Patricia S. Wren, Archaic Halai

ARCHAIC HALAI

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts

by Patricia Sheila Wren August 1996

©1996 Patricia Sheila Wren ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ABSTRACT Halai, a small city on the narrow coastal strip of East Lokris, was founded in the late seventh century B.C. It was an unusually

late

foundation,

since

the

period

of

Greek

colonization and establishment of new cities was nearing an end. But this also was the beginning of the great era of commercial seafaring,

at

the

end

of

which

Athens

proved

herself

the

commercial hub of the Aegean. Located on the broad, protected Bay of Atalante, Halai may well have been founded as a provisioner and an optional harbor for increasing numbers of ships plying the Euboean Gulf. There is no evidence that Halai played a direct role in shipping. But with

sloping,

sandy

beaches,

ample

sweet

water

and

rich,

alluvial valleys in which to grow produce, she would have made a welcome landfall for merchant vessels and warships awaiting good weather with which to navigate the usually windy gulf. With its possible reputation as a provisioner, Halai also may have attracted unwanted attention from the Persian fleet in 480 B.C. as it sailed from Histiaea to Phaleron. The evidence is no more than suggestive, but it is compelling. The First Temple at Halai -- just a day's sail southwest of Histiaea -- was destroyed ca. 480 B.C., and adjacent cult activity associated with a hero/founder ceased at the same time. The temple was excavated after the turn of the century by Hetty

Goldman,

intermingled

who

debris

left from

inadequate successive

notes

and

occupation

may

levels.

have But

enough ceramic evidence remains to suggest that a destruction lens found in Area A during recent excavations by the Cornell Halai and East Lokris Project is linked to the toppling of the temple. A group of smashed amphorae, found at the same level in a nearby room, contains a vessel whose closest parallel came from Persian destruction debris in the Athenian Agora. These point to an event that extends beyond the First Temple and that coincides with Xerxes' invasion of Greece. An earthquake also may be to blame for the destruction we see at Halai, though ancient historians recorded none in the region

during

seismically evidence

the

and

that

late

Archaic

tectonically an

era.

The

active,

earthquake

region

and

buckled

is

there

the

somewhat

is

strong

foundations

at

Kyparissi, 12 km. west of Halai, at roughly the same time. But so far only scanty and conflicting reports have been issued on Kyparissi, whose demise has been dated (by the same excavator) to 540, 480 and 426 B.C. Therefore, until further excavation takes place, both options should be considered. The cult activity cited above took place at four (or more) round,

consecutively

used,

stone

platforms

associated

with

ritually broken drinking vessels and an ash pit that may be the remains

of

ritual

meals.

The

coincidence

of

Halai's

new

foundation in the early Archaic era suggests that hero/founder worship

was

heroized Asine,

practiced

ancestor Mycenae,

platforms

have

here.

worship Troy,

been

A

similar

pattern

also

has

been

Miletus

and

Lefkandi,

found.

Likewise,

of

reported

hero at

where

consecutively

or

Naxos, similar use

of

platforms is evident at Naxos, Mycenae, Troy and Lefkandi. Ritual use of graves and non-grave sites in the ancient Greek

world

is

well

attested

in

literary

and

archaeological

sources. Also well attested in the literature is the heroization of founders, though the platforms at Halai are the first so far discovered

to

be

so

suggestively

linked

to

a

city

founder

(oikist). They also are the latest of any published to date, but this may be a result of Halai's special circumstances, including her

late

foundation,

a

need

to

assert

her

consolidation

urbanization and as a means of legitimizing land claims.

and

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Patricia

Sheila

Wren

was

born

in

Beacon,

N.Y.,

spent

her

childhood in Norwood, N.J., and attended colleges in Maine, Iowa and Minnesota before obtaining her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with an opera emphasis at the University of Washington in 1967. After taking post-graduate courses in journalism and Modern Greek, Wren worked variously as a reporter, assistant editor and editor for a number of newspapers in Washington state, winning several awards for her writing. She moved to Greece in 1981 where she became editor of a small magazine and acquired her love of archaeology. Wren returned to Washington

in

newspaper.

Avocationally,

archaeological

1985

where

excavations

she

became

bureau

after

three

seasons

in

Lesbos

and

chief

for

as

volunteer

Crete,

a

Wren

a

daily

joined

on the

Cornell Halai and East Lokris Project in 1991 and has been affiliated with CHELP as a senior staffer ever since. She was accepted in 1994 as a candidate for a Master's Degree by the Interdepartmental Program in

Archaeology

at

Cornell

University

assistantship. Wren lives in Ithaca.

and

was

awarded

a

teaching

To Mary Eliot, my rock, and to Michael McNeff, Douglas Mattson and Laura Purdy in gratitude for their encouragement and inspiration.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe a deep debt of gratitude to my advisor, John E. Coleman, for his faith and trust in me. I also am grateful to him as chairman of my Thesis Committee and to Kevin M. CLinton and Sherene Baugher, my other committee members, for their helpful comments on preliminary drafts. In addition, I owe much to all the students, volunteers and workers who helped excavate the Archaic trenches at Halai. Not the least of them was Curtis L. Ellett, with whom I enjoyed numerous arguments

about

interpretation

and

whose

1995

thesis

on

the

stratigraphy of Halai's Archaic trenches helped me solidify my own opinions.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Biographical Sketch Dedication Acknowledgments Table of Contents List of Figures List of Abbreviations Chapter I: Introduction Chapter II: Provisions and Persians

i ii iii iv v vii 1 17

1. Late Archaic Halai and the Sea

17

2. Need and Opportunity: Motives for a Persian

27

Landfall? Chapter III: Earthquakes and Archaeological Evidence

36

1. Earthquakes and Tectonic Activity

36

2. The Archaeological Evidence

44

3. The Pottery

53

Chapter IV: A Case of Hero/Founder Cult

60

Chapter V: Summary

85

Appendix: Catalogue

99

1. Trench A5

99

2. Trench A3

103

3. Trench F6

111

Bibliography

116

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Map of Greece and Asia Minor coast (adapted

2

from Biers, 1994, The Archaeology of Greece, p. 95). Figure 2. Map of northeastern Greece and route of Persian

3

invasion (Burn, 1980, The Living Past of Greece, p. 144). Figure 3. Map of East Lokris (CHELP -- all drawings so

4

indicated are from the records of the Cornell Halai and East Lokris Project) Figure 4. Plan of Halai (CHELP).

12

Figure 5. Plan of Trenches A3, A4 and A5 (CHELP).

14

Figure 6. Plan of East Lokris and eastern Phokis

38

(adapted from Fossey, 1990, The Ancient Topography of Opountian Lokris, fig. 2). Figure 7. Map depicting major earthquakes in antiquity

41

(adapted from Panessa, 1991, Fonti Greche e Latine per la Storia dell'Ambiente e del Clima nel Mondo Greco, p. 1028). Figure 8. Plan of Trenches F5, F6 and F7, temples

45

and altar (CHELP). Figure 9. Scarps of Trenches F6 and F7 (CHELP).

48

Figure 10. Southwest scarp of Trench A3 (CHELP).

51

Figure 11. Northwest scarps of Trenches A3 and A5 (CHELP).

52

Figure 12. Terracottas from the First Temple area (Goldman,

55

1940, pl. VIII and fig. 76). Figure 13. Plan of Trench A3 (after Sonya Wolff [CHELP]).

61

Figure 14. Plan of Xeropolis platforms at Lefkandi

69

(adapted from Popham and Sackett, Lefkandi I The Iron Age Plates) (:) The Settlement, pls. 8a-8b). Figure 15. Top: stone platforms at Asine, Barbouna area;

75

bottom: platforms at Troy VII (adapted from Hägg, 1983, The Greek Renaissance of the 8th Century B.C., p. 192). Figure 16. Plan of Mitropolis plot at Naxos (adapted from

76

Lambrinoudakis, 1988, in Early Greek Cult Practice, p. 241). Figure 17. Coarseware amphorae.

105

Figure 18. Miscellaneous pottery.

106

Figure 19. Miscellaneous fineware.

107

Figure 20. Miscellaneous fineware.

108

Figure 21. Miscellaneous fineware (photos courtesy

109

of John E. Coleman).

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AJA: American Journal of Archaeology. ASCSA: American School of Classical Studies at Athens. BCH: Bulletin de Correspondance Hellenique. BSA: The Annual of the British School of Classical Studies at Athens.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Halai was founded in the late seventh century B.C. on a low Neolithic mound situated on the well-sheltered Bay of Atalante in what is now Aghios Ioannis Theologos, Lokris (the former East Lokris), Greece (Fig. 1). Excavator John E. Coleman, director of the Cornell Halai and East Lokris Project (CHELP), speculates that the site, first occupied about 5800 B.C., was abandoned in the Late Neolithic era (ca. 5300 B.C.) because of a rising sea level that began encroaching on farmlands.1 A high-angle dip-slip fault also is blamed for a slow subsidence of the Aetolyma Peninsula -- near the

northern

tip

of

which

Halai

is

located

--

which

has

contributed to increasing salinity of the ground. The

Northern

Euboean

Gulf,

on

which

the

peninsula

is

situated (Fig. 2), is itself an active tectonic structure, and the

subsidence

bordered

by

noted

fault

at

zones

Halai giving

is

not

rise

unique. to

The

earthquakes

gulf and

is a

topography that is actively evolving.2 In the Northern Euboean Gulf (Figs. 2 and 3), the 2,500-year-old city of Histiaea (Orei) is now covered by about 2 m. of water, and Halai's neighbors, 1

John Coleman, pers. comm., November 1995.

Larymna and Kynos, have subsided about 1.5 m. since about the fourth century B.C.3 The same would be true at Halai. In the area of Chalkis, about 25 km. to the southeast as the crow flies (Fig. 2), the sea level has risen at least 4.5 m. in the last 5,000 years and continues to rise,4 as it does at Halai. Kambouroglou blames a global rise in sea level more than localized tectonism.5 Nearby, the sea level has risen about 1.5 m. at the ancient sites of Eretria, Delion and Magoula in the last 2,300-2,800 years.6 At Aghios Stefanos, the sea has risen 1 m. in that time, and at Manika it has risen 5 m. in the last 5,000 years.7 East Lokris incurred substantial damage in a well-attested earthquake centered near Larissa that damaged or destroyed at 2

Stiros, S.C., and Rondogianni, Theodora, 1985: "Recent Vertical Movements Across the Atalandi Fault-Zone (Central Greece)" in Pure and Applied Geophysics, Vol. 125 (Basel), p. 837. 3

Stiros, Stathis C., 1985: Archaeological and Geomorphic Evidence of Late Holocene Vertical Motions in the N. Euboean Gulf (Greece) and Tectonic Implications (Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration [IGME], Athens), pp. 9, 10, 12. 4

Kambouroglou, E., Hampik, M., and Sampson, A., 1988: "Coastal Evolution and Archaeology North and South of Khalkis (Euboea) in the last 5000 years" in A. Raban, ed., Archaeology of Coastal Changes (:) Proceedings of the First International Symposium "Cities on the Sea -- Past and Present" (BAR International Series 404, Pub. No. 2), pp. 76-77. 5

Kambouroglou, et. al., 1988, p. 77.

6

Kambouroglou, et al., 1988, p. 77.

least 19 cities in 426 B.C.8 Another major earthquake, centered in Phokis, affected areas from Histiaea in northern Euboea to Opous

in

A.D.

106.9

A

tidal

wave,

presumably

caused

by

an

earthquake in A.D. 551, also struck coastal areas from Thessaly to Boeotia, again destroying the East Lokrian city of Skarpheia, which

was

first

leveled

in

the

disaster

of

426

B.C.10

In

addition, Stiros attests earthquakes in the North Euboean Gulf between 540 and 500 B.C., ca. 396 B.C., in A.D. 1421, in 1694, in 1740, possibly in 1758, in 1874 and in 1894.11 Poor health also may have plagued the earliest inhabitants of the Haliote mound, possibly contributing to its abandonment 7

Kambouroglou, et al., 1988, pp. 76-77.

8

Cf. Thucydides III.89.1, Diodorus XII.59.1, Eusebius, Hieronymi Chronicum Ol. 88, etc., and Panessa, Giangiacomo, 1991: Fonti Greche e Latine per la Storia dell'Ambiente e del Clima nel Mondo Greco (Pisa), p. 311 (Vol. I) and map no. 4 (Vol. II); also, Guidoboni, Emanuela, 1989: "Area mediterranea" in I terramoti prima del Mille in Italia e nell'area mediterranea (Bologna), p. 637. 9

10

11

Orosius VII.12; also, Guidoboni, 1989, p. 667. Prokopios, Wars, VIII.25.19; also see Guidoboni, 1989, p. 698.

Stiros, 1985, p. 25. The last major shock struck the area between Ag. Konstantinos and Martino in 1894, destroying the nearby villages of Malesina and Martino and creating the island of Gaidaros (cf. S.C. Roberts, 1988: "Active Normal Faulting in Central Greece and Western Turkey" [Ph.D. dissertation, unpublished] pp. 80-83, cited in Katsonopoulou, Dora, 1990: Studies of the Eastern Cities of Opountian Lokris: Halai, Kyrtones, Korseia, Bumelitaia [Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell University], pp. 6, 99). The Haliote mound, however, was abandoned by the end of the Byzantine era.

ca. 5000 B.C. Angel suggests that porotic hyperostosis (anemia) was frequent (affecting 43 percent of the adult remains studied) in Early Neolithic towns located near open water or marshes.12 Angel asserts that rising sea levels made marsh control difficult, with increasing malarias and epidemics the result. He suggests

anemia

(possibly

thalassemia)

developed

as

an

evolutionary response to falciparum malaria, with the same types of sites also possibly favoring dysentery and hookworm.13 By the Archaic era, health had improved because of a dryer climate (fewer marshes and a lack of malaria), development of better wheats, the addition of eggs and more meat (larger flocks of sheep) to the diet and increasing trade in food. The effect was

such

that

mortality

rates

improved

by

some

25

percent

between 1150 and 650 B.C.14 In

recent

Central

Greece

years, and

excavations

suggested

a

have

awakened

possible

interest

cohesion

in

(through

12

Angel, J. Lawrence, 1972: ``Ecology and population in the Eastern Mediterranean'' in World Archaeology, vol. 4-1, June, p. 97. Angel finds an exception at Kephala, on Kea, located on rocky ground, where human remains show much less evidence of porotic hyperostosis (p. 98). 13

14

Angel, 1972, pp. 91, 98.

Angel, 1972, p. 99. Angel lists the mortality rate in 650 B.C. at five in 10 deaths per infant and three in 10 per child. Females averaged 4.6 births each, with three of those infants surviving childbirth. The average male lived to 44.5 years of age, while the average woman lived to the age of 34.6.

commercial Boeotians

and/or and

military

southern

collaboration)

Thessalians.15

among

the

Certainly,

Euboeans,

relationships

among her larger, more powerful neighbors affected the little coastal strip of East Lokris, which seems to have had a history of yielding peacefully to outside force.16 Relationships between East and West Lokris, which may have been one entity that was later divided by a Phokian or Boeotian invasion,17 are sketchy, though they seem to have acted fairly independently

of

evidence,

example,

for

one

another that

thereafter.

East

Lokris

There

took

part

is

little

with

West

Lokris in the foundation of Lokroi on the toe of Italy ca. 673,18

15

Forrest, George, 1993: "Greece (:) The History of the Archaic Period" in J. Boardman, J. Griffin and O. Murray, eds., Greece and the Hellenistic World (reprint, New York), p. 14. 16

Witness -- if Herodotus is accurate on this point -- the East Lokrian acquiescence to the Persians' demands while the latter were still in Macedonia in 480 B.C. (Herodotus VII.132), and her willingness to send ships to assist the Greeks before they confronted the Persians at Artemision (Herodotus VIII.1). One can interpret both as playing it safe and bowing to the prevailing outside force. Another example is her peaceful switch of allegiance to the Boeotian League in the fourth century (Xenophon, Hellenika, III.5.3. Also see Fossey, John M., 1990: The Ancient Topography of Opountian Lokris [Amsterdam], pp. 161162). 17

18

Katsonopoulou, 1990, p. 17.

