Letoon

Title :

Place : Delos

Place :

Town :

: Delos

Ancient location :

: Delos isl.

Ancient region :

Other toponyme (explanation):

GENERAL

The lake quarter extends N of the Sanctuary of Apollo around the “trochoidal lake”. Here lies the sanctuary of Leto, of which only the lion terrace dedicated by the Naxians and the temple of Leto are preserved. SW of the Letoon is the Dodekatheon, the sanctuary of the twelve gods. MONUMENTS Dodekatheon: The sanctuary of the Dodekatheon initially contained altars of the twelve gods, of which their statues were possibly placed on the sanctuary. Later an amphiprostyle Doric temple was added. Sanctuary of Leto: The temple of Leto is divided by two columns in antis into two rooms, a pronaos and a cella. The temple was made mainly of marble and at some parts of gneiss. The pronaos was paved and had two entrances, one on the west and the other one on the south. A marble bench was attached to the exterior walls. A tall bench, used for offerings, ran roundinside walls. It also bore the worshipping statue, the base of which was found on it. To the north of the Letoon is the terrace of the Lions. The terrace is located to the west of an avenue (Sacred Way). The marble statues, offered by the Naxians, represent squatting, snarling guardian lions, oriented towards the east and standing along the Sacred Way. Originally there were nine to sixteen, but today only seven remain. The exact area occupied by the sanctuary is not known, but it seems to have included all the area of the later Agora of the Italians. FINDS A group of many sculptures, dating to the end of the 6th c., were discovered in the SW corner of the Agora of the Italians. Statues of Apollo, Artemis, Leto, Zeus, Hera and Athena were among them. It is believed that they originally stood in the area of the Dodekatheon. Pottery was found under the paved floor of the pronaos of the Letoon. CHRONOLOGY During the Archaic and Classical Periods the Dodekatheon contained only the altars and probably the statues of the twelve gods. The amphiprostyle Doric temple is a Hellenistic addition. The lions date to the 7th c and the temple of Leto to the mid 6th c. IDENTIFICATION A votive inscription to Athena, Zeus and Hera, found on one of the altars (Altar C), in combination with the location of the Dodekatheon, as it is mentioned in epigraphic evidence, led to the conclusion that the sanctuary was dedicated to the twelve gods. The identification of the temple found at the NE of the Dodekatheon as the Letoon is based on literary sources. RECORDS Excavation Date: 1879-1880 (Letoon), 1894 (Terrace of Lions), 1906 (Dodekatheon), 1920 (Letoon) Institution/Excavator: French School at Athens/Leroux G.(Dodekatheon), Homolle Th., Vallois R., Pippas D. (Letoon), Couve L., Couvert H. (Terrace of Lions) Excavation Type: Systematic REFERENCES Primary Publications: Gallet de Santerre H. 1959. La Terrasse des lions, le Létoon, le Monument de Granit, Délos XXIV, Paris, 9-72, 112-120 Will E. 1955. Le Dôdékathéon, Délos XXII, Paris, 168-170, 176-177 Secondary Publications: Bruneau Ph. 1970. Recherches sur les cultes de Delos à l’epoque hellenistique et à l’epoque imperiale, Paris, 207-210 Bruneau Ph. 1990. Sur l’extension du Téménos de Léto. BCH 114: 571-576 Bruneau Ph., Ducat J. (eds) 2005. Guide de Délos: Quatriéme édition refondue et mise à jour, Paris, 216-217 (no. 51: Dodekatheon), 222-224 (no. 53; Letoon) Ekschmitt W. 1993. Die Kykladen. Bronzezeit, Geometrische und Archaische Zeit, Mainz am Rhein, 240-244 Gallet de Santerre H. 1958. Délos primitive et archaïque, Paris, 257-258, 266-267 Jockey Ph. 1996. Le sanctuaire de Délos à l’époque archaïque. Bilan historiographique et bibliographique, TOPOI 6: 180, 183-184 Marcadé J. 1950. Notes sur trois sculptures archaïques récemment reconstituées, BCH 74: 181-215 Marcadé J. 2008. À propos des sculptures archaïques de l’ΑγοράΘεών de Délos, Kourayos Y., Prost F. (eds), La sculpture des Cyclades à l’époque archaïque. Histoire des ateliers, rayonnement des styles. Actes du colloque international, Athènes 7-9 septembre 1998, BCH Suppl. 48, 263-281 Vallois R. 1929. Topographie délienne II, BCH 53: 205-249, 314-315 Vallois R. 1944. L'architecture hellénique et hellénistique à Délos jusqu'à l'éviction des Déliens (166 av. J.-C) I : Les monuments, Paris, 68-69, 124, 136-137, 150-152, 263

