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A perirrhanterion from Anthedon

• Λυγκούρη-Τόλια, Ευτυχία

After the destruction of part of the ancient wall on the acropolis of the Boeotian city of Anthedon in March 1982, part of a basin of Pentelic marble (about 1/3 of the body) was picked up. It has a tetragonal peg on the underside for mounting on a pillar, and it must have been part of a perirrhanterion. On the surviving section of the rim there is a fragmentary inscription that would have continued on the rest of the surface: ...]\ΩΝΟΙ EN[...Although the basin type is a simple one, the existence for the first time of an incised and iconographically unique representation on the whole interior surface of the bottom makes it a rare example of its kind. The technique of the representation as well as the place where the basin was found suggested a comparison of the perirrhanterion with the 4th c. BC Boeotian incised stelai. In order to show off the representation on the periranterion, colour must have been employed, using the encaustic method, as on the Boeotian stelai. The representation on the perirrhanterion, which is a cultic vessel, must be connected with the Eleusinian cult, since it is surrounded by the mystic symbol of Bacchus. Only two figures are depicted. On the left a robed female figure is seated, facing right. She wears a chiton and himation. In her raised left hand she holds a sceptre, and in the right hand, resting on her left thigh, a bunch of ears of corn and a poppy-head. The right half of the scene is occupied by a huge snake-dragon. The equal prominence given to the depiction of both figures is emphasized by the whole arrangement of the representation, by the equal height of their heads, and especially by the sacred ribbon of wool that hangs in perspective from the mystic symbol of Bacchus and which appears to have been fittingly dedicated to both.The female figure must be the goddess Demeter, and indeed Demeter Eleusinia. This character of the goddess is derived, apart from her attributes, mainly from the type portrayed, a reproduction of some well-known statue, repeated in sculpture and vase-painting from the 4th c. BC onwards. The snake-dragon must represent a god of equal standing and worth to the goddess, and must therefore be Zeus Meilichios.The concept connecting these two divinities, apart from their undoubted common chthonian hypostasis, is mainly the reconciliation to death achieved by people who took part in the Eleusinian Mysteries. Their depiction on a sacred vessel used for religious purifications, however, must be due to the cathartic properties possessed by both divinities. Zeus Meilichios, as Purifier, must have had a connection with the pre-purificatory initiation into the Lesser Mysteries at Agra. The use of the fleece of Zeus in the Eleusinian initiation is known from representations. The association of the Zeus Meilichios in this representation with the Lesser Mysteries is supported by the presence of the mystic attribute of Bacchus, which is thought to have been the symbol of the initiation at Agra.This perirrhanterion must have been used in purificatory rites of an Eleusinian character in the interior of the temple of Demeter and Daughter, παίς that existed at Anthedon and which is mentioned by Pausanias. It is very probable that Demeter was worshipped there in the form of Demeter Eleusinia, and that the side of her temple was close to the place in which the lekane was found, in other words on the acropolis.The perirrhanterion should be dated to the middle of the 4th c. BC. This date coincides with a period in which the Eleusinian cult was being widely disseminated with the intention of restoring Athens’ former glory and reestablishing her as the city-leader of Greece.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Decorative arts

Για την παραχώρηση της μελέτης του περιρραντηρίου από την Ανθηδόνα η υπογράφουσα εκφράζει τις ευχαριστίες της στον τότε Έφορο της ΙΑ' Εφορείας Προϊστορικών και Κλασικών Αρχαιοτήτων κ. Π. Καλλιγά. Ακόμη θα ήθελε να ευχαριστήσει τον κ. Π. Βαλαβάνη για την πολύτιμη και πρόθυμη βοήθεια του και για τις ουσιαστικές υποδείξεις του στο κείμενο. Ευχαριστεί τη συνάδελφο κ. Έ. Μπαζιωτοπούλου-Βαλαβάνη για την πρόθυμη συζήτηση κατά τη διάρκεια της εργασίας. Επίσης εκφράζει ευχαριστίες στην Έφορο κ. Θ. Καράγιωργα-Σταθακοπούλου για τις χρήσιμες υποδείξεις της κυρίως σε θέματα λατρείας. Για τις αρχικές φωτογραφίες του περιρραντηρίου ευχαριστεί τη συνάδελφο κ. Α. Καραπασχαλίδου, για τη φωτογραφία του οστράκου από την Ελευσίνα τη συνάδελφο κ. Π. Παπαγγελή και για τη φωτογραφία του αναγλύφου του Εθνικού Αρχαιολογικού Μουσείου την Έφορο κ. Αικ. Ρωμιοπούλου. Τέλος θα ήθελε να εκφράσει τις ευχαριστίες της στον κ. Κ. Ηλιάκη για το σχέδιο της παράστασης του περιρραντηρίου., Περιέχει 1 σχέδιο. Πίνακες 95-96 βλέπε τέλος τεύχους, Το άρθρο περιέχεται στο τεύχος: Μέρος Α'-Μελέτες