Forrest, W.G.G., 1982: "Central Greece and Thessaly (:) IV East and West Locris, Phocis, Malis, Doris, 700-500 B.C." in J. Boardman and N.G.L. Hammond, eds., The Cambridge Ancient History, Second Edition, Vol. III, Part 3 (Cambridge), p. 302.

though it may well have added to the later number of settlers.19 Perhaps the foundation of Halai was a response by Opous, the capital

of

East

reorganization

of

Lokris, cities

to and

this

era

commercial

of

colonization,

expansion

generally

accepted as falling between 850 and 650 B.C. At the time Halai was founded, Athens was just beginning an ascendancy in which she became the political, commercial and cultural powerhouse of the Aegean. As she did so, Corinth slowly began losing her grip on eastern markets and depending on the west for her exports. In Athens, Draco had just written a strict law

code

(620

quarter-century

B.C.), later

which in

was

what

to

be

modified

might

be

viewed

by

as

Solon

the

a

first

stirrings of democracy. In religious architecture, stone columns were replacing those of wood. Writing was becoming common. Greek colonies scattered around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea were fast becoming grain exporters. Enormous advances were about to be made in politics, social life, literature and art. Opous, probably a mountaintop stronghold between Halai and Atalante, has never been positively identified. Its aristocratic central government apparently was contributed to by most or all

19

Jeffrey, L. H., 1976: Archaic Greece (:) The City-States c. 700-500 B.C. (New York), p. 76.

Opuntian

cities,

though

they

seem

to

have

remained

fairly

autonomous.20 Halai's was a late foundation in this era of colonization. New cities usually were built for trade purposes, to improve economic

conditions,

to

relieve

population

pressures

or

for

social reasons.21 Halai, with its wide, protected bay, may well have been established, in part, to tap into increased shipping through the Euboean Gulf as Athens and Corinth sought grain from their northern colonies. Halai

is

seldom

mentioned

by

ancient

authors,

which

in

itself is a commentary on her subsidiary role in Greek history. But

it

is

at

sites

such

as

Halai

that

we

have

a

unique

opportunity to learn how the majority of the Greek population lived. All too few provincial cities have been excavated. Most of what we know about Archaic Halai is derived from sporadic

excavations

by

Hetty

Goldman

and

Alice

Walker

Kosmopoulos between 1911 and 1935 and three excavation seasons directed three

by

Coleman

subsequent

(1990-92).

study

seasons.

We

also

I

have

have been

benefitted part

of

activities since 1991 and am the Archaic-area supervisor.

20

Katsonopoulou, 1990, pp. 22-26.

21

Cf. Jeffery, 1976, pp. 51-52.

from

CHELP's

Goldman Halai,

recognized

within

which

two

the

major

city's

main

fortification

systems

thoroughfare

led

at

at all

times from the main gate at the northeast corner to a temple area in the westernmost portion (Fig. 4).22 In the latter area were

found

succeeded

the one

remains

of

another,

two

(possibly

beginning

with

three) a

temples

small

that

mud-brick

structure (the so-called First Temple) with an outdoor altar (Area F, Fig. 4).23 Coleman suggests that Halai was regularly laid out,24 possibly making it the first city in mainland Greece -- preceding Halieis in the Argolid25 -- to offer a rectilinear town plan, presumably based on equitable division of land. During

the

Cornell

excavations,

Archaic

structures,

possibly of a religious and commercial or civic nature, were found in three of the five trenches opened in Area A, in which we

have

the

best

Archaic

exposures

(Fig.

5).

Archaic

walls,

exposed within confining Hellenistic walls in Trenches A1 and 22

Goldman, Hetty, 1915a: "Report on Excavations at Halae of Locris" in AJA 19, pp. 432-437. 23

Goldman, 1940: "The Acropolis of Halae," Hesperia 9, pp. 397430, 454-456. 24

25

Coleman, in preparation.

Boyd, Thomas D., and Jameson, Michael H., 1981: "Urban and Rural Land Division in Ancient Greece" in Hesperia 50, pp. 327342.

A2, remain enigmatic, as does a portion of a room containing a partially exposed circular stone platform in Trench A4 (Fig. 5). More excavation is necessary in A4 to determine the use of that room and the nature of a possible yard wall and walkway.26 Part

of

a

substantial

Archaic

building

was

unearthed

between Trenches A3 and A5, which join at one of its walls (AH, in Fig. 5). In A3, immediately southwest of the wall, lie four circular

stone

platforms,

probably

used

for

hero/founder

worship.27 At the northeast end of A5, abutting or part of the building, is Room 18, which contained a group of broken amphorae that I associate with the destruction of Halai's First Temple ca. 480 B.C.28 The First Temple lay about 15 m. to the southwest of Trench A3. Between it and its outdoor altar are Trenches F5-8, in the first three of which (F5-7) was found Archaic destruction debris apparently undisturbed by Goldman. Included in the debris was a unique

black-figure

skyphos29

from

the

last

quarter

of

the

26

As described by Ellett, Curtis L., 1995: The Stratigraphy of the Archaic Deposits at Halai (master's thesis, Cornell University), p. 47. 27

For discussion, see Chapter IV.

28

For discussion, see Chapter III.

29

The so-called Epopheles skyphos, cf. Coleman, John E., 1992: "Excavations at Halai, 1990-1991" in AJA 61, p. 275 and fig. b, pl. 72. For discussion of the skyphos, see Chapter III.

seventh century that predates the 600 B.C. estimate given by Goldman for the foundation of Halai.30 Goldman earlier

than

also the

excavated mid-sixth

280

nearby

century.

In

graves,

none

dated

the

local

addition,

Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities at Lamia has excavated

three

cemeteries

in

the

area.

The

most

recently

exposed, a few hundred meters east of the acropolis, contained third- and second-century B.C. graves accidentally uncovered by a bulldozer late in 1994.31 Finds from the early excavations are stored in museums in Athens, Thebes and Lamia. Under a 1995 agreement with the town of Malesina, a museum/storeroom will be created in Theologos to house artifacts from the Cornell excavations. An effort also will be made to repatriate artifacts from the Goldman-Walker excavations. In addition to this thesis and publications by Goldman, Walker and Frances Jones, Halai has been the subject of reports

30

For discussion, see Chapter III.

31

Fanouria Dakoronia, pers. comm., July 1995.

by Coleman,32 a Ph.D. dissertation by Dora Katsonopoulou33 and a master's thesis by Curtis L. Ellett.34 This thesis covers events between Halai's foundation in the late seventh century and the end of the Archaic era in 480 B.C. when the Persians laid waste to Athens. It examines Halai's role as a possible provisioner of shipping in the Euboean Gulf and as a victim of either Persian attack or earthquake at the end of the era. It also looks at the stone platforms in Trench A3 and examines samples of Archaic pottery in an effort to provide a chronology

for

the

platforms,

the

temple's

advent

and

destruction and the possibly related destruction of the amphora group.

32

Supra, note 29 and work in progress.

33

Supra, note 11.

34

Supra, note 25.

CHAPTER II PROVISIONS AND PERSIANS 1. LATE ARCHAIC HALAI AND THE SEA Halai in the Late Archaic era was in an excellent position to attract, accommodate or prey upon merchant and sailing ships plying the north-south passageway of the Euboean Gulf. There can be little doubt that much shipping concentrated in the Euboean straits, as opposed to a route along the east (seaward) coast of Euboea, since rounding capes and headlands exposed to the open sea is extremely difficult.35 Overseas commerce was growing in pace and volume, and the types of ships in the strait, large and small, were multiplying. The large carrier, reliant on sail, made its appearance, though the oared merchant galley -- the only reliable vessel during unpredictable summer calms -- remained a constant.36 Warships,

35

The straits have fewer capes, where most shipwrecks occur, than the east coast of Euboea and less danger of delay or of being blown off course. Ships traversing the straits also would avoid rough seas that pile up in the Kafireus channel between Euboea and Andros (per David Conlin, who is writing a Ph.D. dissertation at Brown University on ancient trade routes). This is not to suggest that the Euboean straits were the only possible route to the Bosporus and the Black Sea. Conlin (pers. comm., March 1996) suggests the plausibility of a route across the Aegean and up the Ionian coast, given its geographic relief. Captains could have exploited the Anatolian land forms and the favorable eddies they'd create to make their way contrary to prevailing winds and currents. 36

Casson, Lionel, 1971: Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World (Princeton), p. 65. Snodgrass notes the preponderance of

too, were multiplying, and by the end of the sixth century the swifter trireme had taken over from the pentekonter as ship of the line.37 Halai offered both a wide, placid bay and gently sloping shores to ease in the beaching of the flat-bottomed warships or the

dual-purpose

pentekonters.38

As

a

provisioner,

she

surely

could rely on nearby alluvial valleys to provide enough produce for herself and visiting ships.39 Abundant sweet water flowed all year long into the tiny Bay of Vivos, about two kilometers to

oared merchantmen (over ships with sails) on Athenian vases of the sixth century (Snodgrass, A.M., 1983: "Heavy Freight in Archaic Greece" in P. Garnsey, K. Hopkins and C.R. Whittaker, eds., Trade in the Ancient Economy [Berkeley], p. 17). 37

However, the pentekonter, a dual-purpose galley perhaps enlarged, as at Samos, for bigger cargoes also served for longdistance transport (cf. Snodgrass, 1983, pp. 16-17). Herodotus specifies, for example, that the Phoceans used pentekonters, not round-bottomed boats, for long-distance trade (Herodotus I.163). 38

Reliable underwater charts of the Bay of Atalante are not available. Those that exist are quite dated and the area is subject to seismic activity and shifting of tectonic plates. The rise in sea level due to glacial melt, combined with slow submergence of the area, has certainly affected underwater contours. 39

While it might be tempting to think that Halai -- whose name means "salt" -- could have offered salt as a commodity, today's higher sea level makes it difficult to ascertain whether she had the salt flats with which to produce it.

the south, where the Haliotes reportedly cut ashlar blocks for their city walls.40 These features may well have played a part in the city's foundation, for Halai was wedded to the sea, whether through fishing, provisioning, perhaps in the shipping of iron ore41 or conceivably in helping the East Lokrian League regulate traffic in the Northern Euboean Gulf.42 If Halai had a fleet of her own, it surely was unremarkable for a seaside city, given the fact that the whole of East Lokris supplied only seven pentekonters to assist the Greek fleet in 480 B.C.43

Forrest suggests the

harbors of East Lokris "were there to help or hinder passing traffic

rather

than

as

centres

for

the

distribution

of

its

40

I have not seen this quarry, though other CHELP staffers say it lies at the water's edge. 41

In modern times, iron mines were at work in the hills several miles south of Halai and ore (transferred through the Vivos valley) was shipped from the Bay of Atalante until the outbreak of World War II (cf. Katsonopoulou, 1990, p. 6). However, there is no evidence as yet that iron ore was mined here in antiquity. 42

Cf. Katsonopoulou, 1990, p. 14, who suggests that both East and West Lokrians exploited their harbors for controlling traffic, much as they "must have exploited the interiors" the same way "by blocking roads and otherwise controlling traffic." Conlin (pers. comm.) suggests that Halai may have extracted a toll from ships in the Bay of Atalante awaiting mild winds for the passage northwest through the usually windy Diavlos Oreon Gulf (connecting the Northern Euboean Gulf to the open sea) or southeast through the narrows of Chalkis. 43

Herodotus VIII.1.

goods."44 Whatever her role, the association between Halai and the sea must have been a beneficial one. Piracy

also

may

have

played

a

part

in

Halai's

mixed

economy. Pandemic among the ancients, piracy broke out whenever patrolling

fleets

were

weakened

or

relaxed

their

vigilance.

Thucydides talks of it as "the main source of income" for easily tempted Hellenes and barbarians (non-Greek speakers) alike as communication by sea became more common.45 But any reputation for piracy that the Lokrian cities in particular may have had rests entirely singles

upon out

Thucydides. the

Ozolian

The (West)

late

fifth

Lokrians,

century among

historian others,

in

asserting that the custom of carrying arms "still survives from the old days of robbery."46 Relationships

between

Ozolian

and

Opuntian

Lokris

are

unclear, though both -- separated by the state of Phokis -appear to have been autonomous. However, Thucydides also talks of the Athenians fortifying Atalante Island47 in 430 B.C. 44

Forrest, W.G.G., 1982: "Central Greece and Thessaly (:) IV. East and West Locris, Phocis, Malis, Doris, 700-500 B.C." in J. Boardman and N.G.L. Hammond, The Cambridge Ancient History, 2nd Edition, Vol. III (Cambridge), p. 300. 45

Thucydides I.5.

46

Thucydides I.6.

47

No trace of the fortifications is immediately apparent today (per Coleman, pers. comm.). Thucydides (XI.89) relates that the earthquake of 426 B.C. carried off part of the fort.

to

prevent pirate ships "issuing from Opous and the rest of Lokris and plundering Euboia"48 -- casting the Opuntian Lokrians as an unsavory lot as well. By

the

end

of

the

Archaic

era,

Athens

had

supplanted

Corinth as the major mainland center of trade and wealth and was well on her way to becoming the commercial hub of the Aegean. It would be surprising to find that Halai did not profit from the slave and grain route between Athens, Macedonia and the Black Sea.49 Athens' interest in Macedonian and Black Sea timber also was

growing.

It

building

timber

imported

some

is

uncertain

during

woods

the

not

whether

Archaic

available

Athens

era, in

had

though

Attica.50

to

she Even

import

may for

have the

urgent flurry of ship-building that tripled the size of Athens' fleet

between

482

and

480

B.C.,

Meiggs

doubts

that

Persian

forces in the northern Aegean would have allowed the Athenians

48

Thucydides II.31.

49

For a maritime city in connection with both Corinth and Athens, according to ceramic finds, Halai has yielded surprisingly little imported pottery throughout the Archaic era. But this may be more a result of her role as a provisioner than as a destination for merchantmen plying the straits. 50

Meiggs, Russell, 1982: Trees and Timber in the Ancient Mediterranean World (Oxford), p. 192.

access

ship-timber.51

to

By

the

end

of

the

fifth

century,

however, with an increase in population and industry, a change in

building

standards

and

development

of

her

navy,

Athens'

reliance on Macedonian timber probably increased four-fold.52 Though there is strong evidence that slaves were obtained whenever and wherever the occasion presented itself,53 the Black Sea was a major supplier of them.54 In exchange, Athens exported oil,

wine

and

luxury

goods,55

and

merchantmen,

each

carrying

thousands of amphorae filled with oil,56 must have been common in the straits.

51

Cf. Meiggs (1982, pp. 103, 105), who suggests the Athenians may have turned to southern Italy for suitable wood, possibly supplementing supplies from the forests of Euboea. 52

Meiggs, 1982, p. 193.

53

Cf. Rihll, Tracey, 1995: "War, slavery, and settlement in early Greece" in J. Rich and G. Shipley, eds., War and Society in the Greek World (reprint, London), p. 85, who points to those born or sold into slavery, punished by slavery or ransomed (in effect sold). Rihll also notes that ancient arguments for and against the enslavement of Greeks by Greeks is good evidence that it occurred. 54

Cf. Plato, Critias, 111c; Xenophon, Hellenica, VI.1.11; and Strabo, Geography, XI.2.3. 55

Murray, Oswyn, 1988: "Life and Society in Classical Greece" in J. Boardman, et al., pp. 211-218. 56

Casson, Lionel, 1974: Travel in the Ancient World (London), p. 65.

In times of need, Athens also imported grain, though in times

of

excess,

she

still

exported

it.57

By

the

mid-fifth

century, however, she was no longer self-sufficient, requiring 800 average-sized boatloads a year, of nearly 125 tons each, to feed her population.58 A century later, Athenians were consuming more grain than any nation,59 and the Black Sea provided as much of it as any other source -- as much as Athens was able to grow for herself.60 In normal years throughout the Classical and Hellenistic periods, Attica,

Athens for

at

apparently least

50

was

able

percent

of

to

provide,

her

needs.61

from

within

But

grain

shortages and surpluses were a constant in the ancient world, dependent on harvest fluctuations, crop failure, a complicated

57

Plutarch, Solon, XXIV.1.

58

Cf. Casson, 1991: The Ancient Mariners (reprint, Princeton), pp. 101-102. However, Casson's estimate of the mid-fifth-century Attic population at up to 300,000 is seen by others as too high. Garnsey estimates its population in 480 B.C. at only 120,000 (cf. Peter Garnsey, 1988: Famine and Food Supply in the GraecoRoman World [Cambridge], p. 90, table 4). Wycherley gives the mid-fifth-century as 150,000 (R.E. Wycherley, 1962: How the Greeks Built Cities [New York], p. 14). 59

Demosthenes, Against Leptines, 31-3.

60

Cf. Ober (1985, p. 27), who cites Demosthenes' (20.31-32) figure of imports from the Bosphoran kingdom as amounting to 400,000 medimnoi (520,000 bushels) a year. 61

Garnsey, 1988, p. 105.

mosaic of rainfall and siege.62 Though famine was rare,

food

crisis was common, and Athens' dependence on imports may well have led to her naval imperialism.63 For heavy

Archaic

freight

Greece,

such

as

Snodgrass iron

ore

gives

ample

and

marble

evidence

that

comprised

a

substantial part of the maritime shipments, including ores from the metal sources of Chalkis and Eretria.64 How much of this would

have

passed

through

the

Northern

Euboean

Gulf

is

unquantifiable. But unless Halai herself took part in exports of iron

ore,65

one

might

assume

that

most

heavy-cargo

transport

(including Parian marble) was destined for the temples at Delphi or the larger population centers farther to the south, and did not pass by Halai. Nevertheless, for Halai in the Late Archaic era, growing long-distance

maritime

transport

would

have

meant

literally

hundreds of shiploads of potential customers passing annually through the straits and possibly fattening the purses of her purveyors. This income would have dried up, of course, once the

62

Garnsey, 1988: pp. 9, 11, 37.

