Plan, Athens, Leokoreion

Context: Athens
Type: Peribolos Wall
Summary: Small shrine surrounded by a wall and associated with a well to the north; in the northern part of the Agora, across from the south wing of the Stoa Basileios.
Date: ca. 400 BC
Dimensions:

Wall: 2.8 m square, formed of orthostates 1.22 m high

Region: Attica
Period: Classical


Plan:

An enclosing wall around an outcrop of native rock (a sacred area from earlier times). There was originally a door, perhaps with rail barrier, in the northern side of the wall.

History:

Named the Leokoreion after the daughters of Leos, who were sacrificed to save the city from a terrible plague. Votives (5th century B.C.), such as loom weights and jewelry, commonly associated with shrines of females were found here. Also known as the Crossroads Enclosure, because the date of ca. 400 B.C makes this shrine later than the Leokoreion of literature, which would have been in use in the 6th century B.C. The Leokoreion had a prominent position in the Agora and consequently was a noted landmark. Silted in by the 4th century B.C.

Other Bibliography:

Agora Guide 1976, 87-90; Agora XIV, 123; Travlos 1971, 578; Camp 1986, 78-80

See Also: Athens, Well near the Leokoreion