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Delian Civic Structures: a Critical Reassessment

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Delian Civic Structures: a Critical Reassessment DELIAN CIVIC STRUCTURES: A CRITICAL REASSESSMENT Emma Buckingham A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Classics (Classical Archaeology). Chapel Hill 2012 Approved by Monika Truemper Kenneth Sams William Race © 2012 Emma Buckingham ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT EMMA BUCKINGHAM: Delian Civic Structures: A Critical Reassessment (Under the direction of Monika Truemper) This paper reassesses the attributions of three buildings on the Greek island of Delos, GD 22, GD 21 and GD 47, which have been identified as civic structures – the Prytaneion, Bouleuterion, and Ekklesiasterion. I examine the issues surrounding these attributions and propose alternative identifications for GD 21 and GD 47, based on the date, physical appearance, size, location, history, and epigraphic evidence for the structures. I suggest that GD 21 served as a multifunctional hall and/or a seat of the sacred assemblies and magistrates, while GD 47 functioned as the bouleuterion. GD 22, the Prytaneion, has been identified with a high degree of certainty, and so I reevaluate the location, development, and historical background of the building based on the sociopolitical context of Delos and Athens, suggesting that the Prytaneion (as well as the Bouleuterion) would have mainly served the needs of the Delian inhabitants. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………......1 2. HISTORICAL CONSIDERATIONS.................................................................4 3. GD 22: PRYTANEION....................................................................................12 Archaeological Evidence...........................................................................13 Spatial Considerations...............................................................................23 Inscriptional Evidence...............................................................................28 4. GD 21: BOULEUTERION?.............................................................................34 Archaeological Evidence...........................................................................35 Spatial Considerations...............................................................................44 Inscriptional Evidence...............................................................................49 5. GD 47: EKKLESIASTERION?.......................................................................52 Archaeological Evidence...........................................................................52 Spatial Considerations...............................................................................65 Inscriptional Evidence...............................................................................66 6. CONCLUSIONS..............................................................................................71 BIBLIOGRAPHY.………..………………………………………………...………….122 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. DATING.........................................................................................................76 2. EPIGRAMS: PRYTANEION........................................................................77 3. EPIGRAMS: BOULEUTERION...................................................................90 4. EPIGRAMS: EKKLESIASTERION.............................................................96 5. NUMBER OF MENTIONS IN DELIAN INSCRIPTIONS BY 20-YEAR PERIOD....................................................105 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Plan of Sanctuary of Apollo, location of GD 22 ..........................................106 2. Stone plan of Prytaneion and Building Delta................................................106 3. West wall, view to the south..........................................................................107 4. View to the east, rooms E and D....................................................................107 5. Labeled plan of Prytaneion............................................................................108 6. a. Axonometric reconstruction of Prytaneion...............................................108 b. Interior north-south cross-section of Prytaneion......................................108 7. Bankette from vestibule, west side................................................................109 8. View of Prytaneion to north, looking towards vestibule with standing herm.........................................................................109 9. Plan of sondages conducted by Étienne.........................................................110 10. a. Shaft of column with inscription IG 105-108, 110-111, 113....................110 b. Doric capital from vestibule.....................................................................110 c. Frieze from architrave of vestibule..........................................................111 11. Plan of Delian civic space..............................................................................111 12. Plan of Sanctuary of Apollo, location of GD 21............................................112 13. Stone plan of Building Delta..........................................................................112 14. Reconstructed plan of Building Delta, with locations of column bases........112 15. View of Building Delta..................................................................................113 16. a. View of dedication to Athena Polias, with foundation embedded into foundation of Building Delta...........................................113 b. Overhead view of dedication next to wall of GD 21................................113 vi 17. Reconstructed ground plan of the Oikos of the Naxians...............................114 18. a. Reconstructed ground plan of the bouleuterion at Olympia......................114 b. Reconstructed ground plan of the bouleuterion at Olynthus.....................114 c. Reconstructed ground plan of the bouleuterion at Orchomenos................114 d. Reconstructed ground plan of the bouleuterion at Delphi.........................115 19. Location of Building Delta within the Archaic agora....................................115 20. Plan of the Sanctuary of Apollo, location of GD 47......................................116 21. View of GD 47 from the southeast................................................................116 22. Parastades from GD 47..................................................................................117 23. Seats within GD 47........................................................................................117 24. Site plan of GD 47 and surrounding buildings..............................................118 25. Colored phase plan of GD 47.........................................................................119 26. View of naiskos in GD 47.............................................................................120 27. a. Bouleuterion of Epidauros.........................................................................121 b. Bouleuterion/ekklesiasterion of Priene......................................................121 c. Bouleuterion of Notium.............................................................................121 d. Bouleuterion of Thermon...........................................................................121 e. Bouleuterion of Herakleia am Latmos.......................................................121 vii 1. INTRODUCTION The prytaneion, bouleuterion and ekklesiasterion were the primary civic and political structures on Delos. Their presence on the island is certain, due to numerous inscriptions referring to the political institutions of the prytanie, boule and ekklesia, and the structures in which they were housed. However, the lack of in-situ inscriptions and the unassuming, non-monumental appearance and numerous phases of the remains have created difficulties for archaeologists and scholars trying to identify the remains of the original structures, other than the prytaneion, in which inscriptions were found. Inscriptions mentioning the ekklesiasterion, bouleuterion and prytaneion, certain buildings’ placement relative to public and sacred spaces, and tentative identification of various rooms within such political structures have led scholars to propose identifications of all three structures: the ekklesiasterion as GD 47, the bouleuterion as GD 21 (Building Delta) and the prytaneion as GD 22. The identitification of political spaces on Delos, especially of the bouleuterion and ekklesiasterion, is still largely open to debate, though. Certain attributes of the structures are also rather unclear, and, for all three tentatively identified buildings, scholars have not agreed on the dates of construction, chronology, phases, or even reconstructions. These problems are further magnified by the lack of any definitive publication on the civic buildings on Delos. Relatively abundant epigraphic evidence exists on the functioning and tasks of the boule, ekklesia, and prytanie, as well as on the features and locations of the various political buildings, and it has often proven difficult to reconcile these inscriptions with the archaeological evidence pertaining to the structures. It has also proven challenging to assess the chronologies and
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