HESPERIA 78 (2OO9) A ROMAN ATHENA Pages 481-499 FROM THE PNYX AND THE AGORA IN ATHENS ABSTRACT one on Two fragments of marble sculpture, found in late fill the Pnyx and the other in theAthenian Agora, join to form part of a large helmeted head, a probably from Roman statue ofAthena. Unusual, wavelike curls escaping from beneath the helmet suggest a date in the mid-1st century a.d. The a Pnyx/Agora statuemay have been commissioned inAthens during period of renewed interest in the Panathenaic festival by Athenians who saw the promotion of their city's religious traditions as a way of enhancing their own status and that of their city. Between 1931 and 1937, theAmerican School of Classical Studies exca at some vations the Pnyx in Athens turned up 31 sculpture fragments, a including many figurines, small group of unfinished marble pieces, and was excavators a what termed by the limestone "study piece."1 Almost all the items, ranging in date from Classical to Roman, were discovered in one an fills.2 Just fragmentary statuette, part of unfinished, draped male a more ca. figure, emerged from precisely dated area, Pnyx III, 340 b.c.3 But Rotroff and Camp have shown how extensive the intrusions of Ro man were area so material in this too, itmay not be possible to assign even a an this piece late-4th-century date.4 In addition to assortment of unrelated some fragments, marble votive pinakes from the Zeus Hypsistos Roman sanctuary?a development of the 1st century a.d., when the Pnyx no as a longer functioned site for civic meetings?were recovered.5 The 1. Davidson and Shear for Thompson 1943, them; Julia discussing Pan headless griffinprotome probably from 35-40 athenaic issues with the a monument pp. (unfinishedpieces: pp. 35 me; anonymous 4th-century cauldron grave nos. reviewers 37, 3, 6,11; "study piece": p. 40, Hesperia for comments, (Davidson andThompson 1943, p. 35). no. All and 12). sculpturalfinds from the corrections, improvements; Tarek 3.Davidson andThompson 1943, American School's and at Pnyx excavations Elemam Nikolaos Manias the p. 35; Camp 1996, p. 41; Rotroffand reside in the storerooms of the Stoa of American School of Classical Studies Camp 1996, pp. 274-275. Attalos in the Athenian at Athens for Agora. technical support; and 4. Rotroffand Camp 1996, p. 270; Iwould like to thankJohn McK. finally,the staffof theBlegen Library Rotroff 1996. and Harrison for allow at the American School. 5. Zeus Camp Evelyn Hypsistos: Forsen 1993, me ing to studyand publish these 2. Pnyx S 26, firstidentified as the 1996. for neck of a sea a now fragments; Olga Palagia examining horse, is actually ? The American School of Classical Studies at Athens 482 aileen ajootian plaques, with body parts in relief,filled niches in the bedrock wall of the Zeus Hypsistos precinct. These votives represent the only secure evidence on for sculpture installed the Pnyx.6 as a The fragment catalogued Pnyx S 16 (Fig. 1), the lower portion of most large face made of Pentelic marble, is by far the impressive sculpture in the Pnyx assemblage excavated by theAmerican School.7 The careful workmanship and impressive scale of thiswork distinguish it from other on pieces discovered the Pnyx. Even in itsdamaged state, itdemanded more attention. to This article documents my efforts determine its identity,date, context. to was and ancient According R. L. Scranton, it found south of over the Pnyx in destruction fill theWhite Poros Wall, with sherds dating as late as the 5th century a.d.8 a With maximum preserved height of 0.175 m, the fragment retains the chin, mouth, part of the nose, portions of the cheeks, and the left tear duct. On the sculptures right side, the lower cheek extends back to just below the right ear, but less of the figure's right cheek survives. There are traces of an iron attachment or dowel on the broken back surface 6. The best-known finds the church sculptural of Ayios Demetrios Lom pediments found between the Pnyx and fromthe vicinity of thePnyx are the bardiadis, located in the saddle between theHill of theMuses, seeBorker 1976; unfinished Lenormant Athena, a small thePnyx and theHill of theMuses. It Calligas 1996, p. 5, n. 25. of a seated and Athena replica thePheidian Athena Par depicts Demos, 7.Davidson andThompson 1943, thenos (AthensNM 128: Kaltsas 2002, being crownedby Herakles, all three p. 35, no. 1.1 thankOlga Palagia for p. 106, no. 190), and an over-life-size named by inscription(Kron 1979, her comments on the marble. unfinishedhead of theAthena Medici pi. 7). Kron associated this reliefwith 8. Pnyx notebookVI, p. 1193: the near "in center type (AthensNM 3718: Kaltsas 2002, Nymph