The Choragic Monument of Lysicrates near the Acropolis of Athens was erected by the choregos Lysicrates, a wealthy patron of musical performances in the Theater of Dionysus, to commemorate the prize in the dithyramb contest of the City Dionysia in 335/334 BCE, of which performance he was liturgist.
The monument is known as the first use of the Corinthian order on the exterior of a building. It has been reproduced widely in modern monuments and building elements.
The circular structure, raised on a high squared podium, is the first Greek monument built in the Corinthian order on its exterior. It was originally crowned with an elaborate floral support for the bronze tripod, the prize awarded to Lysicrates' chorus. The sculpture on the frieze is thought to depict the myth of Dionysus and the Tyrrhenian pirates from the Homeric Hymn to Dionysus. [1] Immediately below the architrave and between the column capitals is a second frieze depicting the choragic tripods. The monument is inscribed "Lysikrates son of Lysitheides of Kikynna was sponsor, Akamantis was victorious in the boys' competition, Theon was pipe-player, Lysiades of Athens directed, Euainetos was archon". [2] It stands now in its little garden on the Tripodon Street ("Street of the Tripods"), which follows the line of the ancient street of the name, [3] which led to the Theater of Dionysus and was once lined with choragic monuments, of which foundations were discovered in excavations during the 1980s. [4]
In 1658, a French Capuchin monastery was founded by the site; in 1669 the monastery succeeded in purchasing the monument, which by the early 19th century was being used as the monastery library. [5] The monument was popularly known as the "Lantern of Demosthenes" [6] or "Lantern of Diogenes", [7] although a reading of its inscription by Jacob Spon had established its original purpose. [8] The young British architects James "Athenian" Stuart and Nicholas Revett published the first measured drawings of the monument in their Antiquities of Athens (London 1762). The monument became famous in France and England through engravings of it, and contemporary versions of it became eye-catching features in several English landscape gardens. Lord Byron stayed at the monastery during his second visit to Greece. In 1818, friar Francis planted in its gardens the first tomato plants in Greece. In 1821 the convent was burned by the Ottomans during the Greek War of Independence, and subsequently demolished, and the monument was inadvertently exposed to the weather. [9] In 1829, the monks offered the structure to an Englishman on tour, but it proved to be too cumbersome to disassemble and ship. Lord Elgin negotiated unsuccessfully for the monument, by then an icon in the Greek Revival.
French archaeologists cleared the rubble from the half-buried monument and searched the area for missing architectural parts. In 1876–1887, the architects François Boulanger and E. Loviot supervised a restoration under the auspices of the French government.
In June 2016, anarchists vandalised the monument with spray paint, writing: "Your Greek monuments are concentration camps for immigrants". [10] [11]
Famous British versions of the Choragic Monument include the Dugald Stewart Monument and Burns' Monument both on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, on the towers of the former North Kirk in Aberdeen and St Giles Church in Elgin, the Huskisson Memorial in St James Cemetery Liverpool, the Saracen Fountain in Glasgow and in the gardens at Shugborough, Staffordshire, Tatton Park and Alton Towers among many others. The Grade I-listed St John the Evangelist's Church, Chichester, now redundant, is topped with a "preposterous miniature" of the monument. [12] [13]
In Australia, there is a version in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney in New South Wales. It is also reproduced at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne where it forms a crowning element at the top of the memorial's pyramid-like roof.
In the United States, the Choragic Monument was William Strickland's model for the cupola of the Merchants' Exchange in Philadelphia and copied by him for the cupola atop the Tennessee State Capitol building in Nashville. [14] The design of the Portland Breakwater Light in Maine was inspired by the monument. It was adapted for Civil War memorials and capped many Beaux-Arts towers, such as The San Remo's towers in New York. The most prominent example is the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument designed by architects Charles and Arthur Stoughton and erected on Riverside Drive in New York City in 1902. A bronze miniature of the Choragic Monument is handed out for the Richard H. Driehaus Prize recognizing a living architect whose work exemplifies the values of traditional and classical architecture in a contemporary built environment. [15] The University of Notre Dame's Walsh Family Hall of Architecture features a tower crowned by a replica of the Choragic Monument. There is also a replica on top of the First Congregational Church [16] in Burlington, Vermont. It was constructed in 1842 and designed by architect Henry Searle. With open bays between the columns, it serves as a bell tower for the church.
The Corinthian order is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, followed by the Ionic order. In Ancient Greek architecture, the Corinthian order follows the Ionic in almost all respects, other than the capitals of the columns, though this changed in Roman architecture.
A sacrificial tripod, whose name comes from the Greek meaning "three-footed", is a three-legged piece of religious furniture used in offerings and other ritual procedures. This ritual role derives from its use as a simple support for a cooking vessel placed over a fire. As a seat or stand, the tripod is the most stable furniture construction for uneven ground, hence its use is universal and ancient.
Pláka is the old historical neighborhood of Athens, clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis, and incorporating labyrinthine streets and neoclassical architecture. Plaka is built on top of the residential areas of the ancient town of Athens. It is known as the "Neighborhood of the Gods" due to its proximity to the Acropolis and its many archaeological sites.