63

Garnsey, 1988, pp. 37-39, 89.

64

Snodgrass, A.M., 1983, pp. 16-25.

65

Supra, note 41.

four-month

(late

May

to

none

has

yet

mid-September)

summer

sailing

season

ended. Though agora,

or

at

least

a

been

market

found, area,

in

Halai which

may

have

cooked

had

an

food

or

staples -- the staples typically consisting of barley meal, oil and

wine,66

which

could

be

kneaded

into

cakes

--

could

be

purchased. It also would have been an easy matter for vendors to set up a market on short notice outside the city walls67 once customers hoved into view. Rowers, packed like sardines in warships,68 were responsible for their own provisions, since there was scant storage room aboard.69 When no agora was anticipated at the next landfall,

66

Casson, Lionel, 1995: "The Feeding of the Trireme Crews and an Entry in IG ii(2) 1631" in Sander M. Goldberg, ed., Transactions of the American Philological Association, vol. 125, (Atlanta, Ga.), pp. 264, 268. 67

Cf. Thucydides (XIX.45), who relates that during the Sicilian Campaign crews from Athenian warships, denied access elsewhere, "pitched a camp outside the city (of Rhegium) in the precinct of Artemis, where a market was also provided for them." 68

Triremes carried a complement of 170 rowers and 30 deckhands, officers and marines (cf. Casson, 1995, p. 261). 69

Casson, 1991, p 87.

crews purchased food in advance.70 But they rarely ate aboard, and only in emergencies rowed through the night.71 The larger, beamier and heavier merchantmen, most dependent upon

sail,72

perforce

had

smaller

complements

of

crew

and

passengers and probably carried foodstuffs and perhaps cooking facilities for their journeys.73 Though overseas shippers could have

carried

far

vessels,

they

supplies

whenever

more

provisions

probably the

put

into

opportunity

than port

smaller, for

presented

coast-hugging

perishable itself.

food Small,

coast-reliant vessels like the Kyrenia ship assuredly made port even more often. And if Late Archaic Halai did not sport a dock or quay to facilitate them, it still would have been an easy matter for crews to disembark via ladders and row to shore in small boats.

70

Casson, 1995, p. 268.

71

Casson, 1995, p. 268.

72

Casson, 1971, pp. 68-69.

73

Cf. DeVries, Keith, 1972: "Greek, Etruscan and Phoenician ships and shipping" in George F. Bass, ed., A History of Seafaring (New York), p. 41. However, cooking facilities were not the rule aboard merchantmen. Michael L. Katzev notes in "The Kyrenia Ship" (also in Bass, p. 50) that the Kyrenia vessel, of the early fourth century, carried cookware and dining materials but, in the absence of cooking facilities (for example, there was no evidence of insulating tiles), must have prepared all hot meals ashore.

Halai, which lay about three and two-thirds days' sail from Athens

for

Xerxes'

slow-moving

fleet

of

warships

and

cargo

carriers,74 may have been an attractive haven for equally slowmoving

merchantmen

battling

northward

against

the

summer's

northerly Etesian winds.75 Particularly in August, the Etesians are so violent that ancient vessels were sometimes forced to tie up on the lee side of islands for weeks at a time.76 The Euboean Gulf, protected from the brunt of the winds by the 120-mile-long island of Euboea, is still favored by smaller craft, and luxury sailing ships often are seen in the Bay of Atalante (the Opuntian Gulf in antiquity). This is not to say that

Halai

offered

the

only

haven,

since

Kynos,

Larymna

and

probably other coastal cities of East Lokris also offered safe anchorages and, on the north Euboean coast, so did Aidipsos and Orobiai. But it is safe to say that the anchorage at Halai is among the best sheltered. 2. NEED AND OPPORTUNITY: MOTIVES FOR A PERSIAN LANDFALL?

74

Herodotus (VIII.66) gives three days for the Persian fleet's journey between the Euripos and Phaleron. Casson (1971, p. 294) estimates the journey at 96 nautical miles, at a very slow speed of 1.3 knots, under variable wind conditions. The estimate of three and two-thirds days between Halai and Phaleron is derived by adding the approximately 19 nautical miles between Halai and the Euripos. 75

Casson, 1971, pp. 272-273.

76

Casson, 1971, pp. 272-273.

The huge Persian fleet may have been tempted to make a landfall at Halai in 480 B.C. because of her broad, sheltered and convenient bay, fresh-water supplies and possible reputation for provisioning (note invasion route, Fig. 2). Any evidence that it may have done so is circumstantial, though there is no doubt a major destructive force -- Persian or seismic -- struck Halai ca. 480 B.C., apparently causing enough damage to drive most

or

all

of

the

population

from

her

acropolis

for

the

duration of the succeeding Classical era.77 Underwater exploration at Halai, where waters of the bay have claimed portions of the city, has been limited, so nothing is known of her marine facilities. But Herodotus does tell us that Opuntian Lokris provided seven of the nine pentekonters for the

battles

B.C.78

against

the

Persian

fleet

off

Artemision

in

As one of about a half-dozen ports of East Lokris,79 Halai

may have provided one or more of them.

77

See discussion, Chapter III.

78

Herodotus VIII. 1.

79

480

Kynos and Larymna are the two best known. Of Kynos in the Archaic era we know little save that she was the port city of Opous and presumably the largest coastal city in East Lokris. Later constructions virtually eliminated Kynos' Archaic-era remains, according to Fanouria Dakoronia of the Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities at Lamia (pers. comm.). Larymna has not been excavated, and neither have the others.

How many of the Opuntian pentekonters survived the battle and capitulated to the Persian side is unknown. Certainly, none would have been on the front line in the subsequent sea battle at Salamis.80 on

Athens

vessels.81

is

The size of the motley Persian fleet that sailed estimated

Included

at

were

anything

between

state-of-the-art

700

and

triremes,

1,400

the

old-

fashioned 48-oared pentekonters, 30-oared triaconters, kerkouroi (oared

cargo

carriers)

and

hippagoga

(horse

carriers).82

The

supply ships (if not the horse carriers, which may have been converted triremes) assuredly can be blamed for the slow speed, since a fleet is no faster than its slowest member.83 Herodotus

is

equally

silent

as

to

whether

the

Opuntian

pentekonters queued up near Histiaea (Fig. 2) with the rest of the Persian fleet after Leonidas' defeat at Thermopylae, though one may assume they, too, capitulated to the Persian side. But there's little doubt that the populace at Halai -- about 22 80

Cf. Casson, 1991, p. 83.

81

Casson, 1971, pp. 92-93.

82

Pentekonters -- "excessively long and slender vessel(s), expensive to build, difficult to maneuver, and not particularly seaworthy" (Casson, 1991, p. 77) -- were the ships of the line in the sixth century. By the end of the century, however, the three-banked trireme -- faster, more powerful and more maneuverable -- was the preferred fighting ship (p. 83). The smaller triakonters probably usually were used for scouting and chasing pirates (p. 91). 83

Casson, 1971, p. 292-293.

nautical miles (about 44 km. by land) to the south -- heard news of the battles well before the Persians set sail for Athens. Presumably having patched damaged vessels after the storm off Pelion and the sea battles near Artemision, Xerxes' fleet left Histiaea for Athens after a three-day stay.84 Given variable winds and currents, and using Casson's formula, the fleet -bolstered

by

newly

commandeered

Greek

vessels

--

may

have

reached or passed Halai some 18 hours later.85 But the fleet also might have taken advantage of prevailing southwesterly winds in the

Diavlos

Oreon

Gulf,

run

into

a

favorable

tidal

stream

rounding the Likades islands off the northwestern tip of Euboea and shortened that time considerably.86 The Euripos was still 19 nautical miles away, and unless the winds were right, the Persians could have halted at Halai to

84

Herodotus VIII.66.

85

Supra, note 74. The estimate is obtained by calculating approximately 27 nautical miles between Histiaea and Halai -five miles short of the average daily distance of 32 nautical miles that Casson calculates the Persian fleet covered between the Euripos and Phaleron. By Casson's estimate of 1.3 nautical miles per hour, the Persian fleet would have sailed (rowed, in the case of oared grain carriers) day and night. 86

Cf. Denham, H.M., 1983: The Aegean: A Sea Guide to its Coasts and Islands (reprint, London), p. 48, who asserts that a threeknot tidal stream in the narrow passage between Euboea and the smallest of the Likades is unpredictable. "In the main channel the tide runs at about half this velocity (p. 48)." With a strong wind, ships taking the shortcut would have chanced running onto the Euboean coast or underwater rocks.

await a mild breeze to better control negotiation of the narrow Chalkis channel.87 We can only speculate, of course, as to whether the fleet landed at Halai, and much would have depended on how eager the Persians were to make haste for Athens. Herodotus, writing 50 years later, does not specify whether they traveled around the clock. Casson (who does not provide a reason) assumes they did, and presumably estimates a pace of 1.3 nautical miles per hour because

of

the

slow,

heavy,

round-bottomed

cargo

carriers.

Certainly, a pace of 1.3 nautical miles an hour would not have exhausted the trireme crews, since the vessels' sails could have done much or most of the work. But with a following breeze, the Persians could have doubled that pace. (For the sake of safety, there's little doubt they kept the fleet from separating into smaller groups.) Perhaps, assuming

a

given slower

the pace

prevailing and

winds,

nighttime

Casson

travel.

errs

Morrison

in and

Coates, who agree that speeds were set by a fleet's slowest members,88 suggest that warships in haste "would put out before dawn and arrive after dark," taking one or two hours for a meal

87

88

Conlin, pers. comm., March 1996.

Morrison, J.S., and Coates, J.F., 1986: The Athenian Trireme (:) The history and reconstruction of an ancient Greek warship (Cambridge), p. 105.

ashore and travelling up to 18 hours a day.89 But if Casson is correct about the pace, I would have to argue that Herodotus (and therefore Casson) erred about a three-day journey between the Euripos and Phaleron. The pertinent factor in the Persian itinerary is whether the crews would have been forced to engage the Greek fleet at Athens after spending four nights sleeping in shifts on cramped benches and nearly five full days at sea.90 I doubt this was the case. Even if Casson is correct in assuming such urgency, the Persians undoubtedly put in to shore for drinking water since, like the warships of the Greeks, their triremes had no room for bulky supplies.91 Herodotus tells us that, after the sea fight, the Ionians found messages on rocks near Artemision, left by the fastest departing Greek ships, urging the medized92 Greeks to

89

Morrison, et al., 1986, p. 103. Also cf. Thucydides (VIII.101), who cites Mindarus' after-dark arrival at and predawn departure from Arginusae during his dash to the Hellespont from Chios before the battle of Cynossema. 90

The time it would have taken the Persians to journey from Histiaea to Athens. Considering that the battle at Salamis took place in the morning (Herodotus VIII.70), the number of nights the Persians spent sleeping on the benches, following Casson's formula, presumably would rise to five. 91

Casson (1995, p. 264) suggests each crew member, who required a bare minimum of two quarts a day, carried his own water supply. 92

Those who, by force or persuasion, had joined the Persian forces.

defect.93

Though Herodotus is vague on the issue, Morrison and

Coates assume that the Greek fleet, commanded by Themistocles, left messages not only near the northern tip of Euboea, but at a number of beaches between there and Athens where the Persians were likely to land for water.94 It drinking

is

tempting

water

at

to

the

speculate adjacent

that

Bay

of

Halai, Vivos

with and

abundant perhaps

a

reputation for provisioning, may have been the Persians' next landfall. If so, the remaining Haliotes -- whose full fighting force

had

medized

into

Xerxes'

army,95

then

plundering

and

burning Phokian cities and holy places en route to Athens (see route, Fig. 2) -- would hardly have put up resistance. After

fighting

the

Greeks

to

a

draw

off

Artemision,

followed by a three-day rest, the Persian mood may have been quarrelsome. With a naval force minimally estimated at 42,00096 looking for a late meal, eager to let off steam or both, the

93

Herodotus VIII.22.

94

Morrison, et al., 1986, p. 95.

95

Herodotus VIII.66.

96

Calculating a reasonable average of 60 personnel per vessel (the number of rowers aboard a horse transport), instead of the 200 aboard triremes (per Casson, 1971, p. 92). Persian food supplies also may have been dangerously low, since Herodotus (VII.191) speaks of heavy grain-carrier losses in the three-day storm off Pelion before the Persians encountered the Greek fleet off Artemision.

Persians easily could have overwhelmed and overrun the little city, breaking storage jars and tearing down her small, mudbrick temple dedicated to Athena the Protectress.97 Continuing

in

this

speculative

vein,

perhaps

the

First

Temple was destroyed as Xerxes' forces retraced their steps or returned

the

following

year,

though

these

possibilities

seem

less likely. Further damage by the Persians as they retreated northward after the battle at Salamis would be the least likely scenario. Hellespont

Herodotus as

specifies

quickly

as

that

possible.98

the

fleet

Meanwhile,

made

for

Xerxes'

the army

waited in Athens for a few days after the battle, marched to Boeotia and, realizing that it was too late in the year to fight further, continued to Thessaly, where it spent the winter.99 On their return the following spring, Herodotus tells us only that the Persians drafted whatever people they came upon, including the Lokrians.100 On arrival in Athens, they razed what few buildings remained before pushing westward to Megara, which

97

For Athena's title, see Goldman, Hetty, 1915b: "Inscriptions from the Acropolis" in AJA 19, pp. 440-442. 98

Herodotus VIII.107.

99

Herodotus VIII.113.

100

Herodotus IX.1, IX.31.

they also overran.101 Returning to Boeotia for a better fighting field, the Persians were defeated at Plataea, then retreated along

the

inland

route

through

Phokis,

anxious

once

more

to

return to the Hellespont.102 Herodotus mentions no actions on the part of the Persian fleet. Thus we find, in the end, that any evidence for a Persian presence at Halai is circumstantial, suggested only by need and opportunity. Certainly, the Persians were an ample force and may have had both impetus and motive for the destruction we see archaeologically recorded at Halai. Most intriguing of all is the

timing,

though

an

unrecorded

earthquake

also

may

be

to

blame. The evidence for destruction at Halai and elsewhere ca. 480

B.C.,

along

with

discussion

considered in the following chapter.

101

Herodotus IX.3, IX.13.

102

Herodotus IX.66.

of

ancient

earthquakes,

is

CHAPTER III EARTHQUAKES AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE 1. EARTHQUAKES AND TECTONIC ACTIVITY Opportunity and need may have motivated the Persians to land at Halai while en route to Athens in 480 B.C., but a seismic or tectonic event also may have been responsible for the damage evident on the acropolis. My intent is not to defend one possibile scenario over the other at a point when the Cornell excavations have exposed so little Archaic material.103 After all, Halai also could have been struck a double blow. Rather, I wish to leave open a debate that Ellett attempts to close by asserting his faith in a continuity of

life

on

the

acropolis

between

the

Archaic

and

Classical

periods.104 Such continuity in use is only minimally evident -- in the Second Temple itself, in a small scattering of sherds and in the probability that the main road was maintained for access to the temple in Classical times (480-323 B.C.).105 Actual occupancy seems doubtful, since no other buildings of the Classical era have been found within the acropolis. 103

The earliest Archaic levels have been reached in only two test pits in the three full-sized trenches opened in Area A. 104

105

Ellett, 1995, p. 74.

Julia Shear, excavating a baulk in Area C in 1992, noted apparently uninterrupted use of the main road passing through the area (Fig. 4).

The

dearth

of

Classical

sherds

is

enough

to

indicate

unusual activity -- either a move of the population off the acropolis ca. 480 B.C. or a determined cleanup effort by the ancients

in

which

nearly

160

years

of

Classical

debris

were

removed. Coleman suggests cleanup as a possibility,106 but this seems

unlikely

material.

I

because

propose

of

the

instead

widespread that

the

lack Second

of

Classical

Temple

was

intentionally built directly behind the remains of the First Temple because this was already hallowed ground, and that at least the northwest end of the acropolis was otherwise deserted. The only evidence we have for an earthquake in the area at this time is an assertion by Ephor Fanouria Dakoronia that an Archaic stoa at Kyparissi -- just 12 km. to the west (see Fig. 6) -- was leveled ca. 480 B.C. by a seismic force. However, Dakoronia,

who

has

not

yet

fully

published

her

excavation,

inconsistently faults the earthquake of 426 B.C. for the damage, then suggests that an unrecorded earlier earthquake may be to blame.107

Additionally,

Stiros

wrote

in

1985

that

Dakoronia

reported finding no sherds at Kyparissi dated later than 540 B.C. On the strength of that claim, it was "concluded that this

106

107

Coleman, pers. comm., spring 1996.

