KERAMEIKOS
Kerameikos, also known by its Latin form, Ceramicus, lies to the northwest of the Acropolis. There are two entrances to Kerameikos: the Dipylon and the Sacred Gate. The Eridanos River runs through the site, next to the Sacred Gate, and potters would use the clay from the river to make ceramics. Athenians would begin the Panathenaic Procession at Kerameikos, starting at the Pompeyon, and continue on through the Agora and to the Acropolis. Past the old city wall lies the cemetery, where grave steles line the Sacred Way and the Street of Tombs. The cemetery is where Pericles gave his famous funeral oration during the Pelopponesian War, honoring the lives of all those who died in the first year of the war.
THE GATES
I liked learning about the different gates into Kerameikos. It is interesting to me that there was the Dipylon (di-pylon, meaning two gates), for everyday travel, and the Sacred Gate, for sacred ceremonies like the Panatheneia. This makes me wonder why other sites only have one gate, like the Propyleia at the Acropolis and the Lion's Gate at Mycenae. Was there a second gate at Kerameikos because of its sacredness as a cemetery? Would people only pass through that one when coming to or leaving the cemetery and passing through during the Panatheneia, and use the other one for travel through the area? Also, the Dipylon was built with two gates to protect from foreign invaders, but couldn't the foreigners have just walked through the Sacred Gate?
A BOND BEYOND THE GRAVE
In the graveyard at Kerameikos, many of the steles, or headstones, depicted the one who died along with their family members and pets. There were some relatives who were portrayed as giving the departed person away, and those were the family members who were still alive. There were other relatives who were portrayed as receiving the departed person, and those were the family members who had already passed away. Often times, the favorite pet of the deceased, or even a toy for a child, was pictured as well. This makes me feel like the Greeks had a strong bond within their families. We often see Greek religion, with many gods and unfamiliar practices, as something much different than what we are used to, but it seems that their familial bonds say otherwise. Their love for one another was strong enough that even in death, families were not separated.
THE POTTERS' QUARTER
Before Themistocles built the new city wall of Athens, Kerameikos was divided into "Inner Kerameikos" within the old wall, and "Outer Kerameikos," outside of the old wall. "Inner Kerameikos" used to be the "potters' quarter" of Athens, where potters used the clay from the Eridanos River to make pottery (the modern word "ceramics" comes from "Kerameikos"). However, I do not know what happened to the potters' quarter after the city wall was expanded past "Outer Kerameikos." I would like to know where the potters moved, or if they stayed where they were. Did they continue to use the clay from the Eridanos but brought it to another site? Did they have a place to work among the cemetery and the structures? Did the traffic through the gates and to and from the Pompeyon disturb their work?
PERICLES' FUNERAL ORATION
At Kerameikos, Pericles delivered his funeral oration to honor those who had fallen in the first year of the Pelopponesian War. His speech is included in Thucydides' History of the Pelopponesian War, though Thucydides mentions that it is not necessarily what Pericles said word-for-word, but Pericles' ideas are represented. Thucydides mentions that the Athenians held a similar ceremony every year, where the bodies of the fallen are honored, and, at the end, "a man chosen by the city for his intellectual gifts and for his general reputation makes an appropriate speech in praise of the dead" (Thucydides 2.34). I think it is fitting that Pericles gave the first funeral oration of the war. He certainly had "intellectual gifts" and a good reputation, leading Athens in its Golden Age. He died in the third year of the war, 429 BC, so I am glad that he was chosen to make a speech before he passed. I think that he was certainly the right choice to make the first speech, for his speech is one of the best passages from literature that I have read. In my opinion, Pericles spoke significantly well, and Thucydides did a good job representing him. Like the Athenian victory at the Battle of Salamis, I believe that some, if not all, things happen for a reason, and I believe that Pericles was chosen to speak at the first public funeral of the war because he would pass in the third year.
IMPORTANT SITES IN KERAMEIKOS
The Cemetery: past the old city wall lies the cemetery, where ancient steles mark the graves of Athenians long passed.
The Dipylon: the main gate into Kerameikos, the Dipylon was constructed with two arches to keep out intruders. It was used for everyday traffic.
The Sacred Gate: the Sacred Gate was used in special circumstances. When the Panathenaic Procession began, the Athenians would exit Kerameikos through the Sacred Gate. The Athenians also exited the Sacred Gate when participating in the Elusinian mysteries, walking along the Sacred Way from Kerameikos to Elusis as part of a ritual honoring Demeter and Persephone.
The Pompeyon: before exiting though the Sacred Gate, Athenians began the Panaathenaic Procession at the Pompeyon, which was the dressing room for the procession.
A Trip to the Museum
From the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece (see seventh picture)
Title: Part of a marble grave stele
When: 400 to 375 BC
Where: Piraeus, Greece
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It is interesting to speculate what sports the ancient Greeks used to play. Seeing this man playing with a ball using his knee reminds me of soccer, though we don't often discuss ancient sports besides the "track and field" ones at the Panathenaic and Panhellenic Games.
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I'm curious to why this image is on a man's grave. Was he really good at sports? Did he really like sports? Did he die playing sports? Also, his servant is standing there near him. What is the servant doing there? Is he learning how to play the sport? Is he holding the man's things while he practices? Also, according the Museum website, "only part of the shaft of the stele survives." Where is the rest of it, and what was pictured on it?