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Enzo Lippolis Enzo Lippolis Eleusi, santuario dell’impero Tra i grandi santuari della Grecia storica, quello di Demetra ad Eleusi (figg. 1-2) mantiene a lungo intatta la sua importanza e la sua capacità di adeguamento e accresce il suo ruolo inter- nazionale nel II sec. d.C. Con Adriano, infatti, inizia una nuova ed intensa fase di sviluppo, con- divisa da Atene e dalle altre poleis elleniche, in un vero e proprio ‘Rinascimento’ della Grecia di età classica1. La fioritura di Eleusi è compresa so- prattutto tra il periodo adrianeo e l’età severiana, nonostante le distruzioni determinate dal sacco dei Costoboci nel 170 d.C., evento che sembra aver offerto l’occasione per completare il vasto progetto di rinnovamento architettonico intrapreso all’inizio del secolo. È difficile, però, definire con esattezza le tappe di questa trasformazione, in quanto, se molti aspetti del santuario sono ben noti, pur tuttavia rimangono ancora significative lacune. Gravi incertezze riguardano elementi fon- damentali del culto e degli apprestamenti relativi, l’identificazione delle stesse strutture templari e della loro cronologia, la destinazione e la forma architettonica di molti edifici compresi nel temenos. Ancor meno conosciuti, poi, sono l’ar- Fig. 1 – Eleusi, corografia generale dell’insediamento. redo e l’organizzazione degli ampi spazi inclusi entro la cinta muraria che separava dall’esterno lo spazio sacro interdetto ai non iniziati. Queste lacune dipendono dalla mancanza di una pubblicazione scientifica sistematica dell’intero complesso, mentre approfondimenti ed elaborazioni sinora riguardano solo alcuni edifici o specifici problemi; non si dispone neanche di rilievi aggiornati, complessivi e di dettaglio dell’area sacra, come di una catalogazione adeguata 1 Sulla definizione e sul contesto storico-archeologico: v., ad es. WALKER, CAMERON 1989. Bollettino di Archeologia on line I 2010/ Volume speciale C / C8 / 6 Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n. 330 ISSN 2039 - 0076 www.archeologia.beniculturali.it/pages/pubblicazioni.html 34 XVII International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Roma 22-26 Sept. 2008 Session: Religione come sistema di comunicazione: networks e rituali nei santuari tradizionali greci di età romana Fig. 2 – Eleusi, planimetria complessiva del santuario di Demetra. dei numerosi elementi architettonici2 abbandonati in situ dopo lo spoglio post-antico degli edifici, evento perdurato certamente in un arco di tempo abbastanza lungo. Forse è proprio la fase romana quella considerata sinora in maniera meno attenta, se si escludono alcune eccezioni3; mentre un’esauriente edizione del materiale epigrafico proveniente dallo scavo dovuta a K. Clinton4 ha permesso un significativo miglioramento in questo settore, è l’esame archeologico di queste fasi che presenta le lacune maggiori e in genere continua a fondarsi su ipotesi interpretative approssimative e non sempre condivisibili. La cronologia dei vari monumenti e delle loro diverse fasi costruttive non è supportata in nessun caso da dati stratigrafici, ma si basa unicamente su osservazioni di tipo stilistico sulle membrature architettoniche, oppure su considerazioni tecniche relative alle opere murarie impiegate. È difficile, quindi, disporre di uno schema di sviluppo della storia del santuario articolato e sicuro e soprattutto per il II sec. d.C. la bibliografia offre indicazioni incerte e abbastanza generiche. Il recente riesame condotto sull’intera documentazione ha permesso di ridiscutere la lettura archeologica del complesso, mettendo a di- 2 L’unico lavoro complessivo è rappresentato da MYLONAS 1961, al quale si aggiunge ora LIPPOLIS 2006; i rilievi disponibili di maggiore precisione risalgono ai primi decenni del Novecento e sono editi in NOACK 1927; esami specifici sono stati condotti su singoli elementi del santuario, sia su edifici, come nel caso dei Grandi Propilei studiati in maniera sistematica e presentati da ZIRO 1991, ora ripresentati da BALDASSARRI 2007, 211–233, sia su particolari tecnici o su considerazioni più generali, come si può verificare dalla vasta bibliografia specifica, per la quale si v. LIPPOLIS 2006. 3 Di particolare interesse, ad esempio, sono l’esame sistematico della documentazione disponibile e le osservazioni in BALDASSARRI 1998 e in BALDASSARRE 2007. 