Benutzer:Mdebets/Altar of the Twelve Gods
The Altar of the Twelve Gods (or Sanctuary of the Twelve Gods), was an altar at Athens, probably dedicated to the twelve Olympian gods worshipped there: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus. Located in the Ancient Agora of Athens and situated near the Temple of Ares, it was an important point from which distances were reckoned inside the city.[1]
The location of the altar, unclear in ancient sources, was clarified through excavations in 1891 and 1934 (the American excavation of the Agora) that revealed the south-west corner of the altar under the Roman and Byzantine levels south of the Athens-Piraeus train line.[2] More of the altar was uncovered by Greek archaeologists in 2011 when the train tracks were temporarily removed for maintenance work.[3]
Once the altar was exposed, archaeologists and a group promoting the revival of ancient Greek polytheism filed legal injunctions to prevent replacement of the tracks of the Athens-Piraeus Railway. The court ruled that public transportation needs prevailed, and the altar was covered up again in August 2011.[4]
References
Vorlage:Portal box Vorlage:Reflist
- ↑ Map of the Agora of Athens in Socrates and Plato's time, 1998
- ↑ The Altar of the Twelve Gods in Athens, by Margaret Crosby © 1949 American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
- ↑ Altar of the Twelve Gods sees the light. ekathimerini.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-21.
- ↑ Railway works halted until August. ekathimerini.com. Retrieved on 2013-05-10.