Ancient Brauron

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MYTHICAL ROUTES HISTORICAL SERIES

ANCIENT BRAURON ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

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Table of Contents Table of Contents

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Historical Series

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Copyright Notice

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Cradle of Western civilization

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Brauron

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About the Author

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Books by G. Baltoyannis

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Historical Series collection

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Photography Series

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Adventure Travel Greece

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Historical Series Mythical Routes Historical Series is a location-based series of architectonical / historical guides based on the best seller books by architect and author G. Baltoyannis. For more information visit Mythical Routes | Books.

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ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE CHTHONIC AND CELESTIAL ❖

Editor in chief: Angelo Baltoyannis

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Author: George Baltoyannis

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Translation: Chris Loutroutzis

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Text editing: Lorraine Adams

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Graphic design: Angelo Baltoyannis

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Design Layout & Pagination: Mythical Routes IKE

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ISBN: 978-618-84479-0-5

“Mythical Routes inaugural mission is to help spread the ideas and facts of Ancient Hellenic World with the broader geographical meaning throughout the international adventure community”

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Copyright Notice All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, send us an email or write at the address:

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Cradle of Western civilization Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization, being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, Western drama and the Olympic Games.

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Ancient Messini, Peloponnese © 2019 A. Baltoyannis

From the eighth century B.C., the Greeks were organized into various independent city-states (polis), which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Philip of Macedon united most of the Greek mainland in the fourth century B.C., with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world, from the eastern Mediterranean to India.

Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century B.C., becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, which adopted the Greek language and culture.

The country's rich historical legacy is reflected in part by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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Brauron Athena’s Children Boarding School for Girls In Brauron the shape of the sanctuary is roughly the same as that of the Acropolis, however it is facing south. At this point we should mention that Pausanias does not make the distinction between Tauropolos Artemis (Loutsa) and Brauronia Artemis (Brauron), even though the shrines are 7 kilometers from each other. The ritual of the sacrifice of Iphigenia was held at the first temple, while Iphigenia withdrew to the second temple, where she remained as a priestess until her death; namely the two temples completed each others logic.

According to the myth, Agamemnon caused the wrath of Artemis and the fleet could not sail from Aulis; so he had to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. As soon as the seer Calchas was ready to sacrifice the girl, Artemis took pity on her and replaced her with a deer. So the goddess took Iphigenia and made her a priestess in the temple of Tauris (Crimea).

The procession of the major Brauronia started at the Shrine of the Acropolis and ended in Brauron, covering a distance of 35 kilometers. This course was slow (2km/h), because basically it was a woman holiday and many of the women were possibly pregnant. Consequently it would take at least two days to cover the distance, with a possible stop in Pallini; it is the location of Pallinida Athena, where the worship of the goddess began (Gerakas). On the second day arriving in the temple at dusk, they used to camp outside the site of the temple.

It is very unlikely that they covered this distance by ascending mount Hymettus.

Brauron This site is essentially a boarding house, the dimensions of which were proportionate to those of a child, for little girls of 5-10 years old, whose parents had dedicated them to the goddess before or during childbirth. These girls, "bear cubs" as they were called (what a sweet name indeed; after all even to this day little children still sleep with their teddy bears), stayed in the sanctuary, in nine rooms of eleven people, with the dimensions of roughly 5X5, therefore

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25 square meters, which is a large room of the modern average residence. So therefore the Sanctuary had the capacity to house 99 girls.

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Image XIII Š 2002 A. Baltoyannis

So the sanctuary covered a surface of 4.000 square meters, which means that there was a ratio of 40-50 square meters per child, while today in the best case scenario this ratio is 16,5 square meters per child. These rooms had a southeastern orientation and, for reasons of protection, faced a courtyard. So the harmful northern wind was blocked by a wall, so that the site could be accessed from the east and west. The use of double protection from the north wind for this place, together with the blind wall of the rooms, is a very clever architectural solution. So the children were protected by the building and stayed there until their first menstruation, where they logically learned about the female natural troubles. There were similar shrines throughout Attica with the same rituals as that of Brauron. Today of course there is no similar building in the world.

There are plenty of statuettes of girls exhibited in the museum of Brauron, like the one holding a rabbit, through which anyone can perceive the tender education and the supervision which must have been provided by the Athenian state.

Suffice it to see their smiling faces with the Attic smile, dressed in double layered warm clothes, in the measurements of a child, where the posture of good nutrition can be seen. When there is such attendance in the shrine, like 9 of 18

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that of Brauron, from Athenian mothers visiting their children, the artist has no other choice but to precisely depict the reality of the operation of the shrine, something that is evident in his statuettes.

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Brauron Š 2017 Mythical Routes

Before we proceed in our research, we should consider through the worship the issue of gender equality in relation to Christianity. In Christianity, the Virgin Mary comes in third, after the Father and the Son and as the God-Mother is projected with "virginity" being her basic virtue. So there is a patriarchy and the worship seems to be male dominated. In the Olympian Pantheon the roles seem to be divided; six male and six female roles. Even the chthonic gods are divided based on the Sextet which, according to the Pythagoreans, indicates "Harmony". Furthermore Hera, the protector of family, was not in an advantageous position in relation to Aphrodite, the goddess of Love, who was not inferior to the virgin Pallas Athena or the virgin Artemis. Furthermore, Hera was not inferior to Zeus and acted independently like all gods. Zeus simply tried to maintain some balance in various ways while he often had to face conspiracies.

