: Despotiko isl.
GENERAL
The uninhabited island of Despotiko lies west of the southwestern coast of Antiparos and east of Sifnos. It measures 7,650 sq.km. and it is characterized by a rocky terrain, high hills in its interior and steep coastlines. On the basis of the records of Strabo and Pliny, it has been identified with ancient Prepesinthos. No ancient sources however provide any description or reference to the island. An extensive and rich archaic sanctuary dedicated to Apollo occupied the modern site of “Mandra”, a plateau at the northernmost and largest peninsula of the island, right across the western coast of Antiparos, viewing Sifnos and the north Cyclades. A number of buildings however gradually expanded over the peninsula.
MONUMENTS
Cult Peribolos-North Temenos
Cult Building Α
Building A lies at the west part of the north temenos of the sanctuary. It is rectangular with a N-S orientation and consists of a northern part including rooms A1 and A2 and which represent the sanctuary’s main cult building and a southern part including rooms Α3, Α4 and Α5, which should be identified with the hestiatorion. Both parts have a porch. Three building phases have been recognized. During its earliest phase, the building consisted of rooms A1 and A2 with a common porch to the east. They were built of stone possibly having coated surfaces. The walls of the porch are built of marble. Two doorways provided access to the two rooms. Although not certain, the east wall might have formed the stylobate for a wooden colonnade of nine columns. The edifice was roofed with a pitched roof of Laconian tiles. The architectural features, as well as the votive offerings found sealed under the floor of Room A1 indicate that the first phase of the building should be placed ca. 560-550 BC.
Due to activities in late antiquity, Room A2 was very badly preserved. However, it contained three large marble bases, one of which has been identified with the base for the cult statue of the sanctuary, as suggested by its similarities with that of the cult statue of Artemis from the Parian Delion. It dates to 500-490 BC.
The second phase of building A saw the addition of the south part, identified with the hestiatorion of the sanctuary. Its masonry does not differ from that of the north part. It consists of three rooms (Α3, Α4, Α5) and an eastern porch with a marble colonnade in the façade, which could be largely reconstructed. Eight unfluted Doric columns in antis supported Ionic epistyles. An Ionic frieze was placed over a taenia or a cymatium, while the entablature was closed with an Ionic cornice. Doorways on the east side lead both to the prostoon and to the west side. Parts of the floor, made of raw stone chips, set together with plaster, were detected inside rooms A4 and Α5. Schist slabs were used for the floor of the prostoon. A square marble votive ‘bothros’ was found under the floor in front of the entrance to room A3, which seems to belong to the first building phase of the building. A pitched roof made of Corinthian tiles covered the rooms and the prostoon. The south part of the building was dated to 540-530 BC.
A reconstruction of the facade of the North part belongs to the edifice’s third building phase. A marble colonnade of ‘Island Doric’ order was erected on new foundations, in front of the older facade of the first phase. Seven unfluted columns in antis formed the north part of the façade having an architrave with regulae, a separate layer for the taenia, a frieze with triglyphs and metopes, and a cornice with mutuli lacking guttae. The capitals indicate a date towards 500 BC for this phase.
Building Δ
The building lies at the northwestern part of the peribolos, north of Building A and it was erected directly above the northern peribolos wall. It consists of a pronaos and a naos with four columns forming a prostyle façade. Its masonry and marble superstructure are similar to those of Building A. The floor of the cella is composed of a thick sub-layer of soil and medium-sized chipped stones, followed by a layer of off-white plaster and covered by whitish pebbles and chips, while schist slabs were used for the floor of the pronaos.
The building dates to the third quarter of the 6th century BC. Its architectural form and its quality of construction point to a cult building. The amount and wealth of the finds, mostly pottery, recovered from its exterior, led to the suggestion that it might have served as a safe for precious offerings.
A rectangular construction, found in very close distance south of the southwest corner of the building’s porch, was interpreted as a small altar.
The Peribolos
The northern part of the peribolos belongs to the third quarter of the 6th century. The North Gate is situated east of Building Δ and seems to have been through several construction phases. Contemporary or slightly later is the North Stoa, consisted of three roomsof diverse sizes sharing the peribolos wall to the north.
The South Gate is situated at the centre of the peribolos’ and has been dated to 540-530 BC.
The East Stoa has been detected at the north-eastern side of the peribolos. The east side of the peribolos has been severely damaged.
Building Ε
It lies to the north-eastern side of the temenos, outside the peribolos wall. It has a double ‘oikos’. A smaller two-roomed structure was found between the oikos and the peribolos, while two smaller rooms were also set to its south. Its walls must have been coated, while the floor was pebbled. The building has been through three phases with its main ‘oikos’ being the earliest, dating to the second half of the 6th century BC. A ‘connecting building’, a small double construction, erected between building E and the eastern peribolos wall, represent a later phase.
