Irlandos: /* Excavations */

2006-02-03T12:04:06Z

Excavations

Irlandos at 12:03, February 3, 2006

2006-02-03T12:03:33Z

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The '''Pnyx''' ([[Greek language|Greek]] '''Πνυξ''', Modern Greek Πνύκα, is a hill in central [[Athens]], the capital of [[Greece]]. It is located less than one kilometre west of the [[Acropolis, Athens|Acropolis]], and 1.6km south-west of the centre of modern Athens, [[Syntagma Square]].

==The site==
Compared to the better known surviving monuments of ancient Athens, such as the [[Parthenon]], the Pnyx is unspectacular. It is a small hill surrounded by parkland, with a large flat platform of eroded stone set into its side. But it is one of the most significant sites in the city, and indeed in the world. For the Pnyx was the meeting place of the world's first democratic legislature, the Athenian ''[[ekklesia]]'' (assembly), and the flat stone is the ''bema'' or speaker's platform.

The Pnyx was used for popular assemblies in Athens as early as [[507 BC]], when the reforms of [[Cleisthenes]] transferred political power to the citizens. It was then outside the city, but close enough to be convenient for the citizens. It looks down on the [[Ancient Agora of Athens|ancient Agora]], the commercial and social centre of the city.

At this site all the great political struggles of Athens of the "Golden Age" were fought out. Statesmen such as [[Pericles]], [[Aristides]] and [[Alcibiades]] would have spoken here regularly, with the Parthenon, Temple of [[Athena]], the city's protective goddess, looking down on their deliberations.

==Athenian democracy==
The grassy area in front of the ''bema'' was in ancient times an area of bare rock, in which about 6,000 men could stand. This can be taken as a reasonable estimate of the number of politically active citizens (citizens were free males born in the city, or perhaps 20% of the adult population). There were wooden seats for the members of the Council of 500, who were elected by the [[ecclesia|Assembly]] to run the city on a day-to-day basis. In later times two stoas, or covered galleries, were built to protect the dignitaries against the rain and sun.

In theory all citizens were equal, and all had the right to speak. In practice Athens was a hierarchical society like any other, and those recognised as leaders tended to dominate proceedings. Many of these belonged to the old aristocratic families which had ruled Athens before the advent of democracy, but the poor and the unknown citizen could sometimes rise to prominence if he spoke well and captured the mood of the assembly. There was a rule that citizens aged over 50 had a right to be heard first.

Democratic government at Athens was suspended in [[411 BC]] and again in [[404 BC]] during crises in the [[Peloponnesian War]]. The Spartans and their allies in Athens installed a dictatorship, called the [[Thirty Tyrants]], but in [[403 BC]] the democrats seized power again and the meetings at the Pnyx resumed.Athens lost its independence to [[Philip II of Macedon]] after the battle of [[Chaeronea]] in [[338 BC]]; but they continued to run their internal affairs democratically until the coup by [[Demetrius of Phalerum]] in [[322 BC]]. After his fall, the Athenians continued to run their internal affairs according to democratic forms for centuries.

==Excavations==
Excavations at the site were begun in [[1910]] by the [[Greek Archaeological Society]] and definitely confirmed the site as the Pnyx. Large-scale excavations were conducted at various times between [[1930]] and [[1937]] by [[Homer Thompson]], in collaboration first with K. Kourouniotes and later with Robert Scranton.

These excavations discovered the foundations of the important buildings at the Pnyx, although nothing else remains of them. These included the two large stoas, erected between [[320s BC|330 and 326 BC]], the Altar of [[Zeus]] Agoraios, erected at the same time, but removed during the reign of Augustus (first century BC), and the Sanctuary of Zeus Hypsistos. Most of these buildings were erected after the Pnyx had lost its real significance.

Today the site of the Pnyx is under the control of the Ephorate of Prehistorical and Classical Antiquites of the Greek Ministry of Culture. The surrounding parklands are fenced, but the traveller can visit it free of charge at any time during daylight.

{{Credit wikipedia}}
[[Category:Athens]]

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 ==Excavations==
-Excavations at the site were begun in [[1910]] by the [[Greek Archaeological Society]] and definitely confirmed the site as the Pnyx. Large-scale excavations were conducted at various times between [[1930]] and [[1937]] by [[Homer Thompson]], in collaboration first with K. Kourouniotes and later with Robert Scranton.
+Excavations at the site were begun in [[1910]] by the [[Greek Archaeological Society]] and definitely confirmed the site as the Pnyx. Large-scale excavations were conducted at various times between [[1930]] and [[1937]] by Homer Thompson, in collaboration first with K. Kourouniotes and later with Robert Scranton.
 These excavations discovered the foundations of the important buildings at the Pnyx, although nothing else remains of them. These included the two large stoas, erected between [[320s BC|330 and 326 BC]], the Altar of [[Zeus]] Agoraios, erected at the same time, but removed during the reign of Augustus (first century BC), and the Sanctuary of Zeus Hypsistos. Most of these buildings were erected after the Pnyx had lost its real significance.

Pnyx - Revision history

Irlandos: /* Excavations */

Irlandos at 12:03, February 3, 2006