Date: Friday, April 01, 2005
Partners for the day: Ben Silverman text , Caleb Chaplain images
Site(s): Acropolis, Agora
Museum(s): Acropolis, museum in the Stoa of Attalos
Principal Buildings/Monuments: Erechtheion, Hephaisteion, Temple of Ares, Altar of the 12 Gods, Crossroads, Royal Stoa, “starting blocks,” Stoa of Attalos
Time Spent on Each Site: from ca. 8:30 AM to ca. 5:30 PM [9 hours]
Weather: low 50s, windy, cloudy, cold
It is not easy to encapsulate the day, as the group spent time on the Acropolis, at the Agora, and in museums at both sites. We spent the morning on the Acropolis, and Professor Rutter showed us the Erechtheion, the Acropolis museum, and some sites along the North Slope of the Acropolis. In the afternoon, David Scahill took us around the Agora and went with us into the Hephaisteion. He also let us handle potshards from the excavations, and we saw some of the material in the collections from the Agora excavations, now housed in the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos.
Despite the seeing a large amount of sites, I was affected by one more than the others: the Royal Stoa. I wrote a small research paper on the building this past winter, so I was eager to see the current state of the building. I had not seen a picture of the excavations after the 1970s, so I was particularly surprised by the lack of physical remains of the building. I was also taken aback by the oath stone, for the importance of the stone had not affected me before I stood before it today. The size of the statue base in the front of the stoa also impressed me. Hence, the Royal Stoa’s current state of preservation, oath stone and statue base all took me by surprise.
While I thought the remains of the Royal Stoa would be poor, I did not expect so little to be left of the building. Today various weeds and plants surround the site and partially cover the remains of the stoa. Although I had done my paper on the building, I could not easily recognize the building, even though it has a unique structure, with its two protruding wings. At first I was disappointed, but I realize now that seeing the site in such a condition helps illustrate the difficulties archaeologists and historians face when trying to reconstruct and identify buildings.
In addition to the current state of the building, the oath stone of the Royal Stoa also made an impression on me. The stone sits next to the entrance of the building and stands taller than the remains of the stoa’s foundations. I had not realized how large the stone was, and actually seeing it in person made me understood how prevalent the stone must have been in fifth century B.C. Furthermore, if we find it remarkable now, it must have been even more eye-catching for the ancient Greeks, who knew the religious and political significance of the stone of which we unsure. They also probably knew the stone’s origin, or at least the myth of its origin, and this knowledge would have added to the mystique of the stone. Moreover, Socrates supposedly took an oath at the stone, and imagining that, I became even more captivated. The oath stone was a small part of my paper, but after visiting the site today, I realize that I should have spent more time analyzing it.
The base of the statue in front of the stoa also impressed me. As I did with the oath stone, I decided not to discuss the statue base to a large extent in my paper. Thus, I knew the dimensions of the four blocks that make up the statue base, but I was still amazed by their magnitude when I saw them. While I had seen the state plans of the stoa that depicted the statue at the front of the building, only when I stood on the base did I comprehend how prominent it must have been in the appearance of the stoa. I did not need to see the actual statue; just standing on the base gave me an appreciation for it.
Seeing all of the sites today gave me a better understanding of many of them. However, with its current state and unique oath stone and statue base, the Royal Stoa had the greatest effect on me.