Beulé Gate
Roman | |
Cultures | Classical Greece |
---|---|
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1852–53 |
Archaeologists | Charles Ernest Beulé |
Public access | Yes |
Designated | 1987 |
Part of | Acropolis, Athens |
Reference no. | 404[1] |
The Beulé Gate (French pronunciation:
The gate was integrated into the
The monument was discovered by the French archaeologist Charles Ernest Beulé in 1852, and excavated between 1852 and 1853. Its discovery was greeted enthusiastically in France among the scholarly community and the press, though archaeologists and Greek commentators criticised the aggressive means – particularly the use of explosives – by which Beulé had carried out the excavation. In modern times, the gate has served primarily as an exit for tourists from the Acropolis.
Description
The Beulé Gate is situated at the bottom of a monumental staircase, which led to the Propylaia approximately 37 m (121 ft 5 in) to the east.[2] The staircase was constructed in the later first century CE, possibly at the instigation of the emperor Claudius (r. 41–54 CE).[3] The gate includes two pylon-like towers, which project around 5 m (16 ft 5 in) from the structure.[4] These towers are joined by walls to the terraces above, including that of the Temple of Athena Nike.[5] The doorway is set into a marble wall and aligned with the main route through the Propylaia.[6]
The gate is almost 23 m (75 ft 6 in) wide, with a central part around 7 m (23 ft 0 in) in both height and width.
Entablature inscription
The inscription visible on the entablature was originally the dedicatory inscription of the Choragic Monument of Nikias, a structure built shortly after 320 BCE to commemorate the Athenian choregos Nikias and his victory in the choragic competitions of that year.[10] As arranged on Nikias's monument, it reads as follows:
Nikias's monument was built in the form of a Greek temple in the Doric order, consisting of a square
Date
The gate's discoverer, Charles Ernest Beulé, erroneously believed the gate to have been the original entrance to the Acropolis.[16] Later research, beginning with that of Paul Graindor in 1914, established it as belonging to the late Roman period (c. 284 – c. 476 CE), and most probably to the late third or early fourth centuries CE. Scholarly opinion remains divided as to precisely when in that period it was built.[17]
The Beulé Gate is constructed almost entirely from marble pieces (
A stone reused in the Ottoman fortifications of the Acropolis preserves an inscription commemorating Flavius Septimius Marcellinus for having constructed "the gateway to the Acropolis from his own resources".
History
The archaeologist and philologist
During the demolition of the Choragic Monument of Nikias, some parts of the structure – the geisa – were numbered while still in situ, allowing them to be correctly reassembled within the gate.[36] The Doric frieze of the Choragic Monument, built from limestone and marble, was reconstructed along the top of the Beulé Gate, though the architrave of the Choragic Monument, which originally formed a single horizontal beam, was divided into two parts, one above and one below the gate's frieze.[25] Jeffrey M. Hurwit has described the re-use of the Choragic Monument as a "twice-told Classicism", since the original monument was itself modelled on the Propylaia, and so its re-use created architectural harmony between the Beulé Gate and the Propylaia to which it led.[37]
Hurwit has called the construction of the gate a "turning point" in the Acropolis's history, suggesting that it represented a renewed emphasis on the Acropolis's role as a strategic fortification rather than as a religious sanctuary — making the site now "a fortress with temples".
In 1204, after the Fourth Crusade, the Byzantine Empire was partitioned between Venice and the leaders of the crusade. Athens became the centre of the Duchy of Athens, a lordship initially held by the Burgundian[b] aristocrat Othon de la Roche.[42] Between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, the city's Frankish rulers gradually refortified the Acropolis.[43] The Beulé Gate was closed off during the reign of Othon's descendants, the de la Roche family, which lasted until 1308; a vaulted structure was also built in the gate's north tower to brace it during the same period.[44] The medieval period also saw the closing off of the Propylaia,[43] which was further reinforced with the Frankish Tower at an uncertain date.[45]
The gate's previous role as an entrance to the Acropolis was taken over by the gate situated at the western foot of the large classical bastion on which the Temple of Athena Nike was built.[46] The medieval notary Niccolò da Martoni, who visited Athens in February 1395, wrote an account suggesting that the Beulé Gate was still visible, though no longer used.[47] At some point in the Ottoman period (1458–1827), the gate's towers were heightened and a bastion was constructed on top of it:[48][c] this bastion was visible in drawings made by the British antiquary William Gell in 1801–1806.[50] When Beulé excavated the bastion, he reported finding evidence that the gate had been damaged by gunpowder weapons before the bastion's construction.[51] By the nineteenth century, knowledge of the gate's existence was lost.[52]
Excavation
The gate is named for