<h4>GENERAL</h4>The lake quarter extends N of the Sanctuary of Apollo around the “trochoidal lake”. Here lies the sanctuary of Leto, of which only the lion terrace dedicated by the Naxians and the temple of Leto are preserved. SW of the Letoon is the Dodekatheon, the sanctuary of the twelve gods. MONUMENTS Dodekatheon: The sanctuary of the Dodekatheon initially contained altars of the twelve gods, of which their statues were possibly placed on the sanctuary. Later an amphiprostyle Doric temple was added. Sanctuary of Leto: The temple of Leto is divided by two columns in antis into two rooms, a pronaos and a cella. The temple was made mainly of marble and at some parts of gneiss. The pronaos was paved and had two entrances, one on the west and the other one on the south. A marble bench was attached to the exterior walls. A tall bench, used for offerings, ran roundinside walls. It also bore the worshipping statue, the base of which was found on it. To the north of the Letoon is the terrace of the Lions. The terrace is located to the west of an avenue (Sacred Way). The marble statues, offered by the Naxians, represent squatting, snarling guardian lions, oriented towards the east and standing along the Sacred Way. Originally there were nine to sixteen, but today only seven remain. The exact area occupied by the sanctuary is not known, but it seems to have included all the area of the later Agora of the Italians. FINDS A group of many sculptures, dating to the end of the 6th c., were discovered in the SW corner of the Agora of the Italians. Statues of Apollo, Artemis, Leto, Zeus, Hera and Athena were among them. It is believed that they originally stood in the area of the Dodekatheon. Pottery was found under the paved floor of the pronaos of the Letoon. CHRONOLOGY During the Archaic and Classical Periods the Dodekatheon contained only the altars and probably the statues of the twelve gods. The amphiprostyle Doric temple is a Hellenistic addition. The lions date to the 7th c and the temple of Leto to the mid 6th c. IDENTIFICATION A votive inscription to Athena, Zeus and Hera, found on one of the altars (Altar C), in combination with the location of the Dodekatheon, as it is mentioned in epigraphic evidence, led to the conclusion that the sanctuary was dedicated to the twelve gods. The identification of the temple found at the NE of the Dodekatheon as the Letoon is based on literary sources. RECORDS Excavation Date: 1879-1880 (Letoon), 1894 (Terrace of Lions), 1906 (Dodekatheon), 1920 (Letoon) Institution/Excavator: French School at Athens/Leroux G.(Dodekatheon), Homolle Th., Vallois R., Pippas D. (Letoon), Couve L., Couvert H. (Terrace of Lions) Excavation Type: Systematic REFERENCES Primary Publications: Gallet de Santerre H. 1959. La Terrasse des lions, le Létoon, le Monument de Granit, Délos XXIV, Paris, 9-72, 112-120 Will E. 1955. Le Dôdékathéon, Délos XXII, Paris, 168-170, 176-177 Secondary Publications: Bruneau Ph. 1970. Recherches sur les cultes de Delos à l’epoque hellenistique et à l’epoque imperiale, Paris, 207-210 Bruneau Ph. 1990. Sur l’extension du Téménos de Léto. BCH 114: 571-576 Bruneau Ph., Ducat J. (eds) 2005. Guide de Délos: Quatriéme édition refondue et mise à jour, Paris, 216-217 (no. 51: Dodekatheon), 222-224 (no. 53; Letoon) Ekschmitt W. 1993. Die Kykladen. Bronzezeit, Geometrische und Archaische Zeit, Mainz am Rhein, 240-244 Gallet de Santerre H. 1958. Délos primitive et archaïque, Paris, 257-258, 266-267 Jockey Ph. 1996. Le sanctuaire de Délos à l’époque archaïque. Bilan historiographique et bibliographique, TOPOI 6: 180, 183-184 Marcadé J. 1950. Notes sur trois sculptures archaïques récemment reconstituées, BCH 74: 181-215 Marcadé J. 2008. À propos des sculptures archaïques de l’ΑγοράΘεών de Délos, Kourayos Y., Prost F. (eds), La sculpture des Cyclades à l’époque archaïque. Histoire des ateliers, rayonnement des styles. Actes du colloque international, Athènes 7-9 septembre 1998, BCH Suppl. 48, 263-281 Vallois R. 1929. Topographie délienne II, BCH 53: 205-249, 314-315 Vallois R. 1944. L'architecture hellénique et hellénistique à Délos jusqu'à l'éviction des Déliens (166 av. J.-C) I : Les monuments, Paris, 68-69, 124, 136-137, 150-152, 263