sanctuary the Obser Trench P, of square K 21, no. ven p. Ill, 200). One of the most vatory, but it, like many other record 90 m SE ofTrench D Tower, in the erable Athena in this a set images area, reliefs, may have originally been destructionfill of theporos wall, with to on numerous marble possible recordrelief dated the4th up the Acropolis (C. Lawton, fragments and sherds was discovered as in to century B.C., spolia pers. comm.). For Hadrianic sculptured 5th A.D." A ROMAN ATHENA FROM THE PNYX AND THE AGORA 483 JB -^VP^" ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Figure 2. Agora S 418. Fragment of to marble head with helmet: frontand (Fig. 1, right). The chin, its surface abraded, extends back where it the neck. The are broken a thin drilled channel top views. Scale 1:2. Photos courtesy joined lips mostly away; American School of Classical Studies at remnants between them indicates that they parted slightly.Except for of Excavations Athens, Agora nose the nostrils, the ismissing. Despite the damage, the sensitive mod nose eling of the soft flesh around the broad chin, small mouth, and is evident. were no Although there joining fragments among the Pnyx finds, my was more wider search in theAgora storerooms successful. The Pnyx piece tear s joins Agora fragment S 418 (Fig. 2) along the broken duct of the figure a was left eye, producing large helmeted head (Fig. 3).9Agora S 418 discov near ered in 1907-1908 during Greek excavations of theAgora theNew was on Bouleuterion, and left the site along with other marbles. Thomp son recorded the surface find in 1934. Broken all around, Agora S 418 measures m s 0.21 high. It preserves the left side of the statue forehead, a portion of the head extending to the crown, and about three-quarters s measure m of the figure left eye. The two pieces reunited 0.27 from the crown of the head to the chin and 0.185 m from the forehead to the chin. a to a Using rough ratio of 1 to 7 for the proportion of head body yields m. restored height for the statue of at least 1.89 a over The visor of the Attic helmet forms point directed down the a center of the forehead, with an upper rim jutting out about centimeter an ca. cm from the head, and angular front edge 1.5 high.Wisps of hair are escaping from the coiffure confined beneath the headgear carved in 9. 1999.1 have not found Ajootian low relief on top of the helmet band on each side of its central point. On any other or additional joins frag the statue s leftbrow, two curls, as uniform, ments to well-preserved expressed styl that clearly pertain this piece, ized waves with drilled centers, curve back toward each other. An althoughaegis fragmentsAgora S 780 lightly two stat incised line the curls articulates texture and mass. On and S 2047 from large Roman bisecting summarily ues of Athena are in scale. s have been appropriate the right side of the figure head these details damaged, leaving 484 AILEEN AJOOTIAN Figure 3. Pnyx S 16/Agora S 418. Fragmentary marble head with helmet. Scale 1:2. Photo courtesy American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Agora Excavations mass only their outlines. The of longer locks emerging from the left side of s the figure helmet ismostly broken away; this area is completely missing on the right side of the head. are There cuttings on the helmet formany attachments. About a centi meter are seven above the helmet band, unevenly spaced and aligned, small some remnants drilled holes, containing the of lead pins.10 At the top of on center a the crown, axis with the of the brow, is very shallow rectangular m cutting.11Ca. 0.06 behind it, at the broken back edge of the fragment, are a the remains of larger drilled hole with a restored diameter of0.035 m, ca. m 0.048 deep. The surface of the helmet was finished with a rasp, in contrast 10. The holes measure ca. 0.008 m with the smoothly polished texture of the face.A deep yellow-gold and 0.002 m wide. or can be seen over much of the helmet s surface. It covers deep deposit coating measures ca. m 11. The cutting 0.001 the shallow and is on one section of the of the cutting, especially heavy top deep, 0.05 m long on the leftside, and helmet band. indicated that this 0.04 m on ca. m Microscopic analysis deposit, containing long the right, 0.041 or an wide at the to ca. 0.03 m iron ore, might be paint undercoating.12 front, tapering as a at the back. The surviving eyebrow is crisply defined thin, arching line.A fold 12.1 thank Amandina Anastassia of flesh below overshadows the lefteye itself.The sharply articulated upper des, chief conservator at the Athenian lid the and the remains of the tear duct can be seen.