Herodes Atticus, more than a name

Herodes Atticus is best known for his theater at the foot of Athens’ Acropolis. For most people, it is only a name to define this historic monument, forgetting who he was and what he achieved in life.

Herodes Atticus was born in Marathon, Greece, into a family of Athenian descent in 101 AD. He is known as an Athenian rhetorician and a Roman senator, spending time between Greece and Italy.

 

He was exceptionally wealthy and moved in the highest social circles. Emperor Hadrian, for instance, appointed him Prefect of the free cities in the Roman Province of Asia in 125 AD. A good year later, he was elected archon (high magistrate) of Athens. And in 140 AD, Emperor Antoninus Pius invited him to Rome to educate his adopted sons, the future Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. As a Roman citizen, he was appointed Consul of Rome in 143 AD.

 
When he was 40 years old, he married Appia Annia Regilla, a 14-year-old aristocrat related to the family of Antoninus Pius’ wife.
 
Herodes Atticus was a philanthropic magnate and patron of many public works. What comes immediately to mind is the theater in Athens, which he financed in 161 AD to honor his wife, Regilla. Watching a Greek play performed within these walls or attending a popular or classical concert is a gratifying experience!

However, thousands and perhaps even millions of visitors have left their marks on the white marble construction. It calls for an extensive restoration and conservation process that is expected to take at least three years. During that time, the summer Athens Epidaurus Festival will be relocated elsewhere.

 
The overall deterioration consists of cracks in the Pentelic marble due to the variations in temperature and rainwater infiltration. Another problem is the plants that root in crevices and hold water. The theater had been destroyed in 267 AD and was in ruins until the 1950s, when the seating area and orchestra were restored. These repairs are now in dire need of improvement and require a comprehensive conservation plan.
 
The list of buildings Herodes Atticus funded is quite extensive. The ancient Panathenaic Stadium in Athens,  with a capacity of 50,000 seats, for instance, was one of his projects executed in 144 AD. Elsewhere in Greece, we owe him the Theater of Corinth, the Stadium of Delphi, the Baths of Thermopylae, and a splendid Nymphaeum in Olympia.
 
I was very surprised to read Herodes Atticus' name and his wife’s in Olympia. The Nymphaeum stands at the entrance to the Stadium. The two-story-high back wall was filled with statues of Herodes Atticus and several Roman Emperors like Antoninus Pius, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, and their family members. 

Most statues have been moved to the Museum of Olympia. Among them, I noticed Athenais, one of Herodes Atticus’ daughters. She married Lucius Vibullius Rufus, and the couple had six children, but only three survived to adulthood. The eldest daughter, Elpinice, was born in 142 AD and died in 165 AD. The son, Atticus Bradua, was born in 145 AD and was the only child to survive his father. Herodes Atticus was heavily disappointed by his son and left him nothing after his death.

 
Also exhibited in Olympia’s Museum is a life-size bull, which carries an inscription left by Regilla reading: "Regilla, priestess of Demeter offers the water and appendices to Zeus." This brings history to life!
 
Outside Greece, aqueducts donated by Herodes Atticus can be found in Canusium, Puglia region in Italy, and in Alexandria Troas, Asia Minor. In my blog post of February 2024, I mentioned the Baths and Gymnasium of Alexandria Troas built by Herodes Atticus in 135 AD. They were surrounded by vaulted corridors with marble walls, and water was delivered thanks to the aqueducts on the northeast side of town. Most of the building remained intact until it was destroyed by the severe earthquake in the winter of 1809-1810.
 

At the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, I encountered a statue of Polydeukes, also Vibullius Polydeukion, the adopted son of Herodes Atticus, dated to circa 150 AD. Wikipedia, however, mentions the boy as his pupil and lover in a relation resembling that of Hadrian and Antinous. Polydeukes died around 173-174 AD. His loss greatly affected Atticus, who built a Heroon in his memory.

 
Herodes Atticus lived to be 76 years old in 177 AD. Regilla had died in 160 AD, after being brutally kicked in the abdomen while eight months pregnant.  Her brother accused Herodes Atticus of having ordered one of his freedmen to beat her to death. At the trial that ensued, Herodes Atticus was acquitted by Emperor Marcus Aurelius, his former tutor.
 
I’m sure we’ll look at the Theater of Herodes Atticus with different eyes next time we walk through Athens.