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The West Court at Perachora1
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 October 2013
Extract
About 10 metres south-west of the sixth-century temple of Hera Akraia at Perachora, and nearly due west of the little harbour lies the small courtyard previously known as the ‘Agora’. Since its purpose is not known, it will here be non-committally referred to as the West Court. It was first excavated in 1932, and more fully, under the supervision of J. K. Brock, in 1933, but it was not entirely cleared until 1939, and it was at that time that the Roman house which stood in the middle of the court was demolished. The West Court is discussed briefly (under the name of ‘Agora’) in Perachora 1 and in the preliminary reports of the Perachora excavations. Short supplementary excavations were carried out in 1964 and 1966 to examine certain points of the structure.
In shape the West Court is an irregular pentagon, about 24 metres from north to south and the same from east to west (Fig. 1; Plate 91 a, b). It is enclosed on the west, north, and on part, at least, of the east side by a wall of orthostates on an ashlar foundation. For a short distance on either side of the south corner, the court is bounded by a vertically dressed rock face which is extended to the north-east and west by walls of polygonal masonry. At the south-west corner the west orthostate wall butts against the polygonal wall, which continues for about 0·80 m. beyond it and then returns north for about 8 metres behind it.
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- Research Article
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- Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 1967
References
2 Perachora 1. 14–15, pl. iii b.
3 JHS 1 (1930) 236; lii (1932) 243–4; liii (1933) 280; lix (1939) 194; BCH liv (1930) 471; lviii (1934) 242; AA 1931, col. 255; ILN 8. 7. 33, 67.
4 Conducted by the author with the help of A. H. S. Megaw in 1964 and by R. A. Tomlinson in 1966. I am grateful to the Managing Committee of the British School at Athens for their financial support. The trenches opened in 1964 and 1966 are shown in Fig. 1, and the sections in Figs. 2 and 3.
5 Perachora 1. 78, n. 1.
6 I owe this observation to R. A. Tomlinson.
7 Ibid. 15.
8 Similar grooving is found in the Basileios, Stoa (Hesperia vi (1937) 24)Google Scholar and in the Hephaisteion, at Athens (AA 1928, col. 719).Google Scholar
9 Referred to on Perachora 1. 119; block sizes from pl. 140.
10 Block sizes from ibid., pl. 138.
11 Ibid. 121, pl. 140.
12 In AA 1931, col. 255 it is suggested that the upper parts of the north orthostate wall were of mudbrick. But since there is a pry-hole on the top of one of the orthostates still in situ, this cannot have been so.
13 The exact size of this second raised surface varies, and its purpose is unclear. Its dimensions are similar to, although not identical with, those of the raised surface of the west portico bases.
14 This was discovered during R. A. Tomlinson's work in 1966.
15 Cf. the similar Minoan practice (Graham, J. W., The Palaces of Crete, 195Google Scholar). Wooden columns in the classical period were often raised well above the ground (Martin, R., Manuel d'architecture grecque 1. 11–15).Google Scholar
16 BCH lxxxix (1965) 491.
17 Other examples of pillared porticoes in Corinthia are the North Stoa (Corinth 1. iii. 163–73) and the North Building at Corinth (Corinth 1. i. 212–28). In the upper story of the Agora of the Italians at Delos, the pillars have a total height of 2·86 m. for a section of 0·48 × 0·32 m. (Delos xix, L'Agora des Italiens, 29–32).
18 BSA lix (1964) 122–3, pl. B, 24 a–d.
19 e.g. the South Stoa at Corinth (Corinth 1. iv. 83–84); tiles from the North Cemetery, Corinth (Corinth xiii. 282, grave 452).
20 Since the Roman house was destroyed in 1939, this description is based entirely on photographs, drawings, and observations made in the course of excavation.
21 The notebooks record specifically part of a column drum from the stoa and a triglyph fragment from the temple of Hera Akraia.
