Heraion of Argos
Encyclopedia
The Heraion of Argos was the temple in the greatest sanctuary in the Argolid, dedicated to Hera
, whose epithet "Argive Hera" (Ἥρη Ἀργείη Here Argeie), is familiar to readers of Homer
. Hera herself claims to be the protector of Argos
in Iliad
IV, 50–52): "The three towns I love best are Argos, Sparta
and Mycenae
of the broad streets". The memory was preserved at Argos of an archaic, aniconic
pillar representation of the Great Goddess
. The site, which might mark the introduction of the cult of Hera in mainland Greece, lies northeast of Argos between the archaeological sites of Mycenae
and Midea (Argolid)
, two important Mycenaean
cities. The traveller Pausanias
, visiting the site in the 2nd century CE, referred to the area as Prosymna (Προσύμνη).
The temenos
occupies three artificially terraced levels on a site above the plain with a commanding view. The Old Temple, destroyed by fire in 423 BCE, and an open-air altar stood on the uppermost terrace. The famous ivory and gold-plated bronze sculpture of Hera by Polykleitos
stood in the New Temple on the middle terrace, built by Eupolemos of Argos following the fire. There were other structures, one of which was the earliest example of a building with an open peristyle
court, surrounded by columned stoa
s. The lowest level supports the remains of a stoa. Ancient retaining walls support the flat terraces.
Close to the Heraion a Mycenaean cemetery apparently a site of an ancestor cult in the Geometric period
was excavated by Carl Blegen
. In Roman
times a baths and a palaestra
were added near the site.
At the Heraion, Agamemnon
was chosen to lead the Argives against Troy
, according to a legend recorded by Dictys of Crete. Walls and earliest finds at the site date to the Geometric period, during which the Iliad
was composed. A Helladic settlement preceded the sanctuary's development.
The British officer Thomas Gordon
was the first to identify the site in 1831, and in 1836 he conducted some desultory excavations. Heinrich Schliemann
briefly investigated the site in 1874 before modern archaeology at the Heraion began, under the auspices of the Archaeological Institute of America
, which chose the Argive Heraion in its first campaign of excavation in Greece, under the direction of Charles Waldstein
, who discovered a bundle of iron roasting spits (oboloi) in a bundle of 180, together with a solid bar of iron weighing the same as the bundle and having the same length (about 120 centimeters), votive objects that served as standards of weight and measure, introduced by Pheidon
of Argos
which were still to be seen in Classical times. "The obols of the Heraion are mentioned by the philosopher Heracleides of Pontus
in his work on Etymologies in order to explain the origin of the name of the monetary unit obol
, which is 1/6 of drachma" (Stecchini).
Hera
Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...
, whose epithet "Argive Hera" (Ἥρη Ἀργείη Here Argeie), is familiar to readers of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
. Hera herself claims to be the protector of Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
in Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
IV, 50–52): "The three towns I love best are Argos, Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
and Mycenae
Mycenae
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north...
of the broad streets". The memory was preserved at Argos of an archaic, aniconic
Aniconism
Aniconism is the practice or belief in avoiding or shunning images of divine beings, prophets or other respected religious figures, or in different manifestations, any human beings or living creatures. The term aniconic may be used to describe the absence of graphic representations in a particular...
pillar representation of the Great Goddess
Great Goddess
Great Goddess refers to the concept of an almighty goddess, or to the concept of a mother goddess, including:*Great Goddess, anglicized form of the Latin Magna Dea*Great Goddess, anglicized form of the Sanskrit Mahadevi, the Shakti sum of all goddesses...
. The site, which might mark the introduction of the cult of Hera in mainland Greece, lies northeast of Argos between the archaeological sites of Mycenae
Mycenae
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north...
and Midea (Argolid)
Midea
Midea Founded in 1968, Midea is renowned as a sizeable conglomerate that specializes in the manufacturing of household appliances and sets foot in relevant fields of real estates and logistics...
, two important Mycenaean
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece was a cultural period of Bronze Age Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese of southern Greece. Athens, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites...
cities. The traveller Pausanias
Pausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
, visiting the site in the 2nd century CE, referred to the area as Prosymna (Προσύμνη).
