The Philopappos Monument is located on the top of the highest of the three hills west of the Acropolis, the Hill of Mouseon, which, according to the ancient traveller Pausanias, was named after the poet Mousaios, who lived, taught and was buried on it. The flat surface chiseled into the bedrock northeast of the peak of the hill, with niches at the west that allow for statue-bases, benches and a table for offerings, has been thought to belong to the funeral monument of Mousaios. Likelier is, however, the identification of the area as a shrine of the Muses, to whom the hill must have been dedicated.
The towering and commanding position of the Hill over the Acropolis served, in the Mythological Era, as a stronghold of the Athenians against the Amazons and was later used as a strategically significant fortification in important military operations. The Athenians of the 5th century BC included the hill in the Themistoklean defense works, and in the 4th century they set up, as a boundary, the “Diateichisma” at its crest. In 294 BC Demetrios Poliorketes incorporated a small fortress into the old walls, known as the Macedonian Fortress, and installed a garrison to control the city.
In the 2nd century AD, Gaius Julius Antiochus Philopappus, prince of Kommagene in Upper Syria and benefactor of Athens, erected his Grave Monument, 12 m high, on the top of the Hill of the Muses, which, from then on dominated the area and gave its name to the Hill.
The monument, built of Pentelic marble over a porous-stone base, is divided into two zones. The lower one has a frieze depicting Philopappos in a chariot with a retinue of rod-bearers and the upper one has niches, of which the middle one shows an enthroned Philopappos with the inscription “ΦΙΛΟΠΑΠΠΟΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΒΗΣΑΙΕΥΣ” (“Philopappos of Vesa, son of Epiphanes”) and the one to the left Philopappos’ grand-father, according to the inscription “ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ” (“King Antiochos, son of King Antiochos). In the niche to the right, the founder of the dynasty was depicted (this part is now destroyed) “ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΣ ΝΙΚΑΤΩΡ” (“King Antiochos Seleukos Nikator”).
The monument, almost intact up to the 15th century, has gradually fallen victim to vandalism and natural phenomena. It was partly restored in 1904 by K. Balanos.
(Photos by Michael Tziotis)
The Philopappos Monument: First sight of the monument, after having reached the top of the hill. |
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The Philopappos Monument: Coming nearer |
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The Philopappos Monument: Photographing the monument from the East |
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The Philopappos Monument: Part of the eastern face of the monument |
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The Philopappos Monument: Part of the eastern face of the monument
The frieze at the bottom part and the niche to the top left with the statue of Philopappos' grandfather. |
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The Philopappos Monument: Part of the eastern face of the monument |
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The Philopappos Monument: Top of the eastern face of the monument, with the two preserved niches |
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The Philopappos Monument: Part of the frieze on the eastern face of the monument. |
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The Philopappos Monument: The southern side of the monument |
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The Philopappos Monument: The western, (back) side of the monument |
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The Philopappos Monument: The porous-stone basis, as seen from the western side of the monument |
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The Philopappos Monument: Another nearly full view of the eastern face of the monument, with the photographer standing on the northeastern "corner" of it. |
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The Philopappos Monument: The niche with the statue of Philopappos' grandfather. |
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The Philopappos Monument: The marble inscription on the top front (eastern) side |
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The Philopappos Monument: The northern side of the monument inside the protective iron fence. |
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