[Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review]
In the preface of this slim volume the editors speak of the ‘unforgettable AIA-organized colloquium session’ in 2020 at which the papers were originally delivered. Something of this special quality seems to shine through in the chapters of this book, which it has been a rare pleasure to read. The book aims to rehabilitate the ‘poor relative in the archaeology of Athens’s sacred rock’ (1)—the bronze fragments of the Athenian Akropolis. Despite some good recent publications, this task is indeed necessary and overdue. As this volume demonstrates, huge numbers of bronze objects were once on the Akropolis, and of these, enough have survived to provide essential insights—over 1.000 objects (45). The bronzes were key mediators in practical and sacred processes in the sanctuaries on the Akropolis. It is essential to bring them to the forefront of scholarly attention, as an indispensable component in the interplay of materials and technologies in ancient Athenian society and religion.
The introductory chapter by the editors provides the context of the nineteenth-century Akropolis excavations in which most of the bronze fragments were found. Most often, it is difficult to establish precise provenance, because in early excavations such fragmented material was not prioritized, while in the excavations of the 1880s, the great numbers and quality of the finds in general distracted from all but the most spectacular. Initially, metal finds were stored in houses on the Akropolis (only a few made it to the National Museum), from which multiple pieces disappeared. This part of the chapter reads like a detective novel, albeit firmly supported by the detailed publication history. It outlines the idiosyncrasies of what was published where and when and what was not, until some quite recent systematic publications.[1]
The next chapter by Diana Harris Cline applies Actor Network Theory (ANT) to the inscriptions IG I3 510 and IG I3 4 and demonstrates what the approach can reveal about the importance of the bronze objects. For instance, the web of actors involved in the dedicatory practice on the Akropolis would disintegrate if the bronze dedications mentioned in the former inscription were taken out of the equation. In other words, communication between worshippers, specifically the tamiai, and the goddess would stop, because the vehicles of communication (the edges in the actor-network) would no longer exist. While some prior knowledge of ANT is helpful, Cline’s chapter also functions as a concise and clear introduction to what ANT can do for archaeological interpretation, especially in complex multi-actor contexts like sanctuaries.[2]
The third chapter by Andronike Makres and Adele Scafuro sets the bar high with their proposed new edition of the inscribed bronze objects of the Akropolis. After a historical outline of the epigraphic publications of the inscribed bronzes, and the stone bases that carried bronze dedications, they give examples of the complex scholarly debates on especially the dating of the inscribed material. They then present their plans for a comprehensive new catalogue of the inscribed bronzes: an English-language edition, in line with modern epigraphic and archaeological standards, of all known inscribed bronzes and bases for bronzes from the Akropolis. The size of such a project is daunting, but if it comes to pass it would greatly aid our understanding of cult practice on the Akropolis. For instance, the authors state that their previous research shows most dedicants were from ‘a middle class of craftsmen, traders and merchants’, and conspicuously included ‘professional women, metics and foreigners’ (54). This contention is borne out by the marble votives and their inscribed bases from the Akropolis of the late sixth and early fifth centuries BC, many of which were dedicated by the same groups. A fresh, accessible analysis of the chronology, with the bronzes included, would be a great contribution to the research in this field. The bronze fragments form a key component of dedication on the Akropolis, and the availability of a dataset that allows researchers to easily draw on this material would benefit research greatly.
In the next chapter, Amy Sowder Koch presents her data on a large number of bronze hydria fragments. Her analysis of the stylistic and functional characteristics from archaic to Hellenistic times, in particular regarding the handles, illustrates the various origins of hydriai dedicated on the Akropolis and the development of manufacturing techniques in Athens. The kalpis overtaking the more angular hydria shape in the late archaic period, for instance, may have been driven by bronzeworkers residing in Athens. She proposes that the city was much more prominent in the development of these water vessels than previously thought (78). However, in the classical treasury lists they are not included, and so they were not considered treasure (70). This points to a practical rather than dedicatory purpose.
The question of functionality also appears in the next two chapters on Geometric and griffin cauldrons, respectively. In the former, Germano Sarcone presents new and detailed evidence on the monumental eighth-century bronze cauldrons from the Akropolis, which could reach a height of more than 2m (87). The reconstruction drawings he provides are impressive. The discussion of a ring handle fragment decorated with a gorgon in the National Museum in Athens (EAM 16807) is particularly interesting. The interpretations of this monumental fragment (the reconstructed diameter of the handle was 77 cm) have varied from a shield emblem to an architectural decorative element. However, Sarcone’s detailed technical observations and comparisons clearly point to the circular handle of a large cauldron. These handles were too fragile to lift the cauldron and served mainly as decoration. As such they would have incised patterns and a central figure supported by a web of thin metal strips, that can also be found in contemporary depictions of cauldron handles. The size and scope of the cauldrons from the eighth-century Akropolis and their fragility illustrate the ‘strong monumental taste’ in the dedication practices of this period (97).