The existence of a lower route to the Propylaia had become evident during the operations to clear and repair the monuments of the Acropolis following the end of the Greek War of Independence in 1829.[58] In 1846, the architect and archaeologist Auguste Titeux began to reveal the staircase leading up to the Propylaia, but archaeologists did not generally consider that there had been a second gateway below it.[58] Titeux died in 1846 with his work on the staircase unfinished:[58] in 1850, Pittakis completed the work of clearing it[59] and partially reconstructing the steps.[60]
Pittakis enlisted Beulé to assist with the removal of medieval and modern structures from the rest of the Propylaia area in 1852.[52] Beulé, against the prevailing scholarly opinion of his time, believed that Mnesikles, the architect of the Propylaia, had originally constructed a second gateway, and secured Pittakis's blessing as well as support from Alexandre de Forth-Rouen, the French ambassador to Greece, to investigate his hypothesis.[58] On 16 May [O.S. 4 May],[d] the excavators discovered more steps leading towards the gate, and by 29 May [O.S. 17 May] it had become clear that they had found the edge of a fortified wall around the Acropolis, and within it a gateway.[62] The site was visited by King Otto and Queen Amalia of Greece, and the discovery made Beulé's scholarly reputation.[62]
Beulé left Athens for France at the beginning of June, returning in December to direct renewed excavations, now focused on the gate.[62] On 5 January 1853 [O.S. 24 December 1852], work was temporarily halted when the Greek Minister for War ordered the excavators to leave, concerned that the excavation would destroy the Acropolis's defensive value in case of a future invasion; Beulé, with the support of the French embassy, was able to persuade the Greek authorities that the Acropolis had little military value anyway, and "would not hold out for twenty-four hours against an assault".[63]
When work was able to resume in 1853, the excavators encountered a particularly stubborn block of mortar through which their tools could not penetrate. Beulé secured a batch of explosives from sailors of the Station du Levant,[63] a fleet of the French Navy tasked with patrolling the Aegean Sea,[64] and used 150 lb (68 kg) of gunpowder to blast through the block. Contemporary archaeologists criticised his actions, as did the Greek newspapers, one of which had previously accused Beulé of wanting to blow up everything on the Acropolis.[65] Pittakis, who had been watching the operation, was almost struck by a fragment of the debris, which pierced his hat:[66] reports circulated in the aftermath that he had been killed.[63]
By 12 April [O.S. 31 March] 1853, the two towers had been fully revealed, followed by the gateway itself on 13 April [O.S. 1 April].[63] The excavations finished that month; the monument was formally opened in a ceremony on 11 May [O.S. 28 April]. Beulé fixed a commemorative stone, recovered during the excavations, to the right of the gate's entrance. He had it inscribed in Ancient Greek:[68]
Beulé also reported having inscribed a French translation of the same inscription below the Greek text.[71] The discovery of the gate prompted scholarly celebration in France, and was reported with enthusiasm in the French press. The diplomat and philhellene Jean Baelan has written that the excavation turned Beulé into "the standard-bearer for national honour in the field of archaeology".[72] In recognition of Beulé's discovery, the Académie Française made the Acropolis of Athens the topic for its Grand Prize for Poetry[e] in 1853, which was won by Louise Colet.[73] The British historian Thomas Henry Dyer praised Beulé's discovery, but correctly questioned his assertion that the gate had been built under Mnesikles, and criticised Beulé's commemorative inscription, calling it "somewhat vainglorious".[74] Ludwig Ross, who had preceded Pittakis as Ephor General, described the inscription as "an example of petty national and personal vanity" and predicted that it was likely to be stolen or removed by the Greeks.[75]
After its excavation, the Beulé Gate resumed its original function as a monumental gateway for the Acropolis.[56] In the 1960s, the main entrance was moved to the south-east side, leaving the Beulé Gate as primarily an exit.[6]
Gallery
-
Photographed between 1875 and 1893
-
View of the gate from the north-west
-
Back of the gate, viewed from the north-east
-
French troops during the 1917 occupation of Athens
-
A stone of the gate, repurposed from an older monument: an inscription, now upside-down, is visible
Footnotes
Explanatory notes
- ^ It is unclear whether Othon originated from the County of Burgundy, within the Kingdom of Arles and the Holy Roman Empire, or the adjacent Duchy of Burgundy, a vassal of the kingdom of France. The medieval historian Jean Longnon considers the latter more likely, but both hypotheses unproven.[41]
- ^ Beulé dated the Ottoman bastion to the end of the fifteenth century.[49]
- ^ Greece adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1923; 28 February [O.S. 15 February] was followed by 1 March.[61]
- ^ French: grand prix de poésie
References
- ^ "Acropolis, Athens". UNESCO. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Haussoullier 1888, p. 41; Rogers 2021, p. 425.
- ^ Graindor 1914; Shear 1981, p. 367.
- ^ Haussoullier 1888, p. 41.
- ^ a b c Rous 2019, p. 60.
- ^ a b Lyons 2005, p. 131.