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The climate conditions of Greece, its geographical relief map, but also its position in the marine area of the Mediterranean Sea, do not favor the development of gods like, for example, those of Egypt or the Arabic Peninsula, where the climate conditions are inhospitable and there are vast expanses, deserts, large populations or vast states.

Brauron is located slightly below the 38th parallel and directly opposite Ephesus, where the famous temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world torched by Herostratus, was located. Alexander was willing to fund the completion of the new temple, as long as his name was inscribed on the building. The answer he received however, was that it is not fitting for a god to present gifts to other gods.

The temple of Ephesus turns towards the cradle of the Ionians, Tetrapolis which was founded by their primal ancestor Xanthus. The temple of Artemis in Brauron (image XIII) then turns to the east, towards the temple of Ephesus. And that is the typical example of the connection of sacred sites. Namely the direction of the temples was not arbitrary, because architecture is a science where everything is justified; even the aesthetic side. The Sanctuary of Iphigenia as it is natural faces the temple of Artemis. Furthermore, behind the Sanctuary of Iphigenia was her tomb. So the Sanctuary of Iphigenia as a chthonic goddess has a western orientation and that of Artemis as a celestial goddess, an eastern one. (The temples of the Ancients project their opening while the Christian temples project the Shrine).

Artemis is basically a nature goddess, that is why the sanctuary was built near the river Erasinus, which always flooded after the rain and is an important wetland rich in vegetation. The floor of the temple of Artemis is in its natural state, with the rocks entering the site. This archaeological site is among those destroyed by the Persians. Moreover the idol of Artemis brought by Orestes from Tauris was taken by Xerxes to Susa. 180 years later it was found by Seleucus and sent to Laodicea of Syria, where it still existed during the days of Pausanias, in the 2nd century A.D. Brauron was also one of the twelve prehistoric towns which united during the years of Cecrops with the City of Athens. Cecrops was one of the mythical kings of Attica, which was named Cecropia after him, while initially it was called Acte. 

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About the Author George Baltoyannis was born in Athens, Greece in 1941. His father was from Epirus and his mother from Andros.

He studied architecture in Rome and took part in art exhibitions (Margutta – San Luca – Artecom – Palazzo Delle Esposizioni etc.). He returned to Athens in 1970 and worked as a freelance architect and at the same time was an employee, successively at the Greek Ministry of National Defence (Pentagon), the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and the Autonomous Building Organization for Officers (AOOA).

Today, alongside the above activities he also researches and lectures on history of art.

His books and theories have been embraced by the Università degli Studi dell'Aquila in Italy, where he was invited several times to give lectures, and the theories of his book “Sacred Architecture” have been integrated into the curriculum of lesson "Elements of Geometry" of the University of Ioannina in Greece.

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Books by G. Baltoyannis With more than 30 years of Historical research on the relation between ancient Greek architecture and ancient religion, George Baltoyannis is the author of five best seller Greek books.

Most books are available in English language and eBook reflow format. For more information, visit our Shop.

Sacred Architecture

Sacred Journey to Mystical Greece

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Sacred Astronomy

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Historical Series collection To view the full Historical Series collection eBooks and get all available Mythical Guides, in mobile-friendly layout, visit our Shop.

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Photography Series Mythical Routes Photography Series is dedicated to understanding photography, learning about the history of travel photography and adventure photography specific techniques, mastering equipment and much more.

Angelo Baltoyannis | architect

Angelo Baltoyannis is an Architect and Urban Planner with postgraduate studies in Art and Photography. He was a project partner with Nikon Greece in 2017, contributor in many photographic magazines like iFocus, Overland Times and editor in chief in Mythical Routes Publishing.

Angelo has been involved in Travel Photography for over twenty years and focused mainly on Adventure Photography. He has closely worked with the American motorcycle clothing company KLiM, the Swiss motorcycle luggage company Enduristan and the Greek motorcycle gear company Aurora Rally Equipment.

His has been marketing and art director for the Greek adventure gear shop Most Wanted Warehouse since 2014 and his work has been featured in the

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German overland magazine Overland Journal, the social accounts of Nikon Greece, and the Austrian Brand Management company Seven MMD GmbH, manager of companies like KTM, Motorex, FMF and more.

Memories from the East

Adventure Travel Photography

“ Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets ” ~ Oscar Wilde

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Adventure Travel Greece Our travels and expeditions showcase the beauty and the hidden historical facts of the Ancient Hellenic World with the broader geographical meaning of the term while riding through the breathtaking scenery of long mountain ridges, forest national reserves, remote dragon lakes and isolated hi-planes.

We organize Off-road Adventure Motorcycle Tours and On-road Cultural and Gastronomy Tours with a Historical approach, that can be ridden with your own motorcycle or with one provided from us. You ride at your own pace, always 17 of 18

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accompanied by a tour leader who will take care of everything for you. Our routes are ideal for dual-sport and adventure motorcycles and are based on the tracks that unfold along with the plot of the best-selling history books of architect and researcher George Baltoyannis (self-guided, SUV, VAN services available).

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