The base of the Muses at the sanctuary of Helicon.This article is the first complete publication of the monument dedicated by the Thespians to the Muses at their sanctuary at the foot of Mount Helicon in the Valley of the Muses. This sanctuary is known since the 19th century, especially after the excavations by the French Archaeological School at Athens under the direction of P. Jamot. Smaller than life‑size, the bronze statues of the nine Muses stood on an ellipsoid base (...) approximately 10m long, set inside an architectural frame largely open to the exterior. A new luster is given to this exceptional Hellenistic statuary group during the period of Augustus, with the engraving, under each figure, of a descriptive and scholarly epigram signed by the Corinthian poet Honestos. One of the rare archaeological examples of a collection of poems describing works of art is thus preserved. The analysis of the epigrams and the detailed observation of the fastening mortices visible on the upper surface of the blocks of the base make it possible to hypothesize the figural types used for the representation of the Muses, but also to confirm, beyond all doubt, that the statues were set among bronze vegetal ornamentation that evoked the landscape of the Valley of the Muses. The representation of nature as a secondary but essential element of a sculptural group finds correspondence in new research on the Hellenistic period. For lack of extensive excavations in the Sanctuary of the Muses, the exact location of the monument cannot be determined with certainty. On the other hand, later letters carved on blocks of the base tell us that it had been moved, perhaps at the time when the poems of Honestos were engraved. (shrink)

The article exploits the rare opportunity to study together a statue and the structure in which it was presented for admiration. The fragments of the statue and its canopy were found together during the 1931 excavation. The canopy consists of a small Corinthian aedicule with two columns, open in front and on the sides, attached to the south wall of the curia. The lightness of its construction compared to the massiveness of the statue, executed in a single block, implies that (...) it was built around the statue, after the latter’s installation and completion. The seated statue of Fortuna was presented from the front, facing the space that served as a civil basilica at the forum. This location thus gives it its full meaning. The group was installed during the major works of the second architectural phase of the forum in the third quarter of the 2nd century AD, and was destroyed by the earthquake that seriously affected the buildings of the forum in the beginning of the 6th century. (shrink)

This study is the first comprehensive publication of the findings associated with the altar of the Caesars in the heart of the agora of Thasos: the architectural remains, the dedication to Lucius Caesar and the sculpted head uncovered during the excavation of the monument. The identification of the structure as an altar is now secure, and it is confirmed that the inscribed block does indeed belong to it. The presence of a second dedication, presumably to Caius Caesar, is made very (...) likely based on the structure of the monument, a reconstruction of which is proposed for the first time. It is demonstrated that the construction of the altar is associated with the foundations of two bases flanking it on the east, evidence that confirms the identification of the carved head as one of the two young princes, more likely to be Caius rather than Lucius. These new elements allow the precise dating of the monument to between 4 and 6 AD, and allow it to take its rightful place in the history of relations between Thasos and the imperial family. (shrink)

During the 3rd century BC, the city of Thespies undertook the refurbishment of the sanctuary of the Muses on the slopes of Mount Helicon, constructing, among other buildings, a monumental altar flanked by a statue on a vast terrace below the theater and an imposing Ionic portico. Carved from local limestone, the structure – similar in type and scale to other contemporary altars – consists of a two-stepped substructure decorated with recessed bands, and an altar table supported by orthostates, in (...) front of which extends a broad prothysis. Despite the meticulous care taken in its design, some elements of the construction remain unfinished, particularly on the façade – a surprising fact – and on the north side. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the altar, gradually surrounded by votive offerings, continued to be used until Late Antiquity. In the Protobyzantine period, a Christian basilica was erected atop the ruins of the now-dilapidated altar, and this church may have undergone expansions at an unknown date. The modern chapel of Aghia Trias was later built on the remains of this basilica. This article examines the architecture and history of the altar and the subsequent structures that replaced it, which were unearthed at the end of the 19th century but have remained virtually unpublished. (shrink)

Diplomacy and statuary in the Hellenistic period : concerning the decree CID IV 99 of the Pyleodelphic Amphictyony. This paper proposes a reanalysis of an Amphictyonic decree of the end of the 3rd c. BC, which, in answer to a delegation sent by Antiocheia of the Chrysaorians, that is to say Alabanda in Caria, grants the city, among other honours, the installation in the sanctuary at Delphi of a 3.60 m (12 ft) high bronze statue representing the People of Antiocheia. (...) Unusually, Antiochos III is honoured by the same decree and is granted a statue of the same height. After a study of the intersecting interests, linked to the diplomatic and military context, which explain the installation of this impressive sculptural group, original both in terms of typology and of setting, I focus on personifications of the People and their evolution. The main hypothesis concerns the creation, in Hellenistic times, beside the classical type of the bearded old man, of a young and energetic type of the People, inspired by the renewed civic iconography. Thus, a colossal statue found on Cos, whose interpretation is much disputed, could in fact be a honorific statue of the People. (shrink)