- ^ a b Beulé 1862, p. 53.
- ^ Haussoullier 1888, p. 41; Dinsmoor 1910, pp. 463–468.
- ^ a b Tanoulas 1997b, p. 307.
- ^ Dinsmoor 1910, p. 479.
- ^ IG II2 3055= IG II3.4 467.
- ^ Camp 2001, p. 162.
- ^ Anderson, Spiers & Dinsmoor 1927, p. 149.
- ^ Camp 2001, p. 161.
- ^ Manakidou 2018, pp. 436–438.
- ^ Hoppin 1897, p. 95.
- ^ Graindor 1914; Frantz 1982, pp. 35–36; Sironen 1994, pp. 28–29; Camp 2001, pp. 224–226; Rous 2019, p. 58. For the dates of the late Roman period, see Cameron 1993, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Dinsmoor 1973, p. 286.
- ^ Dinsmoor 1910, p. 481.
- ^ Dinsmoor 1910, p. 482: for the early acceptance of Dinsmoor's work, see Chase 1911, pp. 114–115, Weller 1913, pp. 215–216, and later Hill 1953, p. 110.
- ^ Dinsmoor 1910, p. 482.
- ^ Rous 2019, p. 58; see e.g. Wycherley 1978, p. 184, Camp 2001, pp. 224–226.
- ^ Haussoullier 1888, p. 42.
- ^ Rous 2019, pp. 57–61. For the sack and its date, see Chioti 2021.
- ^ a b Rous 2019, p. 58.
- ^ Frantz 1988; Sironen 1994; Lalonde 2021, p. 48.
- ^ Hurwit 1999, p. 361; Camp 2001; Rous 2019, p. 60.
- ^ Mallan & Davenport 2015, p. 210.
- ^ Sironen 1994, p. 28; IG II2 5206 = IG II2 13291
- ^ Millar 2002, p. 362.
- ^ Sironen 1994, p. 28; Bodnar 1960, p. 177.
- ^ Geagan 1967, pp. 132–135. For the use of the agonothetes title for the Dionysia, see also Wilson 1999, p. 324.
- ^ Sironen 1994, pp. 28–29.
- ^ Miller 1893, p. 539.
- ^ Hurwit 1999, p. 361; Rous 2019, p. 60.
- ^ Dinsmoor 1910, pp. 463–465; Rous 2019, pp. 57–58.
- ^ Hurwit 1999, p. 284.
- ^ Hurwit 1999, pp. 284–285.
- ^ Tanoulas 1997a, p. 240; Tanoulas 1997b, p. 303.
- ^ Tanoulas 1997b, pp. 308–309.
- ^ Longnon 1973, pp. 64–65.
- ^ Hendrickx 2015, pp. 303, 317; Setton 1991, p. 418.
- ^ a b Mark 1993, p. 7.
- ^ Tanoulas 1997b, p. 311. For the dates of the de la Roche dynasty, see Setton 1975, p. 211.
- ^ Lock 1986, p. 133.
- ^ Makri, Tsakos & Vavylopoulou-Charitonidou 1989, p. 330.
- ^ Tanoulas 1997b, p. 286. On Niccolò da Martoni, see Agrigoroaei 2020, particularly pp. 324–326.
- ^ Haussoullier 1888, p. 41; Tanoulas 1997b, pp. 293–294. For the dates of the Ottoman period, see Kolovos 2021, p. 254.
- ^ Beulé 1854, p. 290.
- ^ Tanoulas 1997b, pp. 290–291.
- ^ Beulé 1853, p. 101; Tanoulas 1997a, p. 131.
- ^ a b c d St Clair 2022, pp. 490–491.
- ^ Beulé 1862, plate 2.
- ^ Whitling 2019, pp. 42–44.
- ^ Baelen 1958, p. 92.
- ^ a b Leniaud 2002, p. 58.
- ^ Tanoulas 1997b, p. 293.
- ^ a b c d Baelen 1958, p. 95.
- ^ Dickins 2014, p. 1.
- ^ Mallouchou-Tufano 2007, p. 44.
- ^ Kiminas 2009, p. 23.
- ^ a b c Baelen 1958, p. 97.
- ^ a b c d Baelen 1958, p. 98.
- ^ Delis 2016, p. 41.
- ^ Baelen 1958, p. 98. For the quantity of explosives, see Beulé 1854, p. 291.
- ^ St Clair 2022, p. 491.
- ^ Baelen 1958, pp. 98–99.
- ^ Petrakos 1996, p. 502; Billard & Chandezon 2012.
- ^ Dyer 1873, p. 361.
- ^ Billard & Chandezon 2012.
- ^ Beulé 1862, p. 61.
- ^ Baelen 1958, p. 99.
- ^ Baelen 1958, p. 100.
- ^ Dyer 1873, pp. 360–361.
- ^ Ross 1861, pp. 272–273.
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