22 Perachora 1. 98.
23 The most interesting of the sherds found is a fragment of an Early Ripe Corinthian alabastron (Plate 7 c 3); a goddess whose black and purple skirt shows at the right-hand side of the sherd, clasps the neck of a swan with raised wings; behind the swan are the remains of another swan whose neck was held in the goddess's left hand. Purple is used for the goddess's skirt, for dots on the neck of the swan and for alternate feathers of its wing. For the motive, cf. Payne, H. G. G., Necrocorinthia, no. 102, pl. 12. 3, 7Google Scholar; Perachora 11, no. 1527, pl. 59. For the drawing of the swan, cf. Payne, H. G. G., Necrocorinthia, no. 760, pl. 21. 1, 2Google Scholar; Perachora 11, no. 2455, pl. 99 (both Early Ripe Corinthian).
24 Scranton, R., Greek Walls, 68–69, 162–66.Google Scholar
25 e.g. polygonal wall in the temenos of Limenia, Hera (Perachora 1. 119)Google Scholar, fortification north of the lighthouse rock (ibid. 16, fig. 4 e, ƒ), polygonal wall by Aghios Nikolaos (ibid. 24, fig. 3c).
26 Even if the north orthostate wall was later than the west one, the difference in levels needs some explaining. Perhaps work started in the east with levels based on the south-east bench, which was assumed, wrongly, to be at the same level as the south and west benches.
27 Scranton, R., Greek Walls, 129–31, 179.Google Scholar
28 BSA lix (1964) 103, 111, fig. 9 a–c.
29 For the development of the kantharos shape see Robinson, D. M., Excavations at Olynthus xiii. 280–2.Google Scholar Our example with height/lip diameter = 1/1·06, belongs to his type 10, dating from the second quarter of the fourth century. Kopke, G., however, dates the development rather later (AM lxxix (1964) 52–53).Google Scholar
30 For although one of Payne's trenches followed the West Court walls, it appears from photographs that he did not excavate behind the northernmost orthostates which he found in situ.
31 BSA lix (1964) 122–3.
32 Ibid. fig. 13; for the date, 129.
33 Corinth 1. iv, pl. 20, 21. Similar eaves-tiles were found in grave 452 in the North Cemetery at Corinth, (Corinth XIII. 282Google Scholar; third quarter of the fourth century).
34 BSA lix (1964) 128–9.
35 Arch. Reports 12 (1965–6) 5.
36 Perachora 1. 15.
37 Perachora, 1. 120.
39 Perachora 1. 119.
40 Ibid.
41 Cf. the remarks of J. Delorme on the identification of the so-called Gymnasium of the Ptolemaic Garrison at Thera (Delorme, J., Gymnasion, 84).Google Scholar
42 e.g. the Leonidaion at Olympia (Curtius, E., Adler, F.Olympia, Plates 1, pl. lxii)Google Scholar, and the Hotel at Epidauros (Kavvadias, P., Τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ ἐν Ἐπιδαύρῳ, 162 ff.Google Scholar; Roux, G., L'Architecture de l'Argolide, pl. 26).Google Scholar
43 e.g. the priests' house next to the temple at Cape Zoster near Vouliagmeni, , Attica, (AE 1938, 1–31).Google Scholar
44 e.g. the Delphinion at Miletcs (Wiegand, T., Milet 1. iii, pl. iv).Google Scholar
45 Open stoas were provided at the sanctuaries of Asklepios at Epidauros, (PAE 1905, 63–87)Google Scholar and at Athens (BCH lxxiii (1949) 313–39).Google Scholar
46 BSA lix (1964) 131.
47 Perachora 1. 15.
48 Ibid. 22.
50 BSA lix (1964) 131.
51 Perachora 1. 84.
52 e.g. the shops on the fish and meat market at Priene (Wiegand, T., Schrader, H., Priene, pl. xxi)Google Scholar, and four shops at Miletus (Wiegand, T., Milet 1. vi, fig. 1).Google Scholar
53 In Roman Britain, houses at Lockley, Herts., Park Street, Herts. (Rivet, A. L. F., Town and Country in Roman Britain, 109)Google Scholar, Cox Green, near Maidenhead (JRS 1 (1960) 232).Google Scholar
54 In North Africa, a similar house is perhaps represented on the Orpheus mosaic at Lepcis Magna (Frova, A., L'Arte di Roma e del Mondo Romano, 702, fig. 605).Google Scholar This and the references in the preceding note I owe to M. H. Braude.