In the seventh century, orientalising cauldrons appear on the Akropolis, as Nassos Papalexandrou describes in the next chapter. These are decorated with griffin heads, siren figures, or both, and a majority were produced on Samos (107), demonstrating Athens’ strong connections with that island. I do wonder whether this suggests imports, as Papalexandrou proposes based on contexts like Delphi and Olympia, or a bronzeworker in Athens who had come from Samos or had been apprenticed there. As in the previous chapter, the author’s technical observation augments the stylistic comparison and reveals much about the manufacturing processes. The griffin heads with their inlaid eyes would have made a vivid impression on visitors, and Papalexandrou proposes the cauldrons were used by the sanctuary ‘to enhance the otherworldly ambiance of the Acropolis’ (114). Even if this hypothesis needs further research, as he says in the concluding pages of the chapter, it throws an interesting line to the experiential side of bronze monuments on the archaic Akropolis. Staring griffin eyes, reminiscent of the gorgon eyes on the Eleusis amphora, light reflected on the bronze surfaces, but also air currents passing through the lined-up cauldrons may have been more interactive than we ever imagine studying them in museum storerooms. This might have considerably heightened worshippers’ experience even beyond what Papalexandrou remarks.
The final contribution by Elena Karakitsou is a fitting conclusion to the book. She discusses a votive placement of a bronze phiale and a bone and bronze aulos fragment (119). They were found during restoration work on the Parthenon in 2012, near the southwest corner of the building. When the fill between the 14th metope and its backer block was removed, the two objects and traces of burning in the soil around them were revealed. Karakitsou outlines the typology and development of phialai, as well as their uses in libation rituals. But what makes this find interesting is its location. Two further vessels have been found in or around the Parthenon, but in both instances, the presence of ochre pigments suggests that these were used in construction—in particular in testing whether adjoining architectural parts fitted snugly. This vessel had no traces of any such use. The other vessels were not placed with any particular care, while the aulos and phiale had been placed similarly to a foundation deposit. However, clearly much of the temple had already been completed. Karakitsou argues this is an offering to the heavens, for Athena’s continued good will and protection in the construction of her temple. The fact that the phiale type predates the time it was offered means it was probably in the inventories of the temple, already with sacred status. This would make the charter of the dedicants with the goddess even stronger. Karakitsou emphasizes the connection of the city with Athena through this offering, but I would argue that it especially reinforced bonds between her and the builders, who depended on her protection every day.
The deposition of a modern replacement vessel behind the metope (fig. 11 on p. 132; the original is now in the Akropolis Museum)before completion of the restorations on this part of the Parthenon, is like an emblem for this book. Ancient manufacture, ritual practices, and modern scholarship are bound up to form an Actor-Network of its own. It is only in the dialogue between these elements that we can do justice to the extraordinary material evidence that has been left us. This volume offers a lucid illustration of the fact that dedication practice does not respect material categories that scholars have come up with and have emphasized or neglected in research. The bronze fragments are a materialization of the drive to communicate with the divine, and so can offer invaluable insights into the motivations and actions of the Athenians who brought them to the Akropolis. The painstaking research presented here, even if sometimes in its early stages, opens the road to a comprehensive, detailed and methodologically modern material record of the Akropolis, one that uses all materials and methods at its disposal to understand as fully as possible the beliefs and wishes of those who worshipped there.
Authors and Titles
Nassos Papalexandrou and Amy Sowder Koch, Introduction: A Historiographic Essay
Diane Harris Cline, The Social Life of Bronzes: Actor-Network Theory on the Entangled Acropolis
Andronike Makres and Adele C. Scafuro, Archaic Inscribed Bronze Dedications on the Acropolis: Thoughts on a New Edition
Amy Sowder Koch, Hephaistos in Athens: Bronze Hydriai from the Acropolis and Beyond
Germano Sarcone, The Monumental Tripod-Cauldrons of the Acropolis of Athens between the Eight and Seventh Centuries B.C.E.
Nassos Papalexandrou, Monsters on the Athenian Acropolis: The Orientalizing Corpus of Griffin Cauldrons
Elena Karakitsou, A Bronze Vessel inside the Parthenon’s West-Side Entablature
Notes
[1] E.g. Tarditi, C. 2016. Bronze Vessels from the Akropolis: Style and Decoration in Athenian Production between the Sixth and Fifth Centuries BC. Thiasos Monographie 7. Rome: Edizioni Quasar.
[2] A minor point in this chapter and the next one, unrelated to the contents, is that the print in my copy is blurred in several places. Beside this, some images in one or two of the other contributions came out rather dark and as a result are somewhat difficult to decipher. Mostly, though, the presentation of the text and images is good, and the images are helpful and well placed.