Dakoronia, Fanouria, 1990: "Arcaike0 Keramide0 apo Anatolikh Lokrida" in First International Conference on Archaic Greek Terracottas (Hesperia 59, Princeton), p. 179.

building

was

abandoned

after

its

seismic

destruction,

which

occurred after 540 and definitely before 500 B.C."108 Whatever

the

date,

the

force

that

struck

Kyparissi

was

sufficient to buckle its foundations109 -- something the Persians could

hardly

do.

One

would

think

an

earthquake

of

that

magnitude, sufficient to drive out the population, would have affected

Halai

as

well.110

But,

if

Dakoronia

were

correct

in

dating the latest Kyparissi ceramics to 540 B.C., it would leave us with a baffling 60-year gap between the date Kyparissi fell into ruins and the time the First Temple at Halai was destroyed. Further excavation in the temple precinct and Area A might clear up

the

problem,

but

in

the

end

the

best

indicator

may

be

analysis of the Kyparissi ceramics. Except for an earthquake "by sea and land" near Salamis on Sept. 29, 480 B.C.,111 ancient sources are silent on earthquakes in Central Greece during this era, though they record seismic

108

Stiros, 1985, p. 24.

109

Since I did not visit Kyparissi, I am indebted to Coleman for showing me slides of the buckled foundations. Dakoronia declined my request to view the ceramics in 1995. Blegen opened four trenches at Kyparissi (which he took for Opous) in 1911, but did not address the destruction in his four-page report except to describe one building as "in a ruinous state" (C.W. Blegen, 1926: "The Site of Opous" in AJA 30, p. 402). 110

Stiros does not address the question.

111

Cf. Herodotus XIII.64.

disturbances elsewhere: Lemnos at the end of the sixth century; Delos in 490, Potidea (a tidal wave) in 479 and Sparta in 550 and

again

in

469

B.C. (see Fig. 7 for

major

earthquakes in

antiquity).112 Of

frequent

earthquakes

and

tectonic

activity

in

the

Northern Euboean Gulf there is no doubt. Stiros and Papageorgiou blame normal and strike-slip faulting for a one-degree rate of palaeomagnetic rotation of northern Euboea relative to southern Thessaly every 60,000 years -- "probably the highest rate ever recorded."113 Stiros also believes many shocks are still unlisted, particularly between A.D. 600 and 1700.114 If an earthquake were to blame for destruction of the First Temple

at

Halai

ca.

480

B.C.,

it

may

well

have

been

quite

localized. Destructions attested at Kalapodi, Hyampolis and a sanctuary at Abae -- about 30 km. inland -- at the same time are

112

Cf. Guidoboni, 1989, pp. 632-637. For later seismic events in the Northern Euboean Gulf, see Chapter I. 113

Stiros, S., and Papageorgiou, S., 1990: "Post Mesolithic Evolution of the Thessalian Landscape" in La Thessalie (:) Quinze annees de recherches archeologiques, 1975-1990 (:) Bilans et Perspectives, Actes de Colloque International (Lyon), p. 29. 114

Stiros, 1985, p. 25.

blamed

on

the

Persians,

then

marching

through

Phokis

toward

Athens).115 Perhaps it is only coincidence. At march.116

least

13

Perhaps

Phokian Hyampolis,

cities the

were

most

destroyed

easterly

during

(and

the

therefore

nearby Kalapodi and Abae), was included among them because she guarded a major mountain pass between Phokis and East Lokris.117 A deviation was necessary to include these sites since the three lie in the Kallidromos foothills, 7-10 km. off the level and well-beaten

track

through

the

Kiphissos

River

valley

to

the

west. After splitting up at Panopea, Xerxes' army also burned Daulia and Aeolidae and, in Boeotia, Thespiae and Plataea after the Thebans said the latter had not espoused the Persian cause.118 The remainder of the Boeotians medized, saving their cities.119 Elsewhere, Herodotus tells us that Persian sailors overran all the seaboard towns of the Ellopian country of Histiaea,120 a

115

Herodotus VIII.33. Also see Felsch, Rainer, 1987: "Kalapodi Bericht 1978-1982" in Archaologische Anzeiger, pp. 1-99. 116

Herodotus VIII.33.

117

Cf. Pierre Ellinger, 1987: "Hyampolis et le Sanctuaire d'Artemis Elaphebolos dans l'Histoire, la Legende et l'Espace de la Phocide" in R. Felsch, 1987, p. 95. 118

Herodotus VIII.35, 50.

119

Herodotus VIII. 34.

120

Herodotus VIII.23.

word that strongly suggests destruction. Of other cities along the Euboean Gulf known to have been occupied during the Archaic era, few have been excavated and fewer still published -- and then

often

Persian

only

activity

briefly or

or

haphazardly.121

earthquakes

at

these

Detection

sites

will

of

any

have

to

await future spadework. Thus we have sufficient evidence of destruction inland by the

Persian

army,

but

Herodotus

tells

us

the

Thessalians

purposely led the army along that route, pillaging and burning Phokian cities, to avenge an old grudge.122 The Persian fleet, patching ships after the storm off Pelion and licking its first war wounds after the battle off Artemision, was in need of a place at which to reconnoiter. Therefore, the huge Persian fleet may have had ample reason to overrun Histiaea and environs, but whether this began a campaign of destruction later repeated at Halai is of course uncertain. Perhaps we'll never ascertain what caused the destruction at Halai, but the archaeological evidence clearly tells us it occurred around 480 B.C.

121

A search of the available literature on Aulis, Anthedon, Delion, Mycalessos, Orobiai and Salganeus, for example, yielded no reference to the Persians except for a probable fable about a guide from Salganeus having been put to death for leading the Persians astray between Histiaea and the Euripos (Strabo I.1.17, IX.2.2 and IX.2.9). As asserted in Chapter II, there is also a dearth of information on coastal Archaic sites in East Lokris. 122

Herodotus VIII.31-32.

2. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE Recent Cornell excavations of Trenches F5, 6 and 7 (Fig. 8) yielded

destruction

debris

from

the

First

Temple

precinct,

including painted roof tiles, disintegrated mud-brick, ceramics, a

small

cache

of

copper

jewelry,

occasional

architectural

fragments and isolated burned patches. The materials came from the upper levels, Goldman apparently having removed later levels after the turn of the century.123 The pottery dates from Halai's foundation to ca. 480 B.C.,124 the wide range of dates suggesting it had been contained in temple repositories. The Archaic pottery at Halai is mostly unpainted or blackpainted ware occasionally enlivened with a few simple bands. The black

glaze

tends

to

be

thinly

applied

and

unevenly

fired,

deteriorating to brown and red. While this has the advantage of making imported wares stand out within pottery lots, imported sherds

are

usually

too

few

and

too

small

to

provide

a

satisfactory chronological picture.125 This leaves precious little

123

Goldman refers to removal of "a perfect network of Byzantine walls that everywhere covered the more ancient constructions" (Goldman, 1915b, p. 439). 124

Analysis of the pottery was undertaken by myself. See Appendix for Catalogue of sample pieces. 125

I found no close parallels between the local pottery and that from Kalapodi during a brief visit to the latter's storeroom in July 1995. Though Archaic material from Kalapodi will be published this year, it will contain only imported materials (per Karin Braun, pers. comm., December 1995). Similarly, rich

diagnostic

material

except

for

the

preponderance

of

drinking

vessels contained in the temple deposits and associated with the stone platforms in Trench A3.126 Goldman left us little Archaic material in Area F and poor notes

on

that

which

she

removed.

The

only

possible

temple

remains left to be excavated, and probably the most revealing as far as a stratigraphic relationship between Areas F and A is concerned, would lie in the approximately 15 m. of space between our Trenches F6-7 and A3 (Fig. 4). Goldman probably did not reach Archaic levels in this area but, because of her incomplete field notes, this cannot be determined until further excavation takes place. Goldman described the First Temple levels she excavated as containing architectural fragments and "a great deal of color" (probably painted mud-brick wall fragments) that disappeared on exposure to the air. She also noted a thick layer of ashes, cinders, animal bones and broken pottery overlying the altar

goods from the Archaic graves at Rhitsona offer little in the way of comparison (cf. Burrows, R.M., and Ure, P.N., 1907-1908: "Excavations at Rhitsona in Boeotia" in BSA XIV, pp. 226-319. Haliote materials stored at the Thebes Museum have been notoriously difficult to access. And although the graves excavated by Goldman were rich in materials, none is dated earlier than the mid-sixth century. 126

See Chapter IV for discussion of the platforms.

area at the east end of the precinct (Fig. 8).127 It is unclear whether the ashes were from routine religious activities or the destruction

itself.

From

somewhere

in

this

debris

came

a

footless black-figure lekythos that Haspels (later confirmed by Shear)

dated

to

ca.

490

B.C.,

based

on

comparison

with

a

lekythos from the Soros (tumulus) of Marathon.128 Taking her cue from Haspels, Goldman placed the destruction of the temple at "sometime after 510 B.C."129 Overlying the thick First Temple destruction level was a pavement of crushed and pounded poros stone (for stratigraphy, see Fig. 9), which Goldman attributed to demolition and leveling of

the

Second

Temple

after

its

probable

collapse

in

the

earthquake and accompanying tidal wave of 426 B.C.130 The Second Temple seems to have survived for less than 55 years, judging by

127

Goldman, 1940, pp. 397, 402.

128

Goldman, 1940, no. 26 and fig. 47. For identification of the lekythos by C.H.E. Haspels, see Goldman, note 58. For Shear on Haspels' identification of lekythoi of similar schools in the Marathon tumulus, see Shear, T. Leslie Jr., 1994: "The Persian Destruction of Athens (:) Evidence from Agora Deposits" in Hesperia 62, pp. 8-11. 129

130

Goldman, 1940, p. 454.

Goldman, 1940, p. 454. The Second Temple was built on a bastion of the nearby circuit wall after the First Temple was destroyed. For discussion on earthquakes in antiquity, see below.

fragments of a red-figure column krater attributed by Goldman (and later Beazley) to ca. 470 B.C.131 If the level from which the krater came were undisturbed, we could take the vessel as a terminus ante quem for construction of the Second Temple, indicating that the new temple probably was built shortly after the First Temple was destroyed. But some caution must be urged. Goldman lists the krater as among objects coming from above the poros pavement or in "broken areas." She notes that because of this disturbance of the stratification, "much of the material originally from below the (crushed poros) pavement (lens 4 in the scarps of Fig. 9) was found at the higher level."132 It is unclear whether the pavement was broken in antiquity or whether Goldman herself disturbed it. Until between

the

further First

excavation Temple

takes

destruction

place, layer

the in

relationship the

Area

F

trenches and a gray, burned lens running through Trenches A3 and 5 will remain unclear. It also is unclear whether the "pounded poros" pavement created from the Second Temple debris extends as far as Area A. At this point, only the higher, outer edges of the main road leading into the temple precinct, exposed in the

131

Cf. Goldman, 1940, p. 456, no. 1, and Beazley, J.D., 1963: Attic Red Figure Vase Painters (Second Edition, Oxford), p. 518. Also see Ellett, 1995, p. 62. 132

Goldman, 1940, p. 456, note 138.

facing

scarps

of

F5-6

and

A3,

link

the

two

areas

stratigraphically. (In the accompanying scarp drawings they are visible only in Trench F6, Fig. 9.) For three reasons, however, I suggest that the gray lens is related

to

the

First

Temple

destruction.

The

first

is

the

probability that damage severe enough to topple the temple would be reflected stratigraphically in Trenches A3 and 5. The second is artifactual, including the broken amphora group in Room 18 of Trench

A5,

which

is

securely

dated

to

ca.

480

B.C.

(see

discussion below). Third is the suggestive stratigraphy itself. For example, I would link Lens 4 in the northeast scarps of Trenches F6-7 with Lens 4 in the southwest and northwest scarps of Trench A3 (Figs. 10 and 11133), and suggest it is related to the pounded poros pavement from the Second Temple. The gray, burned lens from the First Temple destruction is evident beneath it in the northwest scarps of Trenches A3 and A5 (Fig. 11).134 The lower limit of the gray lens was found directly above Feature A, the latest stone platform in Trench A3, indicating an

133

The scarp drawings are borrowed from Ellett and contain his labeling system (cf. Ellett, 1995, figs. 11, 12, 13 and 18). 134

The gray burned level is difficult to trace in Ellett's drawing of the southeast scarp of Trench A3 because the lenses and layers don't match up with those of the adjoining southwest scarp.

apparent end to cult activity in this area.135 Within the lens in the northwest scarp of Trench A3 is a badly burned, warped tile that clearly points to intense heat. Northeast of Wall AV the lens

continues through Room 19 of Trench A5, but terminates

at

BM, separating

Wall

Room 19

from

Room

18, in

which the

shattered amphora group was found. The thickness of the gray lens and a relative lack of tiles in Room 19 suggest the room had a thatched roof at the time of the destruction.136 Except

for

short

lenses

of

gray

in

the

northwest

and

northeast scarps near the north corner of Trench A5, fire is not indicated in Room 19. So linkage of the smashed amphorae to the gray lens is speculative. Though the elevations are similar, one can run into difficulties when trying to align elevations within and

outside

of

rooms

because

of

potentially

different

depositional patterns. 3. THE POTTERY Nevertheless, a date of ca. 500-480 B.C. has been secured for

manufacture

of

a

transport

amphora

(B1137)

found

in

the

135

For discussion of the platforms and cult activity, see Chapter IV. 136

What tile fragments it did have may have come from the roof over Room 18. Room 19, then, may have been cleaned out after an earlier destruction, or it may always have had a thatched roof. At levels beneath the gray lens, its soil was remarkably devoid of remains. 137

See Appendix for referenced pottery.

cluster of shattered amphorae in Room 18.138 It is a Corinthian Atype vessel with a parallel in a "fractional" counterpart from a well

in

the

Athenian

Agora

filled

with

Persian

destruction

debris.139 The

latest

of

the

drinking

vessels

associated

with

the

stone platforms in Trench A3 also date to or shortly before the end of the Archaic era -- notably B7, an Athenian-style krater of the last quarter of the sixth century, B10, a thick-walled oinochoe probably from the early fifth century, and B9, a column krater dating to no later than 480 B.C. Sample ceramics selected largely from First Temple debris in Trench F6 (specifically within the lower red/brown subsurface soil as depicted in Fig. 9) range in date from B13, a beakspouted lekane of the first quarter of the sixth century, to B14, an Eretrian lekane dated to ca. 490 B.C., and B15, the base of a probable so-called vicup (high-footed drinking vessel) of ca. 480 B.C.140

138

Coleman, in preparation.

139

Cf. Grace, Virginia R., 1961: Amphoras and the Ancient Wine Trade (Princeton), fig. 35, left. Also see Shear, T. Leslie Jr., 1993: "The Persian Destruction of Athens (:) Evidence from Agora Deposits" in Hesperia 62 (Princeton), p. 451 and fig. 8, and Koehler, Carolyn G., 1978: Corinthian A and B Transport Amphoras (Ph.D diss., Princeton University), pp. 27, 100, 101. 140

For descriptions of these and other sample vessels, see Appendix.

In an attempt to establish Halai's foundation date, the early pottery also must be examined. The earliest Archaic vessel found during the Cornell excavations is the so-called Epopheles skyphos (B11, in Appendix), a local Corinthianizing work named for its potter. The black-figure cup, found amid First Temple debris, contains uniquely early characteristics that attest to its provincialism. Because of these characteristics, discussed in

the

accompanying

Appendix,

the

vessel

may

have

been

manufactured as early as ca. 625 B.C. The skyphos is one of a handful

of

artifacts

that

may

predate

the

temple

because

of

their apparently early characteristics. These artifacts may have been prized heirlooms carried to the acropolis from elsewhere or were examples of a delayed evolution in artistic styles. Goldman mentions finding "a few" artifacts that apparently date earlier than 600 B.C., the date she attributes to Halai's foundation. She may be correct in asserting that they "may very well have been dedicated (at the temple) some years later" than their manufacture.141 One, for example, is a Daedalic "mask" (broken from the neck of a vase) from the temple precinct, dated by Jenkins to

141

Goldman, 1940, p. 430.

ca. 640-630 B.C. (Fig. 12, right).142 Jenkins suggests the figure is of Cretan influence and Boeotian fabric.143 In arguing for a later

date

(600

B.C.,

plus

or

inconsistently asserts that "there this

First

Temple

B.C."144 Still

area

another

that

minus is

must

apparently

10

years),

Goldman

not a single object from be

early

put piece

earlier than 600 is

a

terracotta

figurine (Fig. 12, left) dated variously by P. Knoblauch and F.R.

