Stoa Amphiaraion

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View of the Stoa looking NE. Amphiareion-6.jpg
View of the Stoa looking NE.

Stoa Amphiaraion (also known as the Enkoimeterion) is located on the east side of the Sanctuary of Amphiaraios, southeast of the Theater. It was built c. 360 BC. The two-aisled stoa opens towards the southeast with an outer Doric colonnade of forty-one columns and an inner Ionic colonnade of seventeen columns. Before its destruction, two small rooms were separated from the rest of the stoa by two columns with a screen between them, with a bench running the length of the back wall. Pilgrims would migrate to the stoa and sleep there, awaiting an oracle's advice. The rooms may have served as shelter specifically for female pilgrims. A level area in front of the stoa may have been used as a track. This stoa likely replaced an existing one, located farther southwest on the terrace where the later row of dedications stood.

Amphiareion of Oropos human settlement

The Amphiareion of Oropos, situated in the hills 6 km southeast of the fortified port of Oropos, was a sanctuary dedicated in the late 5th century BCE to the hero Amphiaraos, where pilgrims went to seek oracular responses and healing. It became particularly successful during the 4th century BCE, to judge from the intensive building at the site. The hero Amphiaraos was a descendant of the seer Melampos and initially refused to participate in the attack on Thebes because he could foresee that it would be a disaster. In some versions of the myth, the earth opens and swallows the chariot of Amphiaraos, transforming him into a chthonic hero. Today the site is found east of the modern town Markopoulo Oropou in the Oropos municipality of Attica, Greece

Stoa ancient Greek covered walkway or portico

A stoa, in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usually of the Doric order, lining the side of the building; they created a safe, enveloping, protective atmosphere.

Doric order Order of ancient Greek and Roman architecture, with no base to the column, simple capital, and triglyphs on the frieze

The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of columns. Originating in the western Dorian region of Greece, it is the earliest and in its essence the simplest of the orders, though still with complex details in the entablature above.

Coordinates: 38°17′29.88″N23°50′45″E / 38.2916333°N 23.84583°E / 38.2916333; 23.84583

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.


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