The dominance of drinking vessels among the finds in association with Building E and the ‘Connecting building’ might indicate drinking activities within a cultic frame.
Semicircular structure
An archaic semicircular structure or platform occupies the centre of the North temenos. Its front side is in exact alignment with building’s A façade. Its outer diameter reaches 9 m. It saw a number of building phases. The innermost structure was thought as the earliest. The earliest ceramic finds belong to the 7th c. but they cannot secure a construction date at that time. A semi circular construction was added to a later phase, being contemporary with the western foundation and a number of small pillars at its north. It has been interpreted as an altar.
The Eschara of Hestia
The eschara is made of four marble slabs and it is situatedjust off the north-eastern corner of the ‘temple’ porch. One of the slabs bears the inscription ‘ΕΣΤΙΑΣ ΙΣΘΜΙΑΣ’, pointing to the 5th-4th century BC.
South Complex
Building unities Θ and Ι form the so-called South Complex, extending to a short distance south of the peribolos.
Building unity Θ
It was constructed at the second half of the 6th century BC. A ‘square building’forms its north part. It is divided into two rectangular rooms with independent entrances. It represents the oldest closed structure at the site.
The edifice with a single room, lying south of the ‘square building’, is the best preserved at the sanctuary. It is mentioned as the ‘Building with canal” or as ‘Loutron’. A central canal, made of poros blocks, divides the room in the middle. It was leading to a basin attached to the west wall. Another canal leads from the bottom of the northeast corner of the basin to the north. Further installations, suggesting drainage, were detected in association with this building, as for example three circular ‘poros’ stones, lined up in equal spaces with holes on their top and front side corresponding to those opened at the lower part of the front wall. A marble bathtub was found inside the room. This discovery, in combination with the unusual plan of the room, the canals and the installations suggest that it might have served as a bath either for the symbolic purification of the visitors before entering the temenos or for being used only by priests.
The excavation of 2011 brought to light the foundations of six walls underneath the ‘loutron’ and building unity I, pointing to the existence of at least three rooms of an earlier edifice which should belong to the mid-6th century BC.
Building unity Ι
It consists of eleven rooms of various sizes, built in different phases. Its use cannot be determined. The north part is occupied by a trapezoid structure, which is the earliest. It consists of four rooms with two doors, in the east and west side. The building belongs to the early 5th century BC, as indicated by the discovery of parts of kouroi in second use at the west and east doors.
The smaller rooms at the south part of the building were a later addition of the Classical period and they must have served the daily needs of the visitors.
A large well, 2.30 m in diameter, north of the trapezoid structure, inside the peribolos of the south complex, provided the water for the needs at the sanctuary. A second was detected west of the temenos, outside of the enclosure.
Buildings outside the Peribolos
Building Γ
It is situated at the northern edge of the plateau, west of Building B. It is preserved only up to the height of its foundation. It is consisted of two rooms, each of which has two doorways at the north and south side. The orientation of the building towards Delos, together with the discovery of an attic skyphos, inscribed ΑΡΤΗΜΕ indicate a religious building. It dates to the second half of the 6th century BC.
Building Ζ
This building has been only partly excavated. It lies north of Building Γ and south of Building B and consists of four rooms sharing a paved atrium.
Building B
It is situated east of buildings Γ and Ζ at the highest point of the plateau. Its plan is irregular with seven, various-sized rooms with independent entrances (18.50 m x 9 m). Some are connected through interior doorways, while the access to other is only possible from the outside of the building. The building dates to the second half of the 6th century BC, but it must have seen various construction phases, covering a long period of use, possibly serving as a storage area or as an area destined for the visitors.
Building H
It is an oblong construction (23 m x 9 m) consisting of six rectangular rooms with a common wall to the north lying northeast of Building B. It includes six contemporary rooms. The movable finds (storage vessels, loom weights) indicate a storage area or a workshop and a date to the second half of the sixth century for its construction.
Buildings Kand Λare situated at thenortheast edge of the plateau. They are both of rectangular plan, poorly preserved to their foundation level. They could have functioned as observation posts.
The foundations of a circular tower and a small square building were detected at the tip of the peninsula of the island, from where the observation of the sailing ships and the protection of the sanctuary were possible.
CHRONOLOGY
The latest campaign verified that the activity at the site goes back to the Geometric period and the eighth or even the late ninth centuries BC. However, it is the 6th century that saw the development of the cult site and the foundation of the main buildings of the sanctuary. The sanctuary continues to be in use during the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Whether the Imperial period saw a religious activity at the site or a change is use, it cannot be claimed with certainty. By Late Antiquity, the site served domestic purposes.