Grace

to

the

first

and

third

quarters

of

the

seventh

century.145 Goldman argues on limited stylistic grounds for a 600 B.C. date.146

142

Jenkins, R.J.H., 1936: Dedalica (:) A Study of Dorian Plastic Art in the Seventh Century B.C. (London), p. 48. For the figure, see Goldman, 1940, fig. 76. In dating the figure thus, Jenkins placed it somewhere between the so-called Auxerre statuette and a Daedalic limestone relief found near the temple of Athena at Mycenae, a fairly broad classification with which I agree. The Auxerre figure is dated to the mid-seventh century and the Mycenaean relief to the third quarter of the seventh century (cf. Hampe, R., and Simon, E., 1980: The Birth of Greek Art [London], pp. 278-279, figs. 438-349). 143

Note that Boardman terms Jenkins' classifications "rather rigid." Cf. Boardman, John, 1978: Greek Sculpture (:) The Archaic Period (New York), note III, p. 424. 144

Goldman, 1940, fig. 76 and note 5, p. 424.

145

Knoblauch, P., and Grace, F.R., in Studien zur archaischgriechischen Tonbildnerei, pp. 192, 50 ff., as cited in Goldman, 1940, p. 424. Also see Goldman, 1940, p. 425, fig. 77. 146

Because of time considerations I did not further pursue dating of this figure, though its facial characteristics (as Goldman concedes [1940, p. 425]) are early. The arrangement of curls on the forehead, however, does extend into the sixth century. See,

For the present, taking into account the earliest pottery and difficulties in dating notoriously provincial ceramics, I am satisfied with a late seventh-century date for the foundation of Halai. The question of whether these early objects are indeed anomalies or whether the date of Halai's foundation should be pushed back even farther may be settled only when the Goldman materials are retrieved from the Thebes Museum and/or further excavation takes place in the First Temple precinct. Not the least of the dating problem stems from the paucity of imported materials and the delayed evolution in painting styles at Halai. But the late Archaic pottery does sustain a date of ca. 480 B.C. for the collapse of the First Temple and is associated with strong evidence for a fire and destruction that extended well beyond the temple. Recounting the evidence, there is no ancient literature on a late Archaic earthquake in the area, though a seismic event surely is to blame for the buckled foundations at Kyparissi. However, we have at present only conflicting reports on the date for Kyparissi's destruction, ranging widely from 540 to

426

B.C.

Until

its

pottery

is

published,

none

of

these

reports can be relied upon.

for example, the forehead curls on two kouroi (Kleobis and Biton) from Delphi, dated to the beginning of the sixth century (cf. Hampe, et al., 1980, figs. 467, 469).

Therefore, in regard to earthquakes, the only evidence we have is that the region has been susceptible to occasional major seismic

and

tectonic

events.

It

is

plausible

that

a

locally

confined seismic destruction in such a provincial area would have been ignored by ancient historians if it did not closely coincide with the passing of the Persians. Some might argue that evidence for a Persian destruction at Halai is stronger, given the suggestive date, the precedent set by Xerxes' fleet overrunning Histiaea and the known destructions caused by the Persian army less than 40 km. to the west. Though this is contrary to Herodotus' account, it also may be true that a

portion

coastal

of

the

cities

as

army it

marched

through

headed

toward

East

Lokris,

Athens.

The

torching truth

is

literally buried in the past -- at Halai and elsewhere -- and only further excavation will bring it to light.

CHAPTER IV A CASE OF HERO/FOUNDER CULT Four circular stone platforms excavated at Halai between 1991 and 1992 (Fig. 13) are of exceptional importance for the understanding of cult activity in the Archaic era. I suggest that they are evidence of hero cult, a tradition beginning in the

eighth

century,

but

with

probable

roots

in

tomb

cults

appearing around the 10th century B.C. in the Argolid, Messenia and

elsewhere.147

A

number

of

drinking

vessels,

apparently

purposely broken,148 were found in association with the Haliote platforms, which also points to cult ritual. Because of Halai's foundation in the late seventh century, I further suggest that the platforms are related to heroization of the city's founder. The platforms (Figs. 5 and 13) were all exposed in 1991 by trench supervisor Sylvia Yu, though a baulk was left over the centers of two of them. The baulk was removed the following season by assistant supervisors Curtis L. Ellett and Allison Sandman.

147

Evidence of 10th-century tomb cult is offered, for example, at Mycenae, Berbati, Asine and Dendra (Antonaccio, Carla M., 1995: An Archaeology of Ancestors [Lanham, Md.], pp.141-142). Also see Antonaccio, 1994: "Contesting the Past" in AJA 98, pp. 389-396. 148

Ritual breakage is suggested by the fact that we were able to glue together substantial portions of vessels. Further excavation would no doubt reveal the missing fragments.

All roughly 1 m. in diameter and 0.10 m. (one course of stones) in height, the

platforms all lie

on slightly different

levels in Trench A3,149just southwest of a major wall (AH) that may have been one of the first erected at Archaic Halai.150 Their proximity and relationship to the building's socle (the top of which lies between 2.60 and 2.64 masl.) suggest cult activity lasting for some time. The length of time might be estimated from the amount of socle the ancients would have left exposed. Coleman suggests that most if not nearly all of the socle would have remained above ground to prevent rainwater splashback and runoff from dissolving the upper courses of mud brick.151 Strikingly, Feature A, the last platform built, lies only 0.020-0.060 m. lower in elevation than the top of the socle. This suggests that, because

149

Other possible cult platforms were found in Trenches A1 and A4. That in Trench A1, sketched and removed by excavator Melodie R. Domurad in 1990, was found atop the ruin of an Archaic wall. A stone platform, partially exposed in an apparently megaronshaped room in Trench A4 in 1991, initially was considered a hearth, though no evidence of burning was found -- nor of ritually used vessels. Further excavation will be necessary to help determine its use. 150

The base of its socle, exposed in a small test pit, lies between 2.07 and 2.16 masl. 151

Coleman, pers. comm., spring 1996.

of the potential for rainwater damage, the wall may have fallen out of use before the adjacent cult activity ceased.152 I have not found a satisfactory answer to the question of socle exposure in the Archaic era. It appears that in Neolithic times the norm may have been to leave half of it exposed.153 Ellett

suggests

that

50-75

percent

of

the

socle

would

have

appeared above the ground level.154 If 75 percent were exposed, the lowest platform (Feature D, at 2.35 masl.) probably would be contemporary

with

construction

of

the

wall.

In

that

case,

alternative possibilities may be that heroization of the founder began during his lifetime155 or that the ritual was centered on

152

The ground level naturally rose during use, but I would argue that prudent building maintenance (and probably occupancy) of adjacent Room 19 as an indoor room (Fig. 5) was not taking place, since 0.020-0.060 m. of socle exposure is not sufficient to safeguard the overlying mud-brick layers from rainwater spashback and runoff. 153

Cf. Skafida, Evangelia, 1990: "Kataskeuastika Ulika, Tecnikh kai Tecnologia twn Plinqinwn Spitiwn sth Neoliqikh Qessalia: Mia Eqnoarcaiologikh Proseggish" in Le Thessalie (:) Quinze annees de recherches archeologiques, 1975-1990 (:) Bilans et perspectives, Actes du Colloque International, Lyon, 17-22 Avril 1990 (Athens), fig. 18. 154

155

Ellett, 1995, p. 38.

Provided Wall AH and a contemporaneous Feature D were among the first structures built at Archaic Halai, which seems likely, given stratigraphic evidence. Ancient sources tell us the practice of worshipping heroes before their death was not unknown, such as Hagnon at Amphipolis (Thucydides V.12).

the bones of a hero appropriated from another site (for further discussion on this point, see below). Regardless, Feature D could not have been in use at the same time as Feature A. In illustration -- bearing in mind that the platforms are only about 0.10 m. in depth -- Feature D lies just 0.40 m. southwest of Feature A, but about 0.23 m. lower in elevation. Feature A, in turn, lies about 0.13 m. higher than Features B and C, though joining fragments of a black-glazed krater found at the edges of Features A and B link the two chronologically. I suggest, then, that Feature D was the first in use. As it became covered by accumulating soil, it fell out of use and Features B (at about 2.45 masl.) and C (at about 2.46 masl.) were built to replace it. These two may have been on the verge of disappearing beneath the surface when Feature A (at about 2.58 masl.) was built. At the end, Feature A may have been the only one in use. Construction of consecutive platforms also is seen

156

at

Mycenae,

Troy,

at

Grotta

on

Naxos156

and

at

a

Late

Cf. Hägg, Robin, 1983: "Funerary Meals in the Geometric Necropolis at Asine?" in Robin Hägg and Nanno Marinatos, eds., The Greek Renaissance of the 8th Century B.C. (:) Tradition and Innovation (Stockholm), pp. 190-192.

Geometric apsidal building at Lefkandi (see further discussion below).157 None

of

the

platforms

strongly

resembles

the

others.

Features B and D appear similar, but Feature D is 0.15 m. larger in diameter and Feature B was decorated with turkey-wing shells (arca occidentalis) embedded, shiny side up, in a thin layer of overlying clay.158 Feature A, made of the largest stones, is the largest (about 1.2 m. in diameter) and the most irregular in shape. Feature C, the most unusual, is about 1 m. in diameter, but partly surrounded by flat stones set on end, curving slightly inward

to

create

a

narrow

earthen

channel

around

it.159

This

platform is distinctly redder in color than the others, probably

157

Cf. Popham, M.R., and Sackett, L.H., 1980: Lefkandi I, Vol. II, The Settlement (BSA), pp. 24-25. 158

Coleman, in preparation. Yu reported finding an unspecified quantity of shells in the area of Feature D, but they were not given the same treatment as on Feature B. Clay plaster also was found on some platforms at Troy (cf. Hägg, 1983, 191), and a thick clay covering was found on one of the so-called "granaries" at Lefkandi (Popham, et al., 1980, p. 14). 159

Coleman, in preparation.

having

been

stained

by

a

mud-brick

cover.160

The

channelized

treatment is unique among published examples of platforms.161 No

ash

or

other

overt

evidence

of

ritual

activity

was

detected on the platform or in the channel around it, though a small, shallow ash pit (roughly 0.30 in diameter and depth) was found at its northwest edge. The channel itself may have been created for directed runoff of libations. The slightly irregular ash pit was capped with three oblong stones,162 with a larger stone at its base. Because of the platform's relative fragility, it

is

doubtful

that

animal

sacrifices

were

performed

here,

though the ash pit is reminiscent of buried embers of ritual meals as at Asine (where animal bones also were found), Nichoria and Miletus.163 Any use of the platforms for other than ritual is unlikely. Only one course deep, they are unsturdy and could easily be

160

Excavators noted some sort of red mud-brick overlay.

161

Provided the three "granary" platforms at Lefkandi -- each bisected by parallel grooves (channels) -- have not been misinterpreted (see further discussion below). 162

Possibly removed from the incomplete course of upright stones surrounding Feature C. 163

Cf. Hägg, 1983, pp. 190-191.

dislodged by a shift in weight upon them.164 The surfaces bore no evidence of fire, ruling out their use as hearths. A suggestion that the platforms could be grain silos is improbable.165 The votive shells on Feature B, the channel around Feature C and the ritually smashed drinking vessels would argue against

that

use

--

as

would

the

fact

that

they

were

consecutively built. Surely, in the case of silos, it would have been

easier

to

add

further

courses

of

stone

to

disappearing

bases (to elevate the grain and discourage burrowing rodents) than

to

replace

the

entire

superstructure.

It

also

seems

doubtful that silos would be located only 15 m. from a temple. In the same vein, I suggest that a number of square and circular stone- and rubble-filled platforms166 within and outside of

a

Late

Geometric

building

in

the

Xeropolis

settlement

at

Lefkandi (Fig. 14) were also used for ritual purposes. Popham and

Sackett

have

identified three of the platforms (Area 2 on

plan) as granaries, primarily on the basis of the double grooves 164

Or of someone tripping over them, which suggests they were intentionally buried nearly to their surface. 165

166

Cf. Coleman, 1992, p. 275.

The platforms range in size from roughly 1 to 2 m. in diameter, the largest of these being three prominent circles outside the building and the two square platforms within. Though the largest are double the size of the platforms at Halai, they correspond nicely with platforms at Asine (1.2 m. in diameter), Troy (about 2 m.) and Mycenae (about 2 m.), all of which also correspond in date (cf. Hägg, 1983, pp. 189, 191).

--

which

they

view

as

ventilation

slots

--

that

bisect

the

platforms.167 They dismiss a clay covering (encircled by stones) over one of the platforms as simply a "secondary use." They also view consecutive use of the platforms (one of which overlay an earlier circle) as signifying an impermanance in fitting with granaries.168

No correlation is cited between the platforms and

nearby ash pits, including one (which partially covered one of the

circles)

containing

an

abundance

of

smashed

drinking

vessels.169 Within the poorly preserved apsidal building (Area 1 on plan) more platforms were found -- all dated either later than the building or later than its initial use -- including two large

square

preserved

platforms

round

stone

and

what

platforms.

I A

suggest heavy

are

two

poorly

concentration

of

smashed and scattered drinking vessels lay near the best-defined circle, and two small ash pits, one encircled by stones, lay near the other one. Immediately south of the building were two half-eroded, semi-circular, pebbled areas, one of which overlay

167

Popham, et al., 1980, pp. 24-25.

168

Popham, et al., 1980, p. 25.

169

Popham, et al., 1980, pp. 14, 23; also see Popham and Sackett, 1979: Lefkandi I The Iron Age (Plates) (:) The Settlement, plates 8b and 11.

part of a demolished portion of the building's wall.170 On the basis of three pounders and grinders, a whetstone, knife, stone axe, small stone basin and two loomweights also found within the building, Popham and Sackett consider the building domestic, but note the lack of a hearth.171 I strongly suggest that the Xeropolis platforms are better interpreted as evidence of cult, given similarities with stone and pebble platforms, smashed drinking vessels, consecutive use and ash pits found at other Late Geometric sites. Rectangular and oval platforms of mud brick and pebbles found above 10th century burials at Lefkandi's Toumba heroon172 can be considered a precedent. As suggested above in connection with the channel around

Halai's

Feature

C,

the

grooves/channels

in

the

three

prominent outdoor platforms at Lefkandi may have been intended for directed runoff of libations. Platforms

may

have

been

in

use

at

Halai

for

a

few

generations, since more platforms may exist beneath the four

170

Popham, et al., 1980, pp. 14 and 24; and plates 8a and 43. For cult-related platforms made only of pebbles, see Lambrinoudakis, V.K., 1988: "Veneration of Ancestors in Geometric Naxos" in R. Hägg, N. Marinatos and G.C. Nordquist, eds., Early Greek Cult Practice (:) Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium at the Swedish Institute at Athens, 26-29 June, 1986 (Stockholm), p. 238. 171

Popham, et al., 1980, p. 14.

172

Cf. Antonaccio, 1995, p. 236.

exposed in Trench A3. Ellett advises that, in testing the soil in the channel surrounding Feature C, he detected the edges of shells lying atop more stones, leading him to speculate on the existence of still another platform.173 He did not record its elevation. Feature/platform A seems to have gone out of use after a destructive event that left only a few broken tile pieces and chunks of decomposed mud brick, scattered charcoal flecks and a thin gray lens directly above it. The lower edge of this lens was found about 0.10 m. above Platform B.174 The

origin

of

tomb

cult,

from

which

hero

cult

probably

sprang, remains speculative. Suffice it to say that, throughout the Iron Age, anonymous Mycenaean (and sometimes Protogeometric) tombs were reopened for

new

burials,

almost

always

single.175

Antonaccio asserts a common belief that the practice constituted an

"ancestral

literature

--

yearning" on

the

--

part

also of

an

discernable elite

in

"threatened

leveling ideology of the emergent polis."176

173

Ellett, 1995, p. 36.

174

For discussion of the lens, see Chapter III, Part 2.

175

Antonaccio, 1995, p. 1.

