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The Sanctuary of
Artemis Orthia
was one of the most
important religious
sites in the Greek
city of
Sparta.
The Sanctuary
The cult of Orthia
was common to the
four villages
originally
constituting Sparta:
Limnai, Pitana,
Kynosoura and Mesoa.
Chronologically
speaking, it
probably came after
the cult to the city-goddess
Athena,
Πολιοῦχος /
Polioũkhos "protectress
of the city" or
Χαλκίοικος /
Khalkíoikos "of the
bronze house".
The sanctuary is
located in a natural
basin between Limnai
and the west bank of
the river Evrotas.
The oldest relics,
pottery fragments
from the late Greek
Dark Ages, indicate
that the cult has
probably existed
since the 9th
century BC.
Originally, the cult
celebrated its
rituals on a
rectangular earthen
altar. At the very
beginning of the 8th
century BC, the
Temenos was paved
with river stones
and surrounded by a
trapezoidal wall. A
wood and stone altar
was then built as
well as a temple.
The works were
financed by the wars
waged by Sparta.
Theater remains with the river Evrotas in the background
A second temple was
built in 570 BC,
during the joint
reign of Leo of
Sparta and Agasicles
as military
successes provided
funds. The terrain
was raised and
consolidated,
undoubtedly
following erosion
caused by the
Evrotas. An altar
and a temple of
limestone, oriented
the same way as the
previous buildings,
were built on a bed
of river sand. The
surrounding wall was
also enlarged, and
at this stage took
on a rectangular
form. The second
temple was entirely
rebuilt in the 2nd
century BC, except
for the altar, which
was replaced in its
turn in the 3rd
century AD when the
Romans built an
amphitheatre to
welcome tourists to
the diamastigosis (see
below)
Timeline based on a 1929 publication
The cult
Representation of the goddess on an ivory votive offering, National Archaeological Museum of Athens (Source)
Primitive cult
elements
Originally, the cult
of Orthia was a
pre-anthropomorphic
and pre-Olympian
religion. The
inscriptions simply
mentioned "Orthia"
[2]. The cult
addressed a xoanon
(rude wooden effigy)
of malevolent
reputation. It was
reputedly from
Tauride, where it
was stolen by
Orestes and
Iphigeneia.
Pausanias best
describes the
subsequent origin of
the diamastigosis
(ritual
flagellation):
"I will give
other evidence that
the Orthia in
Lacedaemon is the
wooden image from
the foreigners.
Firstly, Astrabacus
and Alopecus, sons
of Irbus, son of
Amphisthenes, son of
Amphicles, son of
Agis, when they
found the image
straightway became
insane. Secondly,
the Spartan
Limnatians, the
Cynosurians, and the
people of Mesoa and
Pitane, while
sacrificing to
Artemis, fell to
quarrelling, which
led also to
bloodshed; many were
killed at the altar
and the rest died of
disease. Whereat an
oracle was delivered
to them, that they
should stain the
altar with human
blood. He used to be
sacrificed upon
whomsoever the lot
fell, but Lycurgus
changed the custom
to a scourging of
the ephebos, and so
in this way the
altar is stained
with human blood. By
them stands the
priestess, holding
the wooden image.
Now it is small and
light, but if ever
the scourgers spare
the lash because of
a lad's beauty or
high rank, then at
once the priestess
finds the image grow
so heavy that she
can hardly carry it.
She lays the blame
on the scourgers,
and says that it is
their fault that she
is being weighed
down. So the image
ever since the
sacrifices in the
Tauric land keeps
its fondness for
human blood. They
call it not only
Orthia, but also
Lygodesma (Λυγοδέσμα
- Willow-bound),
because it was found
in a thicket of
willows, and the
encircling willow
made the image stand
upright.
[3](III, 16, 9–11)"
According to
Plutarch,
writing in Life of
Aristide (17, 8),
the ceremony is a
re-enactment
memorializing an
episode in the
Greco-Persian
Wars[4].
In addition to the
flagellation of the
diamastigosis, the
cult entailed
individual dances by
young men and dances
by choruses of
girls. For the young
men, the prize is a
sickle, which
implies an
agricultural ritual.
The presence of
ex-votos (votive
offerings) attests
to the popularity of
the cult: clay masks
representing old
women or hoplites as
well as lead and
terra cotta figures
showing men and
women playing the
flute, lyre, or
cymbals, or mounting
a horse.
Diamastigosis
The cult of Orthia
gave rise to
διαμαστίγωσις /
diamastigosis (from
διαμαστιγῶ /
diamastigô, "to whip
harshly"), where
Ephebos were flogged,
as described by
Plutarch, Xenophon,
Pausanius and Plato.
Cheeses were piled
on the altar and
guarded by adults
with whips. The
young men would
attempt to get them,
braving the whips.
At least to the
Roman era, the
priestess could
control the force of
the flogging;
according to
Pausanius she
carried the xoanon
during the ritual,
and if it grew too
heavy for her she
would blame the
floggers as
described above.
Ártemis ,Señora de
los animales
During the Roman
period, according to
Cicero, the ritual
became a blood
spectacle, sometimes
to the death, with
spectators from all
over the empire (Tusculanae
Quaestiones, II,
34). An amphitheatre
had to be built in
the 3rd century to
accommodate the
tourists. Libanios
indicates that the
spectacle was
attracting the
curious as late as
the 4th century.
Sanctuary votive offerings showing busts of animals, National Archaeological Museum of Athens (Source)
Excavation of the
site
The site was brought
to light at the
beginning of the
20th century by the
British school of
archaeology during
their digs in
Laconia. At the
time, the site
appeared to consist
only of a ruined
Roman theatre,
largely pillaged
after the foundation
of modern Sparta in
1834, and about to
collapse into the
river. The
archaeologists,
under the leadership
of R.M. Dawkins,
quickly found
evidence of Greek
occupation. Dawkins
writes, "The Roman
theatre was easy to
protect...a large
quantity of ancient
objects which by the
light they shed on
primitive Sparta,
have given this dig
capital
significance."
Stele of Xenokles with facade of the Temple relief
Stele of Primos, dedication to Artemis Ortheia
The first campaign
lasted five seasons
during which Dawkins
published A History
of the Sanctuary in
1910. It was marked
by an intense focus
on stratigraphy. The
1924–-1928 campaign
in Sparta also
included a cleanup
of the Orthia site
in 1928.
Ivory busts of the goddess; votive offerings, National Archaeological Museum of Athens (Source)
Notes
Bibliography
Links
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www.sikyon.com/Sparta/ The most important archelogical site of sparta is the sanctuary of Arthemis orthia located at the entrance of the modern city, excavated during the years of 1906-1910. The sanctuary is located along the north bank of river Eurotas, and its history starts around the 10th century B.C. The sanctuary was build around 1100 B.C. During the 6th century B.C. and probably because of a flood, the sanctuary was destroyed , and a new and bigger one was build , very close to the its original location..The sanctuary was again rebuilt at the beginning of the 2nd Century A.C. The latest renovation took place during the 3rd century A.C. when the sanctuary and the altar were combined into a ampitheartical temple with a dimeter of 54 m, which was used until the destroyal of Sparta from Alarihos at 396 A.C. At the sanctuary the ancient Spartans, used to perform dances wearing masks and the place used to be the center for the Agogi (the educational system for the young Spartans).
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Diamastigosis
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The ancient acropolis now is a park covered in olive trees |
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Colgantes en forma de adormidera del Santuario de Artemis Orthia
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