IDENTIFICATION
The graffiti on a number of 6th-and 5th-century BC vessels secure the identification of the honoured deity with Apollo. However, it seems that he was worshipped together with his sister, Artemis.
The inscribed eschara verifies that Hestia was also worshipped at the sanctuary during the Classical period. Two sanctuaries on neighbouring Paros were dedicated to the patron goddess of seamen. She is mentioned as Isthmia due to the isthmus, which connected islet Tsimintiri with Despotiko in antiquity.
MOVABLE FINDS: VOTIVE OFFERINGS & CULT EQUIPMENT
Clay Vessels
Lamps
Loom Weights
Clay Figurines (many of the seated female type with a high polos)
Metal and Clay Jewellery
Armour (daggers, spears)
Farming Tools
Kouroi (parts of kouroi in second use in several buildings)
Korai (part of a torso and a foot with the plinth of a colossal marble female statue from Room A2 might belong to a cult statue)
Marble Bases
Coins
Animal bones: Burnt
Mollusks
Room Α1
Under the paved floor of room A1 a large number of intact objects were found, forming a deliberate deposition. The majority dates to the archaic period, while some vases are Geometric. The deposition was composed of Cycladic drinking shapes, Corinthian aryballoi, alabastra and kotylai, clay figurines, faience objects, seal stones carved of semiprecious stones, bronze and ivory fibulae, stone, glass and goldbeads, silver, iron, and lead artefacts, as well as an ostrich egg.
The deposit also contained a fragmentary Daedalic female clay figurine of large dimensions, dating to 675-650 BC, which has been interpreted as a cult statue.
RECORDS
Excavation Date: 19th century, 1959, 1997-present
Institution/Excavator:English traveler Theodore Bent, Greek Archaeological Service (N. Zapheiropoulos), Greek Archaeological Service (21st Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, Y. Kouragios).
Excavation Type: Systematic
REFERENCES
Primary Publication(s):
1. Kourayos Y., 2001. Ανάδειξη Αρχ/κών Χώρων της Πάρου και των μικρών νησίδων Δεσποτικό, Τσιμιντήρι, Στρογγυλό, in Η συμβολή του Υπουργείο Αιγαίου στην έρευνα και ανάδειξη του πολιτισμού του Αρχιπελάγους, Athens, 104-109.
2. Kourayos Y., 2002. Πάρος. Νέα σημαντικά ευρήματα, Corpus 43, 66-79.
3. Kourayos Y., 2004a. Δεσποτικό. Ένα νέο ιερό σε μία ακατοίκητη νησίδα των Κυκλάδων, Ευλιμένη 5, 27-90.
4. Kourayos Y., 2004b. Δεσποτικό. Ένα νέο ιερό του Απόλλωνα σε ένα από τα ακατοίκητα κυκλαδονήσια της Αντιπάρου, Πεμπτουσία 16, 70-79.
5. Kourayos Y., 2004c. Πάρος-Αντίπαρος. Ιστορία, Μνημεία, Μουσεία. Αρχαιολογικός Οδηγός, Athens.
6. Kourayos Y., 2004d. Δεσποτικό Πάρου. Νέες Αρχαιολογικές έρευνες, Corpus 57, 20-26.
7. Kourayos Y., 2004e. Δεσποτικό. Η ανακάλυψη ενός Νέου ιερού, in N.Chr. Stambolidis & Α. Giannikouri (eds.), Το Αιγαίο στην πρώιμη Εποχή του Σιδήρου (Ρόδος 1-4 Νοεμβρίου 2002), Athens, 437-452.
8. Kourayos Y., 2005a. Νέο ιερό του Απόλλωνα αποκαλύπτεται στο Δεσποτικό, ακατοίκητη νησίδα της Αντιπάρου, Corpus 68, 18-25.
9. Kourayos Y., 2005b. Δεσποτικό. Ένα νέο Ιερό του Απόλλωνα, ΑΑΑ 35-38 (2002-2005), 37-88.
10. Kourayos Y., 2005c. Δεσποτικό, in Α. Vlachopoulos (ed.), 2005. Αρχαιολογία. Νησιά του Αιγαίου, Athens, 269-270.
11. Kourayos Y. 2005d. Despotiko Mandra. A sanctuary dedicated to Apollo, in M. Geroulanou & M. Stamatopoulou (eds.), Architecture and Archaeology in the Cyclades. Papers in honour of J.J. Coulton, Oxford, 105-133.