176

Antonaccio, 1995, p. 5.

art

and

by

the

The major regions of tomb cult were Attica, the Argolid and Messenia, though they existed elsewhere, including (closer to Halai) Phokis, Boeotia and Phthiotis.177 Accepted scholarship now refutes

an

earlier

position

that

tomb

cult

originally

was

directed at Homeric heroes.178 From about 750 B.C., funerary practice and the rituals that can be deduced from it -- food and drink offerings, broken, burned

or

scattered

attest

to

a

cult

material, of

heroes.

animal

bones

Snodgrass

and

ash

suggests

pits

that

--

they

simultaneously honored the remote, anonymous dead and heroized the newly deceased.179 Antonaccio asserts that, because of their placement

and

associated

finds,

such

stone

and/or

pebble

platforms are not to be thought of as hearths, threshing floors, granaries or drying platforms.180

177

Antonaccio, 1995, p. 11. Pausanias (X.4.10) notes daily worship, with meat eaten on the spot and blood poured through a chimney into the grave of a hero/founder at Tronis in Daulis. 178

Cf. Antonaccio (1995, pp. 5, 247), who asserts that hero cult was present before any Homeric text could have circulated, and Snodgrass, Anthony, 1988: "The Archaeology of the Hero" in Annali (:) Sezione di Archeologia e Storia Antica, X, Sezione Tematica: La Perola, L'Immagine, La Tomba (Naples), p. 26. 179

Snodgrass, Anthony M., 1987: An Archaeology of Greece (:) The Present State and Future Scope of a Discipline (Berkeley), p. 161. 180

Antonaccio, 1995, p. 199.

To differentiate among the types of cult, she distinguishes among tomb cult, in which graves are always present, kinship is claimed

and

worship

is

short-lived;181

longer-lasting

hero

or

corporate ancestor cult with scheduled and formalized ritual, but without tombs,182 and the "cult of the dead," taking in all post-burial activity at graves of known individuals.183 Heroes are distinguished in ancient Greek religion by the status or power ascribed to them after death. Hero/founders, like

the

gods,

were

patrons,

protectors

and

the

bearers

of

success and disaster. As such, they were publicly worshipped, feared, invoked and commemorated.184 A hero/oikist (founder) may have been motivated to undertake the task for political reasons, though personal ambition, religious reasons or altruism cannot be ruled out. His reward was heroization in annual feasts after his death.185 Jeffery notes a calling prayer for the dead oikist of Zankle, a fragment preserved in the Aitia of Kallimachos: "Whoever founded our city, 181

Antonaccio, Carla M., 1993: "The Archaeology of Ancestors" in Carol Dougherty and Leslie Kurke, eds., Cultural Poetics in Archaic Greece (Cambridge), pp. 47-49. 182

Antonaccio, 1993, pp. 52, 55, 62.

183

Antonaccio, 1995, pp. 199-207.

184

Antonaccio, 1995, p. 1.

185

Jeffery, 1976, p. 57.

Kind may he come to our feast. Let him bring two guests and more, the bull's blood is poured unstinted."186 Low,

circular

Protogeometric

and

platforms Late

first

Geometric

appeared

periods

during

inside

the

Bronze-Age

graves at Prosymna, Argos and Mycenae.187 Platforms also appeared in other Iron Age contexts -- in association with a sanctuary at Miletus,

houses

and

an

old

city

wall

at

Troy

VIII,

in

a

chieftain's house at Nichoria, near cemeteries at Asine and at Grotta on Naxos and as part of the burial monument (heroon) in the Toumba area of Lefkandi (for selected plans, see Figs. 15 and 16).188

To

these,

as

asserted

above,

I

would

add the

platforms in the Xeropolis settlement at Lefkandi. At

Naxos,

platforms

built

near

graves

continued

to

be

replaced after the graves disappeared from view. Lambrinoudakis suggests that this cult activity elevated the dead to positions of

legendary

family

founders.189

At

Troy,

28

platforms

with

186

As quoted in Jeffery, 1976, p. 57.

187

Antonaccio, 1995, p. 141.

188

Antonaccio, 1995, pp. 199-205, and Hägg, 1983, pp. 189-194.

189

Lambrinoudakis, 1988, p. 235.

accompanying drinking vessels (kantharoi, one-handled cups and kraters) were distinguished.190 Antonaccio suggests that the circles -- at least at Asine, Naxos, Mycenae, Nichoria and perhaps at the Lefkandi heroon -may be associated with ritual meals, and that ancestor/hero cult supplied the unifying theme.191 She also stresses that ancestor worship

is

exists.

However,

evidence

not

of

to

be

inferred

ritual

platforms

meals in

wherever can

be

domestic

a

circular

inferred,

platform

given

the

contexts, the ritually

broken cups192 and the pits containing the ashes of presumably ritually eaten meals. The platforms are all too low to have been used as tables and, in the case of multiple platforms, are often too close together as well. This leads to the suggestion that they were used only for offerings of food and drink for the heroic dead. I

suspect

the

wine

cups

were

broken

against

the

platforms,

allowing the wine to run over them. The channels, then, may have been intended to catch or direct the flow of wine to keep it within these hallowed spots. The scenario of ritually offered food fits the platforms at Asine and Nichoria particularly well,

190

Antonaccio, 1995, pp. 202-203.

191

Antonaccio, 1995, p. 205.

192

Antonaccio, 1995, p. 207.

Antonaccio

points

out,

since

charcoal

and

animal

bones

were

collected and buried nearby.193 As Hägg sums up the evidence, circular stone structures appear

in

five

characteristics.

different They

are

contexts

not

that

hearths,

though

share

certain

burned

matter

often appears on or near them. Some are plastered. Animal bones appear

at

some,

drinking

vessels

at

others.194

I

find

it

remarkable that platforms are sometimes found atop non-funerary ruins, such as at Troy, Lefkandi and Naxos.195 This suggests to me Antonaccio's

"ancestral

yearning"

or

a

yearning

for

and

memorialization of an illustrious past, and perhaps not only of heroes. Antonaccio notes that platforms are rare after the eighth century, but nowhere in previously published literature is a later example cited than at Naxos, where, by the beginning of the sixth century B.C., the platforms had been abandoned and cult

activity

was

taking

place

on

a

tumulus

built

over

the

platforms.196 Halai, therefore, has the latest examples known of such cult platforms. 193

Antonaccio, 1995, p. 205.

194

Hägg, 1983, p. 192.

195

And possibly in Trench A1 at Halai.

196

Lambrinoudakis, 1988, p. 244.

Naxos

also

provides

the

clearest

sequential

picture

of

tomb, anonymous hero, ancestor and possibly founder cults. The evidence

begins

with

Late

Protogeometric

cist

graves,

accompanied by copious remains of pyres and sherds, dug into the debris

of

a

Late

Helladic

IIIC

habitation

site.

This

was

followed in the Geometric era with the building of short, angled walls (which Lambrinoudakis calls enclosures), in the angle of which cist graves and low, square or circular benches of clay, plaster and pebbles (or just pebbles) were found.197 By

the

Middle

Geometric

era

the

enclosures

no

longer

contained graves, and pyres became rare. The square platforms became circular, slightly raised and made of stones and pebbles (or just strewn pebbles). Accompanying them were fragments of fine drinking vessels, a few metal objects, spindle whorls, some animal bones and seashells. Lambrinoudakis associates the Naxian platforms

directly

with

those

at

Asine,

Mycenae,

Troy

and

Nichoria in terms of form, dimension (1.0-2.2 m. in diameter), context and date.198 No graves have been found (as yet) in the area of the Halai platforms,

but

in

our

largest

trenches

197

the

original

Archaic

Lambrinoudakis, 1988, p. 238. The angled enclosures depicted by Lambrinoudakis (figs. 2, 6 and 9) resemble the angled yard wall in Trench A4, which was not excavated to its original occupation level. 198

Lambrinoudakis, 1988, pp. 238-239.

levels were reached in only two small test pits. It also may be significant that the temple precinct is nearby. On the other hand, Malkin, citing examples at Megara Hyblaea, Cyrene, Thasos, Poseidonia and possibly at Gela,199 gives evidence that founders were

buried

agoras.

at

major

crossroads

in

or

at

the

entrances

to

More excavation is necessary to determine whether an

agora lay in the northern portion of the Halai acropolis. It is safe to say that founder cult coincided with the age of colonization. Malkin argues that it appeared first -- in some sort of heroic or princely burials -- in colonies.200 Heroization of the oikist began with his death, which also marked the end of the city's foundation process, since no one was appointed to replace him.201 In life, Malkin asserts, the oikist attained far-reaching powers. After obtaining the sanction of an oracle and with the help

of

Apollo's and

professional

divination,

representative,

military

leader.

He

but

the

king,

chose

the

oikist

lawgiver, site

of

became priest, the

not

only

mediator

new

polis,

supervised the transfer of fire from the mother-city, selected

199

Malkin, Irad, 1987: Religion and Colonization in Ancient Greece (Leiden), pp. 211-216. Also see Jeffery, 1976, p. 57. 200

Malkin, 1987, p. 263.

201

Malkin, 1987, pp. 3, 13, 265.

the

sacred

precinct,

established

the

new

social

order

and

presided over the distribution of land.202 Parallels in the growth of colonization, the rise of poleis seeking

to

define

their

territory

and

the

establishment

of

founder cult are adduced by Antonaccio,203 Snodgrass,204 Bowden205 and Malkin.206 Snodgrass polis

and

practice

the of

repatriating

also

draws

switch seeking

the

parallels

to

arable

recourse

remains

of

between

farming. in

local

the heroes

the

rise

of

the

points

to

the

legendary

past

by

(or

inventing

He

even

worthy ancestors when none existed) in order to strengthen land claims.207 Perhaps the early Haliotes -- or even the founder, seeking to assert his position -- acted similarly.

202

Malkin, 1987, pp. 5, 7, 8, 10, 88, 185, and Jeffery, 1976, p. 56. 203

Antonaccio, 1995, p. 268.

204

Snodgrass, Anthony, 1980: Archaic Greece (:) The Age of Experiment (London), p. 39. 205

Bowden, Hugh, 1995: "Hoplites and Homer: Warfare, Hero Cult, and the Ideology of the Polis" in J. Rich and G. Shipley, eds., War and Society in the Greek World (reprint, London), p. 52. 206

207

Malkin, 1987, pp. 12-13.

Cf. Snodgrass (1980, p. 38) in the example of Kimon repatriating the bones of Theseus from Skyros, resulting in a "sensational political success" (Plutarch, Life of Theseus, XXXVI.1-2, and Life of Kimon, VIII.3-6).

Drawing

a

final

parallel

with

Halai,

evidence

of

a

conception of cities as a whole, manifested in an orthogonal (Hippodamian) layout of cities, also is seen at this time.208 As cited in Chapter I, Coleman adduces such a grid plan for Halai, using

as

evidence

two

cross-streets

that

bisect

the

main

northwest-southeast avenue at right angles.209 The only obvious exception to a grid treatment at Halai is the

First

Temple's

outdoor

altar,

which

is

oriented

almost

exactly east-west.210 Malkin cites Metapontion, Naxos and Himera as examples of cities with temple areas that ignore otherwise orthogonal

designs.

He

suggests

that

planners

dared

not

incorporate them into the design because they were considered sacred from the outset.211 Thus at Halai we have the phenomenon of four (or more) circular stone platforms similar to those documented at a number of sites ranging in date from the Protogeometric to the Late Geometric

eras.

Though

later

than

the

others

and

somewhat

smaller than many, they share common characteristics. They're associated with probably ritually broken drinking vessels. At 208

Malkin, 1987, p. 184.

209

Coleman, in preparation.

210

Coleman, 1992, p. 275.

211

Malkin, 1987, pp. 163-164.

least two (Features B and C) were capped with a layer of clay. They are not hearths. One was built after another, attesting to consecutive

and

ongoing

reminiscent

of

a

use.

A

slab-capped

capped pit

ash

pit

accompanying

lay

nearby,

three

cult

platforms at Asine.212 Unique to Halai are the shiny shells embedded in a layer of clay over one of the platforms (Feature B), though clay caps are reported elsewhere, notably at Troy.213

While the channel around

Feature C is unique, it may well correspond with the parallel grooves cutting through three of the platforms at Lefkandi. The fact

that

the

platforms

appeared

shortly

after

Halai's

foundation as a new mainland city is unparalleled, though the era of colonization and rise of the polis to which hero/founder worship is linked had not ended. The fact that Halai was a new foundation

in

the

early

Archaic

era

lends

support

to

identification of the platforms as the sites of city-founder heroization. Most fortuitous, perhaps, is that the four platforms in Trench A3 are unmistakable. As at Asine, they were not cut into by

later

construction

or

built

into

or

atop

earlier

debris.

Isolated as they are, they cannot be misconstrued as part of 212

Though the ash pit at Asine contained animal bones (cf. Hägg, 1983, p. 190), which are absent at Halai. 213

Hägg, 1983, p. 191.

something else. Future excavation at other Geometric and Archaic sites linked

could to

well hero

result worship.

in

identification

Additionally,

I

of

more

suspect

platforms that

re-

examination of old excavations, such as Xeropolis at Lefkandi -keeping the possibility of hero cult in mind -- also would bear fruit.

CHAPTER V SUMMARY More than 4,500 years after it was abandoned in the Late Neolithic

era,

Halai

was

reoccupied

as

a

small

city

in

the

narrow coastal strip of East (Opuntian) Lokris on the Northern Euboean Gulf. At this dawn of the Archaic era, the Greek world was

in

a

period

of

innovation

and

turmoil.

The

age

of

colonization was nearing an end, the city-states were growing and prospering and, one might say, politics and democracy were being invented. Internally, strife

as

Sparta

sought

the

Athens to

era

was

struggled expand.

marked

with

by

the

social

notion

Externally,

the

and

of

political

equality

Persian

Empire

and was

absorbing Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor. At the end, a huge Persian force swept through Northern and Central Greece, and

one

Greek

city

after

another

capitulated

as

it

passed.

Athens was overrun not once, but twice. In response, the Greeks coalesced repulsed

into the

a

tactically

barbarians

--

superior proving

not

force only

and

ultimately

Greek

military

superiority, but a national identity. Though ancient sources are silent on her welfare, Halai, which lay on a

major land and sea corridor, could not help but

be affected by these forces. Beneath the little city on the Bay of Atalante, the land also was in turmoil. For millennia the sea

has been slowly rising, the result of glacial melt and a deep, tilting plate. Encroaching at the rate of some six centimeters every 100 years since her foundation, the sea today laps at Halai's fortification walls. A maze of surface and subterranean fault lines criss-crossing the area has ensured a bumpy ride as well. After sporadic excavations by Goldman while archaeology was in its infancy and three recent campaigns by Coleman, Archaic Halai is beginning to yield her secrets. Our evidence is almost entirely artifactual but, based on Halai's geographic position and

her

new

foundation

in

the

era

of

colonization,

some

plausible scenarios can be drawn. Foremost is Halai's possible role as a provisioner. The Euboean

Gulf

undoubtedly

attracted

much

if

not

most

of

the

north-south shipping as marine commerce grew in pace and volume. Athens

probably

prompted

most

of

this

activity

as

she

increasingly sought grain, timber and slaves from her northern colonies. There is no evidence that Halai took part in marine transport, so any role she played was probably ancillary. The most obvious possibility is that the East Lokrians -perhaps directed by Opous -- saw the broad, protected Bay of Atalante as a means to tap into the potentially lucrative stream of

ships.

Flat-bottomed

warships

could

easily

be

beached

on

Halai's gently sloping shores. Nearby were alluvial valleys in

which

abundant

produce

could

be

grown.

A

constant

supply

of

sweet water was available in the adjacent Bay of Vivos. So it is easy to visualize Halai as both a provisioner and toll-mistress of ships lying in her bay awaiting passage through the usually windy Diavlos Oreon Gulf or the narrows of Chalkis. A possibly piratic

citizenry

also

may

have

found

marine

transport

too

tempting to ignore. That

warships

provisioning

is

and

well

merchantmen attested.

alike

Triremes,

frequently

sought

pentekonters

and

triakonters were all built for speed, with nearly all available space

reserved

for

great

numbers

of

oarsmen.

Large,

round-

bottomed merchantmen certainly had room for food and water, but literary and shipwreck evidence alike suggest that their crews, too, pulled ashore to cook and buy fresh food or prepared meals whenever possible.214 A clue to Halai's probable non-participation in shipping may lie in the fact that all of East Lokris supplied only seven pentekonters -- an outdated type of warship frequently modified for merchant cargoes -- for the battle against the Persians off Artemision in 480 B.C.215 As one of a half-dozen or so coastal

214

Cf. Thucydides XIX.45, Katzev, 1972, p. 50, and Casson, 1995, p. 268. 215

Herodotus VIII.1.

cities in East Lokris, Halai may well have provided one or more of them. With her prominent position on the Northern Euboean Gulf and a possible reputation as a provisioner, Halai also may have been a victim of maurauding Persian sailors bound from Histiaea to Athens in 480 B.C. About a day's sail southwest of Histiaea, Halai would have made a tempting landfall for a Persian fleet short on temper and long on appetite after losing an appreciable number of supply ships in the storm off Pelion.216 Though Casson unaccountably suggests the Persians traveled around-the-clock on the final leg of their journey to Athens,217 this is highly unlikely on three counts. The first is literary evidence that attests to day-and-night travel only in cases of emergency.218 Second was the need for water, particularly on the part of the Persian oarsmen. Transfer of heavy water jugs from merchantman to warship as the fleet slowly made its way south through the gulf seems unlikely. Further evidence is provided by Herodotus, who tells us that after the battle off Artemision departing Greek ships left messages on rocks (urging medized Greeks to defect) where the Persians were most likely to land

216

Herodotus VII.191.

