Attic sanctuaries

Extract

Over the course of the last 15 years numerous sanctuaries have been excavated in Attica. Some of these cult places provide us with additional information on important Athenian state cults, such as the cult of Athena Pallenis, while others offer new information about deme or rural cults. Eleven sanctuaries are presented in this article, along with the quarry that provided the building material for the Sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia. These range from extensive sanctuaries with numerous buildings, to humble open-air shrines with no permanent structures other than a peribolos wall. They mostly date to the Archaic and Classical periods, although some appear to have operated from the Geometric period. Only two of the sanctuaries are Roman. Finds from these cult places attest to the dedication of offerings and/or communal feasting. Unfortunately, it is not possible to identify the deities worshipped at all of the sanctuaries presented.