Athens – Parthenon South Slope – Statue Bases

OK, a post about statue bases isn’t going to set the heart racing, not like a post about Greggs for example. But I still think that they’re interesting. But I’ve set the bar low there….

A dedicatory base with a choregic inscription. I didn’t know what the word ‘choregic’ meant, but it refers to a group of actors who perform together. It’s also where the word chorus is derived from. It dates from between 76 and 88AD.

This is an inscribed statue base which honoured archon Tiberius Claudius Lysiades. It dates from the second century AD. The archon were the chief nine magistrates of Athens, but the word came in English to mean ruler. The word was relatively common in the early nineteenth century, but it has now fallen into abeyance. Although it’s also the derivative of the word archbishop or phrases such as arch enemy. And back in the day, in the early medieval period, they weren’t archbishops, but highbishops.

I thought this was a lump of rock. Although that’s why I’m not a professional archaeologist. But apparently it’s the part of a base and has a dedicatory inscription and is surrounded by an olive-tree wreath. It dates to the second or third BC, which is some impressive dating given there’s a limited amount left.