217

Casson, 1971, p. 294.

218

Supra, note 90.

for water.219 Third is the fact that, using Casson's reasonable calculation of three

nautical

miles

per

hour,220

the

Persians

would have confronted the Greek fleet at Athens after spending four nights sleeping in shifts on cramped benches and nearly five

full

days

at

sea.

It

is

doubtful

that

Persian

fleet

commanders, on the eve of reaching their ultimate target, would have allowed exhausted crews to attempt it. There

is

only

suggestive

archaeological

evidence

for

a

Persian landfall at Halai -- a temple brought to ruin ca. 480 B.C. in Area F, a probably associated lens of burned material stretching into Area A and a group of smashed amphorae whose one positively identified member dates to ca. 480 B.C.221 Meanwhile, both

direct

Persian

archaeological

destructions

of

and

literary

nearby

Kalapodi,

evidence Hyampolis

attests and

to

Abae,

while buckled foundations at Kyparissi, lying between them and Halai, strongly suggest an earthquake at roughly the same time.222 The difficulty at Halai lies in distinguishing between Persian destruction and earthquake damage.

219

Herodotus VIII.22.

220

Casson, 1971, p. 294.

221

Supra, note 139.

222

Supra, note 109.

The answer is not to be found at this point among other cities lying along the coast of the Euboean Gulf. The only other well-excavated site on the Northern Euboean Gulf is Kynos, where Roman constructions obliterated all evidence of the Archaic era. Along the Southern Euboean Gulf, too few Archaic sites have been excavated and, of those that were, few have been published, most inadequately. No publications that I've seen made reference to a destruction ca. 480 B.C.223 Compelling

as

the

evidence

of

Kyparissi's

buckled

foundations might be, one must be particularly cautious here. Dakoronia, who has not fully published this excavation, suggests in a 1990 report that the damage at Kyparissi was due to either the well-attested earthquake of 426 B.C. or to some previously unrecorded earthquake of ca. 480 B.C. -- an unreasonable gap of 54

years.224

In

personal

communication

with

me

in

1995,

she

asserted that it fell ca. 480 B.C.225 Yet in communication with Stiros in 1985, she contrarily asserted that she found no sherds at Kyparissi dating to later than 540 B.C.226

223

Supra, note 121.

224

Dakoronia, 1990, p. 179.

225

Dakoronia, pers. comm.

226

Supra, note 108.

Though frequent

in

earthquakes the

and

Northern

tectonic Euboean

activity Gulf,

are

relatively

ancient

historians

recorded no such activity in the region around the end of the Archaic era. This leaves open the possibility that Kyparissi's foundations were buckled later than 480 B.C., even if the city were deserted by then because of a Persian rout. Examination of Kyparissi's pottery would be enlightening, but so far I have not been allowed to see it. One might be tempted to assume that a temblor sufficient to bring down the stoa at Kyparissi would affect Halai as well. But given the maze of fault lines in the region, and with Kyparissi and Halai lying on opposite sides of a major surface fault,227 that assumption should not be lightly made. Indeed, it is also possible that Halai, and perhaps Kyparissi, suffered from both an earthquake and Persian attack. Examination

of

sample

pottery

from

the

First

Temple

precinct (see Appendix) suggests a variety of dates between ca. 600 and 480 B.C., consistent with a deposit accumulated over the lifetime of the temple. As asserted earlier, the smashed amphora group in Trench A5 is securely dated to ca. 480 B.C., and none of the drinking vessels from Trench A3 -- all of which were

227

Cf. Stiros, et al, 1985, fig. 2.

found beneath the burned gray lens over the stone platforms -can be safely dated much later than 480 B.C. Yet again, suggestive as this is, it attests only to a destructive

event

ca.

480

B.C.

equal

to

the

capabilities

of

either the Persians or an earthquake. It does not distinguish between them. Only further excavation at Halai and elsewhere, and

perhaps

close

examination

of

the

Goldman

materials

now

nearly inaccessible at Thebes, may yield further clues. In his choice of language,

Herodotus suggests a rampage by the Persian

fleet at Histiaea and environs.228 Whether the fleet rampaged its way through the Euboean Gulf is unknown, though precedent may have been set. Thus, given the negative evidence of a lack of recorded earthquakes in the gulf at the time, the possibility of a

Persian

rout

at

Halai

should

remain

open.

But

short

of

discovering a Persian wreck bristling with Greek arrowheads off Halai's shores, we may never know. At the opposite extreme, there is compelling evidence that the four (or possibly more) stone platforms in Trench A3, were used for ritual, and the coincidence of Halai's new foundation in the late seventh century strongly suggests that hero/founder worship ancestor

228

was

practiced

worship

also

Herodotus XIII.23.

here. has

A been

pattern

of

suggested

hero at

or

Naxos,

heroized Asine,

Mycenae,

Troy,

Miletus

and

Lefkandi,

where

similar

platforms

have been found.229 The Haliote platforms, each of slightly different shape and of consecutive use, seem to date from the later sixth and early fifth centuries judging from ritually broken drinking vessels found

among

them

(see

Appendix).

Earlier

platforms

may

well

underlie these, however, and other possible cult platforms were found in Trenches A1 and A4.230 In Trench A3, the preponderence of drinking vessels, which can be largely mended from the scattered sherds, suggests that ritual meals were eaten here in honor of the

heroized

dead.

A

small

pit,

capped

by

three

stones

and

containing only gray, ashy material, lay immediately northwest of Feature (platform) C, probably the refuse of ritual meals.231 More fragments of the vessels, and possibly more ash pits, will likely surface upon further excavation. The varying shapes and elevations of the platforms attest to consecutive use, as one also finds at Troy, Mycenae, Grotta on

Naxos

and

Lefkandi.232

Seemingly

unique

to

the

Haliote

platforms are shells embedded in clay atop Feature B and the 229

Hägg, 1983, pp. 189-192.

230

Supra note 173..

231

See Hägg, 1983, p. 190, and Popham, et al, 1980, for similar ash pits. 232

Supra, note 156.

pp. 24-25,

channel formed by a ring of upright stones around Feature C. Excavators

at

Asine

and

elsewhere

noted

shells

accompanying

platforms,233 though not in this suggestively votive context. As for the channel around Feature C, I propose that it was used for directed

dissemination

of

libations

poured

in

honor

of

the

heroized dead, much as I believe the parallel grooves in three stone platfoms at Lefkandi were meant to do.234 Like Feature B, there was evidence of a clay cap or clay plaster over Feature C. This treatment parallels that of some of the platforms at Troy and Lefkandi.235 Round (though on rare occasion square) platforms of stone or occasionally of clay or pebbles are common to all of the above-named

sites.

Associated

with

most

were

ritually

broken

drinking vessels and ash pits that in some cases still contained evidence

of

presumably

ritually

eaten

meals.

Excavators

note

evidence of burning at most, but insist that the platforms were not hearths.236 Ritualized use of graves and non-grave sites in the ancient Greek world is well established in literary and archaeological

233

Supra, note 156.

234

Popham, et al., 1980, pp. 24-25.

235

Supra, note 158.

236

Hägg, 1983, p. 192.

sources.

Beginning

around

the

10th

century

B.C.,

tomb

cults

emerged in the Argolid, Messinia and elsewhere.237 To place the so-called "archaeology of ancestors" in context, cult activity at tombs first seems to have been manifested by deposits of Geometric pottery in anonymous Mycenaean graves built 500-400 years earlier.238 The connection between the earliest tomb cult and worship of known, local heroes is unclear, though a theory by Snodgrass and others that the rise of local heroes was a means

to

authenticate

the

distribution

of

land

and

other

resources is widely accepted.239 Also

well

attested

in

literature

is

the

heroization

of

founders (oikists) whose duties were to choose the site of the new polis, supervise the transfer of sacred fire, establish the new social order and preside over the distribution of land.240 Oikists assumed the duties of king, lawgiver, priest, mediator and military leader, and in death, as Antonaccio attests, were publicly worshipped, feared, invoked and commemorated.241

237

Supra, note 147.

238

Alcock, Susan E., 1991: "Tomb Cult and the Post-Classical Polis" in AJA 95, pp. 447-448. 239

Supra, note 204. Also see Alcock, 1991, pp. 447-448.

240

Supra, note 199.

241

Supra, note 181.

As Malkin has shown us, oikists often were buried at major crossroads or at the entrances to agoras.242 But as Hägg and Lambrinoudakis

attest,

while

platforms

may

be

located

near

graves, they were not necessarily built in strict relationship to them.243 As mentioned earlier, no grave was found in Trench A3, but

neither

reached

has

except

the in

earliest

a

test

Archaic

pit.

occupation

Further

level

excavation

been

will

be

necessary to determine whether Trenches A3 and A5 are associated with the temple precinct, an agora or civic use. Given the abundant recent evidence linking stone, pebble and clay platforms with hero cult, I would urge that the stone and pebble platforms at the Xeropolis settlement at Lefkandi -three of which have been termed granaries -- be reexamined. As asserted

earlier,

platforms libations, probably

could much was

parallel

easily as

the

intended.

have

grooves been

channel Evidently

in

the

so-called

used

for

directed

around

Feature

C

in

consecutive

granary flow

at use,

of

Halai and

associated with ash pits and several other platforms of stone and pebbles,244 the "granaries," along with the other platforms, are in my view better seen as evidence of hero cult.

242

Supra, note 199.

243

Hägg, 1983, p. 189, and Lambrinoudakis, 1988, p. 235.

244

Supra, notes 167-171.

Hero cult coincides with the great era of colonization, which was nearly at an end at the time Halai was founded. A product

of

the

Geometric

era,

cult

platforms

seem

to

have

disappeared elsewhere at this point. With the exception of the Haliote

platforms,

the

latest

known

are

at

Naxos,

where

a

tumulus had replaced them by the beginning of the Archaic era.245 Their appearance at Halai at such a late date was surely the result

of

her

special

circumstances,

including

her

late

foundation (possibly as a "colony" of Opous), a need to assert her

consolidation

and

urbanization

and

as

a

means

of

strengthening land claims. Only with further excavation will Halai's role during the tumultuous

Archaic

era

be

more

fully

understood.

Resumed

underwater exploration should reveal her harborworks and hint at her

role

in

the

vital

marine-transport

industry.

On

the

acropolis, it is crucial that the earliest Archaic levels be exposed,

without

which

an

adequate

understanding

of

Halai's

foundation cannot be derived. Excavation between Areas A and F would show us how their suggestive stratigraphies are linked and yield more information on the First Temple precinct. With the exposure of more foundations, a clearer picture may emerge as to whether the First Temple was leveled by earthquake or whether

245

Supra, note 189.

Halai played her own minor role in the Persian invasion of 480 B.C. And continued excavation in Area A, which has the best Archaic exposures, would surely make a significant contribution to our understanding of early Greek cult practice.

APPENDIX CATALOGUE 1. TRENCH A5 At

least

shattered

five

pottery

amphorae

in

were

Trench

A5,

included

in

including

the

the

group

of

Corinthian

A

transport vessel (B1) dated to ca. 480 B.C.246 The debris was removed in four groups roughly corresponding to location and type of material. The amphora group contained the toe of only one of these vessels, suggesting that they probably had been resting on wooden stands that have since disappeared. If the amphora

toes

had

been

buried

in

the

ground,

the

other

toes

probably would have been recovered. With the amphorae were five lids,

four

of

which

were

fashioned

by

chipping

roof-tile

fragments into rough ovals that fit within the necks of the amphorae. The fifth lid (B6) is flat, round and incised with simple geometric triangles around its outer edge. Accomanying the amphorae were fragments of at least four oinochoai, each of a different style, of the Late Archaic era. A few curved, plain, thin-walled

sherds

that

also

were

part

of

the

debris

may

constitute the remains of one or more additional oinochoai. AMPHORAE 246

Only three of the amphorae were partly glued. The others had too little diagnostic material (rims, necks, handles, shoulders) for a satisfactory analysis. Oddly, the toe was present only in the case of B1.

B1 (H93-930), Fig. 17. Fragments scattered in Groups 1 and 3, with a few from A5c(25)158 and A5c(19)116. Possibly complete. Rim, neck, partial shoulder and one handle glued. H. est. 0.72 m., D. of rim 0.175, W. est. 0.57 m., Th. 0.007, Wt. (of glued portion and remaining sherds) 7.125 k., H. of neck (with rim) 0.125 m., H. of toe 0.043 m., D. of toe 0.074. Coarse fabric tempered with jagged bits of probable mudstone (strong reddishbrown),247 tiny pebbles, lime-like flecks and elongated voids suggesting organic temper; fired gray at the core. Oatmealcolored and -textured exterior, Munsell 5YR 7/4; interior Munsell 7.5 YR 7/4. Horizontal, overhanging rim with flat surfaces, outer edge angled slightly outward. Round handles, pinched at top, oval where handles touch rim, with letters "Alpha Rho" inscribed after firing near top of one handle. Cylindrical neck, flattened shoulder, spherical body and cylindrical toe. Corinthian A-style transport amphora, ca. 500480 B.C.248 Corinthian A amphorae are distinguished by a consistently globular body (while the trend elsewhere is to narrow, elongated forms) and a hard orange clay, often fired gray at the core, with a sizeable amount of temper, primarily mudstone.249 The temper in B1 closely resembles mudstone contained in Corinthian A amphorae made of clay from Neogene sediments that do not naturally contain mudstone,250 strongly suggesting that it was added as temper. Koehler asserts that the rougher fabric of Type A amphorae suggests a connection with oil, while the Type B

247

A blocky, fine-grained sedimentary rock with approximately equal proportions of clay and silt, cf. Bates, R.L., and Jackson, J.A., 1984: Dictionary of Geological Terms (third edition, American Geological Institute, New York), p. 340. 248

See Grace, 1961, fig. 35, left, for parallel fractional amphora identical in all other respects but for a vertical edge to the rim. This smaller version comes from a well in the Athenian Agora containing Persian destruction debris. Also see Shear, 1993, p. 451 and fig. 8. 249

250

Koehler, 1978, pp. 2-3.

Whitbread, Ian K., 1986: "The Application of Ceramic Petrology to the Study of Ancient Greek Amphorae" in BCH, Suppl. XII, pp. 97, 99.

amphorae, of a finer fabric, may have held wine.251 The initials inscribed on one handle may be those of a distributor, since the potter would likely inscribe his own before firing. B2 (H93-931). Fig. 17. Most fragments from Group 3, with a few from A5c(25) 158 and A5c(19)116. Partial vessel. Fragments of neck, rim, one handle (though both are present) and partial shoulder glued. D. of rim 0.180 m., H. of neck (with rim) 0.11 m., Th. 0.007, Wt. (of mended portion and remaining sherds) 5.35 k. Medium-coarse, pink fabric (Munsell 5 YR 7/4), with heavy pink lime incrustation (Munsell 7.5 YR 7/4) on exterior, part of interior and some breaks. Molded rim; concave neck; short, cylindrical, sloping, oval handles with thumb impressions where handles join neck and shoulder; curving shoulder; apparently spherical body. Transport amphora, probably late sixth or early fifth century. Koehler, who viewed drawings and slides of B2 and B3, was unable to identify either amphora, except to venture that B2 is probably not Corinthian.252 She also indicated that thumb impressions on Corinthian vessels occur only on eighth-century examples. (For further discussion, see commentary for B3.) B3 (H93-932). Fig. 17. Fragments from Group 4. Partial vessel, Rim, neck, partial shoulder and handles glued. D. of rim 0.165 m., H. of neck (including rim) 0.096 m., Th. 0.007 m., Wt. (of mended portion and remaining sherds) 2.35 k. Fairly fine reddish-yellow fabric (Munsell 5 YR 7/6) with light-pink incrustation (Munsell 5 YR 7/4); tempered with same probable mudstone as B1, tiny pebbles, lime-like flecks and elongated voids suggesting burned organic inclusions. Depressions at shoulder on interior smeared with additional clay before firing. Molded rim (flaring slightly more than that on B2); convex neck; long, oval, broadly curving handles with finger depressions where handles join shoulder; curving shoulder; apparently spherical body. Transport amphora, possibly Corinthian, probably late sixth, early fifth century. An earlier suggestion by Koehler that B2 and B3 might be Geometric Corinthian amphorae seems improbable. No Geometric remains have been found on the Halai acropolis. Further, the 251

Koehler, 1978, pp. 5-6. She also suggests that the dense, hard clay, used in the fifth and fourth centuries for lamps and other oil-bearing vessels, would have been effective against erosion caused by oil and would have decreased porosity (p. 6). 252

Koehler, pers. comm., April 1996.

rims on B2 and B3 are well developed, while the rims on Corinthian amphorae of the Geometric era are simple and everted.253 A potentially strong connection between B1 and B3 is seen in the use of apparently similar mudstone, since mudstone is both quite distinctive and very rare outside of Corinth.254 Koehler notes considerable variation in the curve of the handle, angle of its slant and even the profile of the amphora body between the late sixth and early fifth centuries,255 "but not enough to accommodate" B2 or B3.256 Since the later trend in amphorae is away from the bulging spheres of the late sixth and early fifth centuries,257 it is safe to suggest that neither B2 nor B3 postdates B1. The apparent mudstone inclusions in B3 suggest that a Corinthian provenience could be considered. OINOCHOAI B4 (H92-898). Fig. 18. Fragments from Group 2 and A5c(21)124. Partial neck and shoulder fragments (glued). D. 080 m., Th. 0.008 m., Fine, light reddish-brown fabric (Munsell 5 YR 6/4) with gray/black-glazed neck (Munsell 7.5 YR 3/0); semi-glossy light-red body (Munsell 2.5 YR 6/6) with gray/black (turning to blue) pattern of leaves (or perhaps a flower) arranged around a circlet on shoulder just below neck. Interior unglazed. Vertical neck; flattened shoulder. Round-mouthed oinochoe, ca. 550-480 B.C.258

253

Contrast, for example, with Pfaff, Christopher A., 1988: "A Geometric Well at Corinth: Well 1981-6" in Hesperia 57, nos. 68 and C-72-162, fig. 22. 254

Koehler, pers. comm., April 1996.

