The Thrasyllos Monument in Athens

The rock on which the Athenian Acropolis has been built holds several caves that were used in antiquity as sanctuaries. Early settlers were attracted by the clean water from its hidden natural sources. Some of these caves led very far inside but most were rather small. Over time, some of these spaces were turned into sanctuaries. 

The most striking example is the Thrasyllos Monument, a temple inside a large cave on the south slope of the Acropolis. It was created around 320 BC by Thrasyllos, a judge in the Great Dionysia Festival. His son, Thrasykles, modified the monument in 270 BC.

Few people know that its façade was an almost exact copy of the west façade of the south wing of the Propylaea on the Acropolis above. It has two door openings with pilasters and a central pillar, crowned with a Doric architrave displaying a continuous row of guttae, a frieze, and a cornice. The frieze depicts five olive wreaths on either side of the central ivy wreath. The three columns above the cornice supported the bronze choragic tripods. Pausanias tells us that the cave held a representation of Apollo and Artemis killing the children of Niobe. 

Paintings inside the cave referred to a marble statue of Dionysus probably added to the top of the monument in the 4^th century AD. It was removed in 1802 by Lord Elgin, who took it to the British Museum in London. 

Under Ottoman rule, a small chapel was built inside the cave known as the Virgin Mary of the Cave. It was used by the Athenians who came to pray for the health of their sick children. The chapel was decorated with Biblical frescos, and a marble icon of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, recently restored. 

Most of the marble entrance collapsed in 1827 during the Ottoman siege and bombardment of the Acropolis. As so often, the stone material was reused elsewhere in the city and, in particular, for the restoration of the Byzantine Church of Panaghia Sotiras tou Nikodimou. 

[Reconstruction drawing by James Stuart and Nicholas Revett]

The restoration of the Thrasyllos Monument started in 2011 assisted by archaeologists of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. We have to thank the English architects James Stuart and Nicholas Revett for having left us so many drawings of what they witnessed in 18th-century Athens. Their work was of great help to reconstruct the Thrasyllos Monument and provided a clear copy of the original Greek inscriptions. 

This impressive Choragic Monument was meant to be seen by all of ancient Athens. Today, it is an eye-catcher overlooking the Theater of Dionysus. The Monument is clearly visible from the terrace of the New Acropolis Museum as seen in my picture from 2015.  

For safety reasons, the interior of the Thrasyllos Monument is not open to the public yet.