4 CLINTON 2005, con un repertorio completo della bibliografia precedente. Bollettino di Archeologia on line I 2010/ Volume speciale C / C8 / 6 Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n. 330 ISSN 2039 - 0076 www.archeologia.beniculturali.it/pages/pubblicazioni.html 35 E. Lippolis – Eleusi, santuario dell’impero posizione nuovi elementi di riflessione e proponendo una lettura critica di alcune false certezze, che hanno a lungo impe- dito un approfondimento adeguato dei problemi emersi dallo scavo5. Un elemento centrale, per questo periodo, è il ruolo assunto da Adriano nella storia del santuario, considerato in genere determinante, ma apparente- mente privo di riscontri sufficienti6. È ne- cessario quindi cercare di verificare le testimonianze concrete sugli interventi di- retti dell’imperatore e sulla fase cro- nologica che lo riguarda più in generale. Un’analisi attenta può permettere, infatti, di ricostruire un quadro più articolato e Fig. 3 – Eleusi, piazzale esterno, resti del ninfeo adrianeo. preciso delle opere condotte e del loro carattere. L’unica attività sinora sicuramente attribuita ad Adriano è la risistemazione del bacino idrico della piana di Eleusi7; oggetto dell’intervento sembra essere stato il percorso del fiume Cefiso, il cui alveo venne irreggimentato, provvedendo nel contempo alla ricostruzione del ponte sulla via sacra che permetteva l’attraversamento del fiume8. A questo complesso intervento, però, è possibile accostare altre informazioni. Un’epigrafe lacunosa incisa su un blocco architettonico modanato, ad esempio, restituisce la dedica di una fontana(?) e di un acquedotto da parte di un imperatore, di cui manca la formula onomastica, ma che aspetto e carattere delle lettere permettono di attribuire ad età adrianea, sebbene con qualche incertezza9. Il dedicante, quindi, sarebbe lo stesso Adriano, come puntualizza l’integrazione opportunamente proposta da K. Clinton per la parte iniziale mancante. È difficile disgiungere questo documento dalla presenza del ninfeo costruito nella piazza di accesso al santuario (fig. 3), considerando sia il luogo del suo rinvenimento10, sia le indicazioni fornite dal testo. I resti Fig. 4 – Eleusi, corografia generale di un imponente acquedotto che correva su strutture aeree nel dell’insediamento; in rosso le condotte principali suo tratto terminale (fig. 4), costeggiando la strada che arrivava dell’acquedotto. da nord nel piazzale antistante il santuario, sono stati visti a più riprese e rilevati da J. Travlòs11, mentre minore attenzione per 5 LIPPOLIS 2006. 6 Già in questo senso TRAVLÒS 1988, 97. 7 Tra gli altri, TRAVLÒS 1988, 97; CLINTON 1989, 1516–1525. 8 WILLERS 1990, 13 con bibliografia precedente nota 32. 9 2 IG II 3196; CLINTON 1999, 99; CLINTON 2005, n. 449, 366; il suggerimento è già stato accolto e attentamente valutato da BALDASSARRI 2007, 222. 10 L’epigrafe sarebbe stata trovata fuori dai Grandi Propilei, sul loro lato sinistro (versante orientale della piazza), in prossimità 2 dell’epigrafe IG II 4085 (CLINTON 2005, n. 471, 379–380), murata nella torre a sinistra dei Grandi Propilei. 11 TRAVLÒS 1988. Bollettino di Archeologia on line I 2010/ Volume speciale C / C8 / 6 Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n. 330 ISSN 2039 - 0076 www.archeologia.beniculturali.it/pages/pubblicazioni.html 36 XVII International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Roma 22-26 Sept. 2008 Session: Religione come sistema di comunicazione: networks e rituali nei santuari tradizionali greci di età romana il momento hanno rivestito il ninfeo, esaminato nel 1936 da A.K. Orlandos12, e il sistema di distribuzione se- condario dell’acqua, ancora del tutto inedito. Si tratta di elementi che vanno considerati in maniera unitaria: la co- struzione del ninfeo, attribuito per motivazioni plani- metriche e architettoniche ad età adrianea, costituisce la parte rappresentativa dell’impegno di adduzione del- l’acqua e non può essere separato dalla creazione dello stesso acquedotto. Iscrizione, monumento e strutture della condotta concordano nella datazione al principato di Adriano e questo conferma l’integrazione del dedicante proposta da Clinton. La fornitura doveva riguardare prin- cipalmente il santuario, ma anche il piccolo abitato di Eleusi, con diramazioni e vasche che conoscono senza dubbio rifacimenti e integrazioni in tutto il corso del II sec. d.C. Giunta nella piazza, la condotta principale proba- bilmente si divideva in due direzioni; quella meridionale riforniva il ninfeo monumentale e poi superava la strada che corre lungo le mura, utilizzando forse queste ultime come base per lo speco e per la collocazione di castella Fig. 5 – Eleusi, schema ricostruttivo di uno degli archi aquae secondari (water tower) come anche per le grandi onorari del piazzale esterno (da WILLERS 1990). vasche di raccolta addossate dall’esterno nel tratto orien- tale e costruite in almeno due fasi diverse. Non a caso in questa zona prossima alle mura e al ninfeo si concen- trano gli impianti termali emersi negli scavi, che testi- moniano in maniera eloquente la complessità e l’artico- lazione dell’impianto di distribuzione13. Ad Adriano, quindi, deve essere attribuita la vo- lontà di una riorganizzazione sistematica e di base del- l’insediamento, con la dotazione di infrastrutture fonda- mentali nella viabilità
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