A dentil is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Revival, Greek Revival, Renaissance Revival, Second Empire, and Beaux-Arts architecture. Dentillation refers to use of a course of dentils.
Syntagma Square is the central square of Athens, Greece. The square is named after the Constitution that Otto, the first King of Greece, was obliged to grant after a popular and military uprising on 3 September 1843. It is located in front of the 19th-century Old Royal Palace, housing the Greek Parliament since 1934. Syntagma Square is the most important square of modern Athens from both a historical and social point of view, at the heart of commercial activity and Greek politics. The name Syntagma alone also refers to the neighbourhood surrounding the square. The metro station underneath the square, where lines 2 and 3 connect, along with the tram terminal and the numerous bus stops, constitutes one of the busiest transport hubs in the country.
The Tennessee State Capitol, located in Nashville, Tennessee, is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Tennessee. It serves as the home of both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly–the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Tennessee Senate–and also contains the governor's office. Designed by architect William Strickland (1788–1854) of Philadelphia and Nashville, it was built between 1845 and 1859 and is one of Nashville's most prominent examples of Greek Revival architecture. The building, one of 12 state capitols that does not have a dome, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1971. The tomb of James K. Polk, the 11th president of the United States, is on the capitol grounds.
William Strickland was a noted architect and civil engineer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Nashville, Tennessee. A student of Benjamin Latrobe and mentor to Thomas Ustick Walter, Strickland helped establish the Greek Revival movement in the United States. A pioneering engineer, he wrote a seminal book on railroad construction, helped build several early American railroads, and designed the first ocean breakwater in the Western Hemisphere. He was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1820.
James "Athenian" Stuart was a Scottish archaeologist, architect and artist, best known for his central role in pioneering Neoclassicism.
The Dugald Stewart Monument is a memorial to the Scottish philosopher Dugald Stewart (1753–1828). It is situated on Calton Hill overlooking the city of Edinburgh and was designed by Scottish architect William Henry Playfair.
The Merchants' Exchange Building is an historic building which is located on the triangular site bounded by Dock, 3rd and Walnut Streets in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was designed by architect William Strickland, in the Greek Revival style, the first national American architectural style and built between 1832 and 1834. It operated as a brokerage house in the nineteenth century, but by 1875 the Philadelphia Stock Exchange had taken the place of the Merchants' Exchange.
The Beebe Estate is a historic property in Melrose, Massachusetts. Developed in 1828, the main house is a prominent example of Greek Revival architecture, with an ownership history of prominent local and Boston businessmen. Now owned by the city, it is used as an art gallery and cultural event center. The estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
Lewis Vulliamy was an English architect descended from the Vulliamy family of clockmakers.
The Pepper Pot, also known as the Pepperpot, originally called the Pepper Box and sometimes called The Tower, is a listed building in the Queen's Park area of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It was designed and built in 1830 by architect Charles Barry in the grounds of a villa, which was built for the owner of Queen's Park. It survived the villa's demolition and is now one of its only surviving remnants. Its original purpose is unknown, but several possible explanations have been given for its construction. It has had a wide variety of uses in the 20th century, and is now owned by Brighton and Hove City Council, protected as a Grade II listed building.
The Driehaus Architecture Prize, fully named The Richard H. Driehaus Prize at the University of Notre Dame, is a global award to honor a major contributor in the field of contemporary traditional and classical architecture. The Driehaus Prize was conceived as an alternative to the predominantly modernist Pritzker Prize.
St John the Evangelist's Church is a redundant Anglican church in North Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
Thomas H. Beeby is an American architect who was a member of the "Chicago Seven" architects and has been Chairman Emeritus of Hammond, Beeby, Rupert, Ainge Architects (HBRA) for over thirty-nine years.
The Old Waterville Post Office is a historic post office facility at 1 Post Office Square in central Waterville, Maine. Built in 1911, it is a fine local example of institutional Greek Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and presently houses a restaurant and brewpub.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Athens:
The Choragic Monument of Thrasyllos is a memorial building erected in 320–319 BCE on the artificial scarp of the south face of the Acropolis of Athens to commemorate the choregos of Thrasyllos. It is built in the form of a small temple and fills the opening of a large, natural cave. It was modified in 271–270 BCE by Thrasykles the son of Thrasyllos, agonothetes in the Great Dionysia Games. Pausanias refers to the monument indirectly, providing us with the information that in the cave there existed a representation of Apollo and Artemis slaughtering the children of Niobe.
The Walsh Family Hall of Architecture is a building on the campus of the University of Notre Dame and houses of the Notre Dame School of Architecture. Construction started in 2016 and was completed in 2019. The school was previously hosted in Bond Hall. Designed by John Simpson, it is an example of New Classical architecture, for which the School of Architecture is well known for. The complex features a Greek-architecture inspired Hall of Casts, a stoa, a tower and a courtyard. The building design won several awards for its design.
Media related to Choragic Monument of Lysicrates at Wikimedia Commons
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