The temenos
Temenos
Temenos is a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, a sanctuary, holy grove or holy precinct: The Pythian race-course is called a temenos, the sacred valley of the Nile is the ...
occupies three artificially terraced levels on a site above the plain with a commanding view. The Old Temple, destroyed by fire in 423 BCE, and an open-air altar stood on the uppermost terrace. The famous ivory and gold-plated bronze sculpture of Hera by Polykleitos
Polykleitos
Polykleitos ; called the Elder, was a Greek sculptor in bronze of the fifth and the early 4th century BCE...
stood in the New Temple on the middle terrace, built by Eupolemos of Argos following the fire. There were other structures, one of which was the earliest example of a building with an open peristyle
Peristyle
In Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court that may contain an internal garden. Tetrastoon is another name for this feature...
court, surrounded by columned stoa
Stoa
Stoa in Ancient Greek architecture; covered walkways or porticos, commonly for public usage. Early stoae were open at the entrance with columns, usually of the Doric order, lining the side of the building; they created a safe, enveloping, protective atmosphere.Later examples were built as two...
s. The lowest level supports the remains of a stoa. Ancient retaining walls support the flat terraces.
Close to the Heraion a Mycenaean cemetery apparently a site of an ancestor cult in the Geometric period
Geometric Style
Geometric art is a phase of Greek art, characterised largely by geometric motifs in vase painting, that flourished towards the end of the Greek Dark Ages, circa 900 BCE to 700 BCE...
was excavated by Carl Blegen
Carl Blegen
Carl William Blegen was an American archaeologist famous for his work on the site of Pylos in modern day Greece and Troy in modern day Turkey...
. In Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times a baths and a palaestra
Palaestra
The palaestra was the ancient Greek wrestling school. The events that did not require a lot of space, such as boxing and wrestling, were practised there...
were added near the site.
At the Heraion, Agamemnon
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
was chosen to lead the Argives against Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
, according to a legend recorded by Dictys of Crete. Walls and earliest finds at the site date to the Geometric period, during which the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
was composed. A Helladic settlement preceded the sanctuary's development.
The British officer Thomas Gordon
Thomas Gordon (British Army officer)
Major-General Thomas Gordon was a British army officer and historian. He is remembered for his role in the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s and 1830s and his History of the war published in 1833.- Early career :...
was the first to identify the site in 1831, and in 1836 he conducted some desultory excavations. Heinrich Schliemann
Heinrich Schliemann
Heinrich Schliemann was a German businessman and amateur archaeologist, and an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an archaeological excavator of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns...
briefly investigated the site in 1874 before modern archaeology at the Heraion began, under the auspices of the Archaeological Institute of America
Archaeological Institute of America
The Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It has offices on the campus of Boston University and in New York City.The institute was founded in 1879,...
, which chose the Argive Heraion in its first campaign of excavation in Greece, under the direction of Charles Waldstein
Charles Waldstein (archaeologist)
Charles Waldstein, later Sir Charles Walston KBE was an Anglo-American archaeologist.-Life:Waldstein was born into a Jewish family in New York City, USA, on March 30, 1856. Waldstein was educated at Columbia University , and also studied at Heidelberg...
, who discovered a bundle of iron roasting spits (oboloi) in a bundle of 180, together with a solid bar of iron weighing the same as the bundle and having the same length (about 120 centimeters), votive objects that served as standards of weight and measure, introduced by Pheidon
Pheidon
Pheidon was a king of Argos, Greece in the 7th century BC. At that time, the monarch was purely a traditional figurehead with almost no genuine power. Pheidon seized the throne from the reigning aristocracy...
of Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
which were still to be seen in Classical times. "The obols of the Heraion are mentioned by the philosopher Heracleides of Pontus
Heraclides
Heraclides , Heracleides or Herakleides may refer to:* Heracleides of Cyme , a little-attested historian* Heraclides of Aenus, one of Plato's students...
in his work on Etymologies in order to explain the origin of the name of the monetary unit obol
Obolus
The obol was an ancient silver coin. In Classical Athens, there were six obols to the drachma, lioterally "handful"; it could be excahnged for eight chalkoi...
, which is 1/6 of drachma" (Stecchini).