255

Koehler, 1978, pp. 9, 15.

256

Koehler, pers. comm., April 1996.

257

Cf. Koehler, 1978, plates 15-16, and Lawall, Mark L., 1995: Transport Amphoras and Trademarks: Imports to Athens and Economic Diversity in the Fifth Century B.C. (Ph.D. diss., The University of Michigan), figs. 9-103. 258

Cf. Sparkes, Brian A., and Talcott, Lucy, 1970: Black and Plain Pottery of the 6th, 5th and 4th Centuries B.C., The Athenian Agora, Vol. XII, Part 2 (Princeton), nos. 1145-1149, pl. 8.

B5 (H93-926). Fig. 18. Fragments from A5c(19)116 and A5c(18)115 (the latter next to Wall BM, Sq. M. 8). About 70 percent complete (base missing). H. est. 0.14 m., D. interior rim approx. 0.042 m., W. 0.010 m., Th. 0.003 m. Fine, reddish-yellow fabric (Munsell 5 YR 6/6) with black-glazed body fired to streaky red and brown; reserve band at bottom. Interior glazed only inside neck (black faded to red). Trefoil rim; narrow neck; low strap handle; oval body. Chous-shaped oinochoe, ca. 480-450 B.C.259 LID B6 (H92-738). Fig. 18. Fragments (two) from A5c(21)139. About three-fifths complete. H. (with broken knob) 0.015 m., D. 0.150 m., Th. 0.008 m. Somewhat coarse pink fabric (Munsell 5 YR 7/4), with tiny, smooth pebble inclusions. Flat lid with broken knob at center and incised decoration. Top, from outside: groove, band of awkwardly incised triangles, groove, band with flat profile, groove, band with flat profile, knob. Amphora lid; date uncertain, but probably late sixth or early fifth century.260

2. TRENCH A3 Items

selected

for

this

portion

of

the

catalogue

are

drinking and votive vessels associated with cult activities at the

stone

platforms

discussed

in

Chapter

IV.

Considerable

portions of the vessels were retrieved, making it probable that they

were

excavation

ritually in

Trench

broken. A3,

I

joining

suspect pieces

that, will

with be

further

found.

The

sample pieces probably all date to the later sixth or early

259

On the strength of the dates for the other vessels in this group, I would date this oinochoe no later than 480 B.C. For similar oinochoai, see Sparkes, et al., 1970, Part 2, nos. 109 and 112, pl. 6. 260

Resembles Classical lid (though half its size) in Coleman, John E., 1986: Excavations at Pylos in Elis (Hesperia, Suppl. XXI,), fig. D304, pl. 48.

fifth

centuries.

earlier

cult

Sherds

platforms

of may

vessels have

ritually

been

broken

collected

and

at

the

buried

elsewhere in antiquity. To preserve the platforms, the earliest Archaic levels in this trench were not excavated except in a test pit in the north corner. SKYPHOS B7 (H93-921). Fig. 19. Fragments from A3b(28)120 and A3c(47)193. About three-quarters complete. D. rim 0.150 m., H. 0.105 m., W. (including handles) 0.220 m. D. base 0.055 m., Th. 0.004. Fine, reddish-yellow fabric; fabric and slip Munsell 5 YR 6/6. Black glaze has metallic sheen. Narrow purple band on interior of everted rim. Black band on exterior of rim, with two narrow purple bands in reserve zone of handle area. Black handles have slight upward thrust. Deep bowl, curving in slightly at top. Black zone beneath handles; incision at top of low foot; narrow reserve band at base. Black-glazed skyphos, probably Attic import, last quarter of the sixth century.261 This skyphos has a shape similar to Komast cups of the first quarter of the sixth century, but the simple, careless decoration is reminiscent of later Siana and lip cups. The latter have high feet; our low-based version pushes it toward the end of the sixth century.262 MINIATURE KOTYLE B8 (H93-925). Fig. 19. Fragments from A3b(33)155. Nearly complete. D. rim 0.062 m., D base 0.023, H. 0.070, W. (with handles) 0.0185, Th. 0.0025. Black-glazed, deteriorating to red on upper half of body; very deteriorated black paint on interior. Handles drooping slightly. Hastily painted with vertical strokes beneath rim, three bands around body, one on low base. Black paint on underside of base, with reserve circle at center. Corinthian, votive kotyle, sixth century. Miniature kotylai are present throughout the sixth century with little variation in pattern and shape. Widely distributed, they are found from South Russia to Marseilles, with more than

261

Cf. Sparkes et al., 1970, Part 1, pp. 88-89, and Part 2, nos. 378 and 380, pl. 18. 262

Sparkes, et al., 1970, Part 1, pp 88-89.

14,000 recovered at Lokroi.263 Our kotyle and those from Lokroi are among the larger variety.264 COLUMN KRATER B9 (H93-924). Fig. 19. Fragments from A3b(28)120, A3b(28)130, A3b(29)131 and A3b(30)133 (the east quadrant and Test Pit a). About two-thirds complete; missing base and most of lower body. D. exterior rim 0.279 m., D interior rim 0.245 m., H. pres. 0.199 m., W (including handles) 0.325 m. Fine light-red fabric with crushed-shell temper, Munsell 2.5 YR 6/6. Exterior somewhat incrusted. Black glaze deteriorating to red, particularly on rays near base; slip Munsell 5 YR 7/4. Interior black, deteriorating to brown. Flat, black-glazed rim with narrow purple and white bands. Zig-zag pattern painted in white on flat, broadened rim at top of spreading handles. Top portion of body black, with two purple bands, separated by reserve band, at lower center. Large, clumsily painted rays extend upward from (missing) base in bottom quarter. Corinthianizing, black-glazed column krater, probably late sixth century. The column krater, introduced in Corinth in the late seventh century, became the preeminent large vase in the first quarter of the sixth century. Development is toward a narrower body and higher neck.265 Based primarily on the broad rays (in contrast with the tightly spaced. narrow rays of later vessels) with the tightly spaced, narrow rays of later vessels),266 I suspect the krater is a hastily executed Corinthian export dating to the last quarter of the sixth century. OINOCHOE 263

Payne, Humfry, 1931: Necrocorinthia (:) A Study of Corinthian Art in the Archaic Period (Oxford), pp. 334-335. 264

See Hayes, John, 1966: "The Pottery (:) General Remarks" in J. Boardman and J. Hayes, Excavations at Tocra 1963-1965 (:) The Archaic Deposits I (Oxford), p. 26, nos. 533-537, 454-458, pl. 27, for smaller and larger votive kotylai and the progression in painting styles. 265

Cf. Cook, 1960, p. 251. For an earlier version of the column krater (ca. 600 B.C.) with broader shoulders and a slightly shorter neck, see Cook, fig. 12c. 266

For the later rays, see Sparkes, et al., 1970, Part 2, no. 58, pl. 13.

B10 (H93-922). Fig. 20. Fragments from A3c(50)202 (Test Pit b). About half complete. D. base 0.074 m., H. pres. 0.085 m., W. 0.140 m., Th. 0.005. Fairly fine textured, light-red fabric (Munsell 2.5 YR 6/8). Closed, black-glazed vessel faded to red, with three purple stripes, two flanking the black zone, one in reserve zone above flat base. Probably imported oinochoe of the later sixth or early fifth century. I have not found a satisfactory parallel for this vessel, in particular the low, flat foot267 and the design.268 I strongly suspect it dates somewhere between these two examples.

3. TRENCH F6 Most of the diagnostic Archaic pottery found during the Cornell excavations has come from Trench F6 in levels associated with

the

First

Temple

precinct.

As

asserted

above,

the

wide

range of dates suggests a temple repository in which dedicated objects had been accumulating since the temple was built. The Epopheles skyphos (B11), now reconstructed and on view in the Lamia Museum, probably was one of the first objects placed in the First Temple. SKYPHOI B11 (H91-648). Fig. 21. Fragments from F6b(7)15, F6b(15)57 and F6b(20)101. About two-thirds complete; reconstructed. D. rim 0.290 m., D. base 0.152 m., H. 0.165 m., Th. 0.050 m. Fine, light-red fabric (Munsell 2.5 YR 6/8).269 Black glaze deteriorated to red on interior and on portions of exterior. Vertical strokes 267

For a similar vessel, but with a concave base and dated quite late (ca. 550 B.C.), see Sparkes et al., 1970, Part 2, no. 1660, pl. 77. 268

Perhaps the design descends from table amphorae of the second quarter of the sixth century, on which purple stripes top the black area of the belly (Cook, 1960, p. 77). 269

Coleman, 1992, p. 275.

in handle zone beneath band on concave rim; wide band above animal frieze. Crudely drawn animals in silhouette, from right: panther, dolphin, scorpion, dog, rabbit, snake and cow. Crude volute lotus/thicket near head of snake. Hastily drawn crosses as sparse fillers. Simple, sparing incision. Added color (light gray-brown) on udder of cow and belly of dolphin. Inscription of potter (in retrograde): "Epopheles epoies(e);" inscription of painter (reading forward): "Euphr(...)n ekraphse," with 270 misspelling (kappa for gamma) of "egraphse." Above low base, short, stubby rays extending nearly to ground line. Locally made, black-figure skyphos, ca. 625 B.C. The skyphos has few characteristics that continue into the sixth century, notably the squatness of the vessel,271 vertical strokes beneath the rim and the low, broad base similar to Early and Middle Corinthian and early Euboean skyphoi.272 Notably, it has a number of characteristics that die out elsewhere before the sixth century: the fire-like rays,273 void eyes,274 the sparse filling and the light gray-brown added color.275 B12 (HA95-4). Fig. 20. Fragments from F6b(10)32 and F6b(21)110. Partial rim and shoulder; one handle. D. 0.210 m., H. pres. 0.097 m., Th. 0.004 m. Black glazed on exterior and interior, deteriorating to streaky red-brown. Black band on rim that follows inward curve of body above handle zone. Vertical strokes 270

Coleman, 1992, p. 275, note 22.

271

Cook, 1960, pp. 24, 237.

272

Cf. Weinberg, Saul S., 1943: Corinth (:) The Geometric and Orientalizing Pottery, Vol. VII, Part I (Cambridge), nos. 275 and 277, pl. 36, and 337 and 342, pl. 42, and Andriomenou, A., 1985: "La Necropole Classique De Tanagra" in La Boeotie Antique (Paris), fig. 13c. 273

Contrast, for example, the elongated rays and the narrow bodies of the kotylai/skyphoi in Weinberg, 1943, pls. 34-35. 274

This characteristic begins dying out elsewhere in the eighth century. See Boardman, 1981, pp. 26-27, for treatment of the eyes by the late eighth century. 275

This resembles a wash used (for example on the Chigi vase) in only a few years before and after 640 B.C. Cf. Cook, 1960, pp. 48-49.

in handle zone; handles pitched slightly upward. Black zone, cut by red band, beneath handles. Corinthianizing, black-glazed skyphos, sixth century. In shape, this resembles Protocorinthian and Middle 276 Corinthian skyphoi/kotylai from Eretria and Tocra, but also earlier vessels because of the strong inward curve of the rim.277 The design on ours, however, seems sixth century. LEKANAI B13 (H91-575). Fig. 20. Bridge-spouted. Fragments from F6b(12)47 (mud-brick deposit at bottom of temple debris layer). Fragmentary; handles missing. H. est. 0.133 m., W. 0.25 m., Th. 0.007 m. Good dull-red glaze (Munsell 10 YR 5/6) on exterior and interior except for reserve band around center of body. High, curving shoulder, sloping sharply inward to flat base. Bridgespouted lekane, probable Attic import, early sixth century.278 Bridge-spouted lekane are far more common in the seventh century and, unlike ours, have pronounced everted rims. The band begins broad, then narrows rapidly.279 For both of these reasons, along with the good quality of glaze, I would place this narrowbanded lekane in the early sixth century. B14 (H91-629). Fig. 20. Fragments from F6b(5)12, F6b(9)26, F6b(19)73 and F6b(20)101. Partial rim (molded) and shoulder; one (non-joining) handle. D. exterior rim 0.374 m., D interior rim 0.322 m., Th. 0.007-0.010 m. Fairly fine reddish-yellow fabric (Munsell 5YR 6/6). Dull black glaze on exterior; black band at rim on interior. Narrow black stripe and two close-spaced incisions beneath outer rim. Wavy line and black stripe lie between incisions and black zone. Probable Eretrian import, ca. 490 B.C. 276

Cf. Hurst, A., Descoeudres, J.P., and Auberson, P., 1976: Eretria V (:) Ausgrabungen und Forschungen Fouilles et Recherches (Bern), no. FK 423, pl. 6, and FK 713, pl. 7, and Boardman, et al., 1966, no. 1887, pl. 6, and no. 1895, pl. 7. 277

Cf. Cook, 1960, fig. 8B (Geometric, 750-725 B.C.).

278

Cf. Goldman, 1940, no. 7, fig. 35., for shape, though this lekane (lebes), which she dates to the first quarter of the sixth century, has a high foot. 279

Cf. Sparkes, et al., 1970, Part 1, pp. 212, 359-360, and Part 2, pl. 83. For similar narrowing of bands on oinochoai, also see pl. 4.

The wavy line on Attic lekanai disappears after the early sixth century (though they continue elsewhere, particularly East Greece) but the Attic version has a thicker, more tightly crimped line than the extended waves on our vessel. E. Vanderpool suggests that thin wavy lines are Eretrian, based on a lekane in the Eretria Museum that he dates to 490 B.C. (based in turn on a parallel from the Marathon tumulus).280 CUPS B15 (H91-574). Fig. 21. Fragment from F6b(12)52. Foot only. D. pres. 0.102 m., H. pres. 0.044 m. Very fine light-red fabric (Munsell 2.5 YR 6/6). Black glaze somewhat thinly applied with metallic sheen; badly chipped. Reserve band at base; black band on underside of base; black-glaze interior. High cone-foot with concave torus and sloping base. Probable base to Attic vicup, ca. 480-475 B.C.281 The vicup, distinguished by the concave face of its foot, probably was made over a short period by just one workshop. Two fragments were found in Persian debris in Athens.282 B16 (H91-573). Fig. 21. Fragments from F6b(12)47. About half complete. D. rim 0.095 m., D. base 0.044 m., H. 0.070 m., W. (with handle) 0.120 m. Black glaze on exterior and interior of teacup-shaped vessel, with narrow reserve band above base. Ribbon handle slightly off-center. Groove above flat base. Unknown origin, late sixth or early fifth century. No close parallel was found,283 though the apparently shortlived plain-walled variety was in its infancy in the late sixth and early fifth centuries and was rare in Attica. The type is conventionally kept with jugs, but could have been used as a dipper, drinking cup, measure or taster.284 280

For Vanderpool's discussion, see Sparkes, et al., 1970, Part 1, pp. 40 and 196 (note 5). For the type of wavy line, see Boardman, John, 1952: "Pottery from Eretria" in BSA 47, fig. BF, pl. 13. 281

Cf. Sparkes, et al., 1970, Part 2, no. 434, pl. 20. The example depicted in pl. 20 is dated to 475 B.C. 282

Sparkes, et al., 1970, Part 1, pp. 92-93.

283

But see cup with thicker rim in Sparkes, et al., 1970, Part 2, no. 196, pl. 11. 284

Sparkes. et al., 1970, Part I, p. 71.

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