidai within the city, and potentially the deme of Kerameis outside the walls.[12]

Construction

Excavations have revealed dozens of hard-packed gravel layers one the Panathenaic Way.[13] The construction was "modest": other than the gravel, there was no special pavement whatsoever, although stone gutters were built in the Hellenistic period on the southwest side of the road only.[1] Layers of the Classical period, specifically the second half of the 5th century BC, were noted for being uniquely smooth (unlike other roads on the Agora) and laid with care.[14]

Layers dating between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC show a lack of wheel ruts, indicating that wheeled traffic was prohibited and the surface was worn smooth exclusively by foot traffic.[14]

The older layers of the road contained loose sandy fill interpreted as debris from the Persian sack of 479 BC.[14] As the water table lies beneath this debris, it indicates that the route was established in the 5th century BC.[14] Likely, the road was constructed before the majority of the buildings in the Classical Agora, thus determining its layout.[1][15] The road is much older and dates to the prehistoric times when the road ended up at the Iron Age cemetery at Kerameikos,[1] so the pre-Persian road was possibly located elsewhere on the Agora.[14]

Usage

Procession

The road served as the "High Street" of the city, connecting the periphery to the Agora. It was the only static feature in the Agora while other structures around it changed over time.[16] Its primary function was to serve as the route for the Panathenaic procession.[17] During the festival, the procession may have split; one group leading the sacrificial animals likely took Melite Street to the Pnyx, while the remainder of the procession continued along the Panathenaic Way to the Acropolis.[18][19]

Athletics

The street provided a flat area suitable for athletic competitions.[20] It is the likely location of the early dromos (racetrack) for footraces, specifically the section situated between the north entrance of the Agora and the Dipylon Gate.[8] With the Panathenaic Stadium built in 330 BC by Lycurgus, most races relocated from the center of Athens.[2]

It was also the likely route for the torch race, which was approximately 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) long and ended at the Acropolis.[21]

Spectators

During events, the road was lined with ikria, temporary wooden stands for spectators. Postholes for these structures have been found alongside the Way in the center of the Agora.[22][23]

Associated Structures

Several significant structures were located along or near the Panathenaic Way:

References

  1. ^ a b c d Camp 1986, p. 45.
  2. ^ a b c Neils 1992, p. 18.
  3. ^ Travlos 1971, p. 422.
  4. ^ Ficuciello 2008, p. 41.
  5. ^ Camp 2010, p. 90.
  6. ^ Travlos 1971, p. 460.
  7. ^ Ficuciello 2008, p. 33.
  8. ^ a b Ficuciello 2008, pp. 33–35.
  9. ^ a b Ficuciello 2008, p. 35.
  10. ^ Ficuciello 2008, pp. 37–39.
  11. ^ Ficuciello 2008, p. 39.
  12. ^ Ficuciello 2008, p. 40.
  13. ^ Camp 1996, p. 231.
  14. ^ a b c d e Camp 1996, p. 233.
  15. ^ Gadbery 1992, p. 472.
  16. ^ Richter 2020, p. 30.
  17. ^ Richter 2020, p. 10.
  18. ^ Richter 2020, p. 86.
  19. ^ Ficuciello 2008, p. 109.
  20. ^ Richter 2020, p. 22.
  21. ^ Richter 2020, p. 31.
  22. ^ Thompson & Wycherley 1972, p. 126.
  23. ^ Knigge 1991, p. 79.
  24. ^ Camp 2001, p. 136.
  25. ^ Travlos 1971, p. 198.
  26. ^ Richter 2020, p. 69.
  27. ^ Richter 2020, p. 74.
  28. ^ Camp 2010, p. 111.

Sources

  • Richter, Samantha (2020). The Power of Procession: The Greater Panathenaia and the Transformation of Athenian Public Spaces (Master of Arts thesis). University of Arizona. hdl:10150/644638.
  • Camp, John (1986). The Athenian Agora: Excavations in the Heart of Classical Athens. London: Thames & Hudson.
  • Camp, John (1996). "Excavations in the Athenian Agora: 1994 and 1995" (PDF). Hesperia. 65 (3): 231–261.
  • Camp, John (2001). The Archaeology of Athens. New Haven: Yale University Press.
  • Camp, John McK. (2010-02-28). "South Square". The Athenian Agora: Site Guide (5th ed.). American School of Classical Studies at Athens. pp. 164–165. doi:10.2972/j.ctv13nb7c4. ISBN 978-1-62139-016-9.
  • Camp, John (2015). "Excavations in the Athenian Agora, 2008-2012". Hesperia. 84 (3): 467–513.
  • Ficuciello, Laura (2008). Le strade di Atene (PDF). SATAA. Vol. 4. Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene-Pandemos.
  • Gadbery, Laura M. (1992). "The Sanctuary of the Twelve Gods in the Athenian Agora: A Revised View" (PDF). Hesperia. 61 (4): 447–489.
  • Knigge, Ursula (1991). The Athenian Kerameikos: History-Monuments-Excavations. Krene.
  • Neils, Jenifer (1992). Goddess and Polis: The Panathenaic Festival in Ancient Athens. Princeton University Press.
  • Thompson, Homer; Wycherley, Richard E. (1972). The Agora of Athens Volume XIV: The History, Shape and Uses of an Ancient City Center (PDF). Princeton: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
  • Travlos, John (1971). Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Athens. New York: Praeger Publishers.
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