Abstract
This dissertation focuses on the invasion of Heruli in Athens in 267 A.D. For a long time, it was thought that the event had been catastrophic, interrupting the city’s life for nearly a century and a half, i.e. until the end of the 4th century; this view has been questioned. The scope of this dissertation is to examine the sack’s impact on the city’s life, based on the archaeological evidence, mainly architectural remains, dating from 267 till the end of the 4th century. This evidence was brought to light both intra and extra muros. Moreover, to trace the city’s transformations during the post-herulian times, earlier remains dating from 86 B.C. until 267 A.D. were also examined. So, the catalogued remains classified by date and function amounted to a total of 1.404. They are also projected on maps in volume C.By evaluating the catalogued destruction fillings dating to the late 3rd century, it is concluded that the parts to the west and to the south of the Acropolis suffered the most du ...
This dissertation focuses on the invasion of Heruli in Athens in 267 A.D. For a long time, it was thought that the event had been catastrophic, interrupting the city’s life for nearly a century and a half, i.e. until the end of the 4th century; this view has been questioned. The scope of this dissertation is to examine the sack’s impact on the city’s life, based on the archaeological evidence, mainly architectural remains, dating from 267 till the end of the 4th century. This evidence was brought to light both intra and extra muros. Moreover, to trace the city’s transformations during the post-herulian times, earlier remains dating from 86 B.C. until 267 A.D. were also examined. So, the catalogued remains classified by date and function amounted to a total of 1.404. They are also projected on maps in volume C.By evaluating the catalogued destruction fillings dating to the late 3rd century, it is concluded that the parts to the west and to the south of the Acropolis suffered the most during the Herulian invasion; the Kerameikos, the Athenian Agora, the industrial district, the residential district to the south of the Acropolis have given such evidence. Possibly the Acropolis and the area to the north of it also suffered: The Erechteio, the Roman Agora and the Library of Hadrian. Also, it seems most likely that the Parthenon was damaged during the Herulian sack rather than the Visigoths’ invasion. On the contrary, parts of the city to the north and southwest were left intact by the Heruli. It seems that both public and private buildings, standing on main routes, suffered.The post-herulian remains indicate that the sack didn’t interrupt the city’s life. Building activity is indicated in the late 3rd century, soon after 267 A.D. A new wall, the so-called Post-herulian, was constructed around the Acropolis fortifying only a small portion of the previously walled city. Its date has been debated, but according to the archaeological evidence its construction cannot be earlier than the middle of 3rd century and later than the second half of the 4th century. Furthermore, industrial activity was established in the late 3rd century; potters and metalworkers were installed at the western and northern parts of the city, mainly in Kerameikos – inside the wall, in the South Square of the Ancient Agora and outside the Acharnanian Gate. Both building and industrial activity went on into the 4th century. Inside the reduced wall the Library of Hadrian was in use in the late 4th century. Nonetheless the archaeological evidence doesn’t confirm the old view that after the Herulian sack the city’s administrative and commercial center was established in the Roman Agora and the Library of Hadrian.It is concluded that the center of post-herulian Athens was shifted from the west to the east – though it cannot be defined as the administrative city center. Large building complexes have been excavated in the area of the National Garden both inside and outside the so-called Valerian wall; in particular baths were constructed on the modern Amalias avenue. The roman district of modern Mets to the southeast continued to be inhabited, while the larger cemeteries extended in the east part of the city. On the contrary, the Ancient Agora, the old city center, was left unfortified. The Herulian sack can be considered as a turning point in the city’s history, although its impact seems to have been often overestimated. Following the destruction of public buildings, reminiscent of the glorious Athenian past, transformations of the urban fabric were activated, such as those experienced by other Greek cities from the 4th to the 6th century.Less clear is the archaeological evidence on the Visigoths’ invasion under Alaric which is dated to 396 A.D. Destruction evidence can be traced in the western part of the Ancient Agora, possibly in the area of Kerameikos too, but it cannot be confirmed whether the Visigoths invaded the area inside the Post-Herulian wall. It seems that the invaders destroyed both public and private buildings that they encountered on their way into the city. So, their presumed religious motive cannot be confirmed.
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