Paper abstract
The so-called “Sacred House” of the Academy revisited
- Mazarakis Ainian Alexander
In this paper I intend to present the available data from the excavations of the so-called “Sacred House” of the Academy of Athens. The edifice was excavated in the 60ies by Ph. Stavropoullos but only preliminary reports were published in the Praktika of the Greek Archeaological Society. The critical reading of Stavropoullos’ excavation diaries and a first attempt to study the unpublished finds from the excavation will perhaps allow not only to fix better the date of the so-called “Sacred House” (dated by Stavropoullos around 700 B.C.), but also to understand its function. Indeed, there are a series of points which could be raised already, concerning the ground plan, the alleged sacred nature of the complex and its dating. This study could perhaps lead towards a reassessment of this specific category of sacred structure of the Early Iron Age conventionally known as “Sacred House”.
<< Return to the conference programme