12. Kourayos Y., 2006a. Η ανασκαφική δραστηριότητα του 2005 στο Ιερό του Απόλλωνα στην θέση Μάντρα της νησίδας του Δεσποτικού, in Ν. Stambolidis (ed.), Γενέθλιο (τόμος προς τιμή της Ντόλλης Γουλανδρή), Athens, 147-158.
13. Kourayos Y., 2006b. Το ιερό του Απόλλωνα στο Δεσποτικό, Παριανά 100 (Ιανουάριος-Μάρτιος 2006), 10-22.
14. Kourayos Y., 2006c. The archaic sanctuary of Apollo on the island Despotiko, in Les Clients de la céramique grecque. Colloque de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 30-31 Janvier 2004. Cahiers du CVA, France 1, Paris,59-67.
15. Kourayos Y., 2008a. Δεσποτικό. Το νησί του Απόλλωνα, in D. Katsonopoulou – I. Petropoulos – S. Katsarou (eds.), Πάρος ΙΙ. O Αρχίλοχος και η Εποχή του, Πρακτικά Συνεδρίου, Παροικιά 7-10 Οκτωβρίου 2005, Athens, 383-407.
16. Kourayos Y., 2008b. Η ανασκαφική δραστηριότητα στην Πάρο, Το χρονικό της αποκάλυψης των γλυπτών, in Y. Kourayos & F. Prost (eds.), LasculpturedesCycladesal’époquearchaïque. Histoire des ateliers, rayonnement des styles. Actes du colloque international organisé par l'Éphorie des antiquités préhistoriques et classiques des Cyclades et l'École française d'Athènes, 7-9 septembre 1998, Athènes, 87-129.
17. Kourayos Y., 2012a. Δεσποτικό. Το Ιερό του Απόλλωνα, Athens.
18. Kourayos Y., 2012b. Tα γλυπτά από το ιερό του Απόλλωνα στη θέση Μάντρα Δεσποτικού και νέα γλυπτά από την Πάρο, in W.-D. Niemeier & G. Kokkorou-Alevras (eds.), NeueFundeArchaischerPlastikAusGriechischenHeiligtümernundNekropolen, Athens, 101-132.
19. Kourayos Υ. - Burns B., 2005. Exploration of the archaic sanctuary at
Mandra on Despotiko, BCH 128, 133-174.
20. Kourayos Y. - Detoratou S., 1998. Au coeur des Cyclades le marbre de Paros, Archeologia 347, 22-27.
21. Kourayos Y.- Detoratou S., 2000a. Πάρος, η αρχαιολογική έρευνα
των τελευταίων δεκαετιών, Περίαπτο 2, 47-49.
22. Kourayos Y. - Detoratou S.,. 2000b. Ημίεργος αρχαϊκός κούρος στο μουσείο της Πάρου, ΑΑΑ 55, 57-72.
23. Kourayos Y. - Detoratou S. - Βurns B. 2003. Δεσποτικό. Η ανακάλυψη ενός Ιερού με πανελλήνια ακτινοβολία στο μικρό νησί των Κυκλάδων, Corpus 47, 32-49.
24. Kourayos Y. - Ohnesorg A. - Lambertz M. - Papajanni K., 2011. Apollon unterm Ziegenstall – Das neugefundene Heiligtum auf Despotiko, Antike Welt, 1-11.
25. Kourayos Y. – Daifa, Κ. - Ohnesorg A. - Papagianni K., 2010. Δεσποτικό. Σημαντικά πορίσματα για την αρχιτεκτονική του αρχαϊκού ιερού και τα αποτελέσματα των φετινών ερευνών, Παριανά 119, 472-488.
26. Kourayos Y. – Daifa, Κ. – Petropoulos S. 2011. Δεσποτικό 2011. Τα αποτελέσματα της φετινής ανασκαφικής περιόδου, Παριανά, 403-412.
27. Kourayos Y. – Daifa Κ. - Ohnesorg A. - Papagianni K., 2012. The Sanctuary of Despotiko on Antiparos. Excavations 2001-2012, AA 2012, 93-174.
28. Kourayos Y., Despotiko. The Sanctuary of Apollo, Athens 2012.
Secondary Publication(s):
1. Karakassi K., 2006. Eine archaische Terracotta Statuette aus Despotiko (Antiparos), in N. Chr. Stambolidis (ed.), Γενέθλιο (τόμος προς τιμή της Ντόλλης Γουλανδρή), Athens, 159-164.
2. Petrocheilos Ι.Ε., 1985. Αρχαϊκό κεφάλι από το Δεσποτικό, Δωδώνη 14, 115-123.
London.
