If you know Plaka, you know the Lysikrates monument! Known as a wonderful example of Late Classical ingenuity, the afterlife of this monument is *far* more interesting! Here’s a thread on sculpture that’s seen a lot!
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#athens #greece @ASCSAthens #ClassicsTwitter #archaeology
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#athens #greece @ASCSAthens #ClassicsTwitter #archaeology
The Lysicrates Monument was one of many dedications along the so-called Street of the Tripods, which connected the Theater of Dionysus (here in a great 1913 photo) with the Agora. These dedications were made by choregoi, wealthy Athenians who financed theatrical & choral events
The dedicatory inscription by Lysikrates allows us to date the monument precisely to 334 BCE, for a victory in the boys’ dithyramb at the Great Dionysia. It is a small marble tholos atop a high limestone podium, all adorned with intricate moulding, a monolithic roof, & frieze
Pausanias (1.20.1) remarks on the beauty of these monuments, but reconstructions are hotly debated! Namely, was the LM enclosed by marble slabs or did it hold a bronze statue of Dionysus? There’s little evidence of the latter, likewise for bronze satyrs supporting the tripod!
What is certain, though, is that the frieze running above the architrave is WILD! Atop a repeating motif of tripods (what else) is a Dionysiac scene of satyrs, gods, pirates, priests, and men turning into dolphins! There’s some homage to the Homeric Hymn, & plenty of ingenuity!
But let’s get to the good stuff! The monument, then known as the Lantern of Demosthenes, was standing in the 15th century when it was drawn by Cyriacus of Ancona. In 1685 a French Capucin monastery was founded on the site & the monks incorporated the monument in their buildings!
There’s some evidence that the monks used the Lysikrates Monument as a library & this plate shows just that! Byron and many other early travelers to Greece stayed with the monks & it, but the monastery was burned in 1821 & the Lysikrates Monument was left exposed to the elements
The Capucin monastery was just the beginning of a long-standing connection between #France & the Lysikrates Monument, & French archaeologists were responsible for reexcavating and restoring the monument in the 19th century
Because of its exceptional preservation & central location, the Lysikrates monument remains a paradigmatic Greek monument, with all the good & bad that comes with that label! Anarchists vandalized the monument in 2016, highlighting the refugee and immigration crisis in Greece
But the Lysikrates monument is often the center of better press. In fact, if you’re not in Greece, there’s still a good chance you can visit it! Its popularity with 19th c. travelers led to imitations from Edinburgh to Sydney, New York to Nashville. Let’s see your local versions!
