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Kerameikos is an important archaeological site in Athens, Greece. It’s located in the neighborhood of the same name.
History of Kerameikos Archaeological Site
Kerameikos was the site of the most important cemetery in Athens, which was first organized around 1200 BC. After the construction of the Themistoclean Wall in 478 BC, the area was divided into Outer and Inner Kerameikos. Outer Kerameikos consisted of the area outside the walls, which continued as a cemetery. Inner Kerameikos, the area inside the walls, was used for urban development. It eventually became the potter’s quarter thanks to the abundance of clay carried by the Eridanos River. The Pompeion, a public building that was used during the Panathenaea festival, was constructed between the two city gates around 400 BC.
The area was razed to the ground during the Siege of Athens in 86 BC under Roman general Sulla (138-78 BC). In the 2nd century, another structure was built atop the ruins of the Pompeion but it was destroyed during the Sack of Athens by the Heruli in 267. Potters built workshops into the ruins and Kerameikos continued as both a cemetery and the potter’s quarter until the early 6th century. The area wasn’t rediscovered until April 1863, when Greek workers unearthed a grave stele.
The site at Kerameikos was first excavated by the Archaeological Society of Athens in 1870. Works have continued from 1913 to the present under the German Archaeological Institute.
Visiting Kerameikos Archaeological Site
The entrance to the archaeological site is along the pedestrianized section of Ermou west of Monastiraki and Psyrri. It’s about a 15 minute walk from Monastiraki Square. From April 1 through October 31, admission is at the full rate of €8, and from November 1 through March 31, admission is at a 50% reduced rate of €4 (as of July 2024). Upon presentation of a passport or valid travel document: all visitors up to the age of 5 and EU citizens from age 6-25 are admitted free of charge; EU seniors over age 65 and non-EU citizens from age 6-25 are admitted at the 50% reduced rate (summer months only). Visit the official website for more info.
You can also visit the Kerameikos Archaeological Site on a €30 combo ticket that allows access to several other archaeological sites in Athens, including the Acropolis (as of July 2024). The combo ticket is only worth buying from April through October.
Kerameikos Museum
Just inside the entrance is the Kerameikos Museum. It’s one of the best features of the archaeological site and where I like to start my visits. The museum displays the largest collection of burial-related artifacts in Greece.
The Kerameikos Museum is a great place to start your exploration of the archaeological site. Inside are several of the original burial monument sculptures and funerary offerings.
Burial Monument Sculptures
The first section of the museum contains some of the most elegant burial monument sculptures found at the site. The building of such monuments was banned in 317 BC by Demetrius of Phaleron (c. 350 – c. 280 BC). Plaster replicas of the most important sculptures have been placed at the location they were found.
Grave Relief of Dexileos
One of the most impressive monuments is the grave relief of Dexileos, which was made around 390 BC. Dexileos was a horseman in the Athenian cavalry who was killed in the Corinthian War at the age of 20 near Corinth in 394 BC, when the Athenians were defeated by the Spartans. The ashes of those who fell in the battle were taken to Athens and placed in the Demosion Sema (public burial ground) in Outer Kerameikos. His relatives erected the relief on the future site of the family grave enclosure.
The relief was excavated by Greek archaeologist Athanasios Rhousopoulos (1823-1898) in the spring of 1863. It’s 1.86 meters (6 feet 1 inch) tall. The weapons of the two warriors and reins of the horse, made of bronze and attached in ancient times, are now missing. The inscription reads:
Dexileos, son of Lysanias of Thorikos, was born when Tisandrus was archon and died in Corinth, when Eubulides was archon, one of the five horsemen.
Grave Relief of Demetria and Pamphile
Also on display is the grave relief of Demetria and Pamphile. It honors two dead sisters who display a remote and isolated gaze. Their names are written on the inscription beneath the pediment. It was one of the last monuments made before the ban by Demetrius of Phaleron.
Funerary Stele for Eupheros
Another important monument is the funerary stele for Eupheros, which was made around 420 BC. He’s portrayed as an ephebe athlete holding a strigil. It contains traces of blue paint on the background, yellow on the hair, and a red band beneath Eupheros’ feet.
Sacred Gate Sculptures
In the back of the same room are sculptures from the Sacred Gate. They were discovered on April 5, 2002, by the German Archaeological Institute under the direction of Professor Wolf-Dietrich Niemeier. The most impressive is the Sacred Gate Kouros, which was sculpted between 600 and 590 BC. It stands 2.1 meters tall. The better-preserved sphinx dates to 560 BC while the lions date to the first half of the 6th century BC.
Atrium
The atrium of the Kerameikos Museum features more funerary sculptures and reliefs around the perimeter. The most important is the bull in the center.
Bull Sculpture
The bull from the grave enclosure of Dionysios of Kollytos was made sometime between 345 and 340 BC. It stood on a high pedestal in the middle of the grave enclosure honoring Dionysios, the son of Alphinos, who died unmarried and lived in the deme of Kollytos. He also lived on the island of Samos, where he served as treasurer of the Heraion for the year 346/5 BC.
Finds from Kerameikos Archaeological Site
Three galleries surrounding the atrium display finds from the Kerameikos archaeological site. They include offerings found inside tombs.
Many of the artifacts date from the 10th century BC and continue through to the 4th century BC. Most are pottery, but there’s also jewelry and toys, which were used for child burials.
Finally, the last gallery of the Kerameikos Museum displays finds from Building Z within the city walls and other items used in everyday life.
Outer Kerameikos
After leaving the museum, you’re immediately in Outer Kerameikos. It consisted of the area outside the city walls of ancient Athens. It’s best known for being the most important cemetery in the city.
Archaic Grave Tumulus
A good place to start is at the top of an Archaic grave tumulus, known as the South Hill, just past the ticket booth. You get a nice view of Inner Kerameikos and there’s a good map of the site. The Archaic grave tumulus conceals many Archaic and Classical burials.
Cemetery
One of the most important sections is the ancient cemetery. It takes up the entire western and northern side of the Kerameikos archaeological site.
The cemetery was first organized around 1200 BC and functioned as such until the 6th century. It’s full of monumental tombs, with plaster replicas of the burial monuments placed where the originals were found. Many of the original sculptures can be seen in the Kerameikos Museum.
Major Roads
Three major roads passed through the cemetery at Kerameikos: the Street of Tombs, Sacred Way, and the road to the Platonic Academy. I’ll cover each road below.
Street of Tombs
The Street of Tombs was an important road in ancient Athens. The ancient name is unknown, but it’s thought to have led to Piraeus. Along the Street of Tombs are some of the best preserved and most luxurious funerary monuments. They date to the 5th through 4th century BC. The tombs belonged to wealthy Athenian families and foreigners who had settled in the city.
Lining the south side of the Street of Tombs were the relief of Dexileos, the burial plots of the Herakleians with the stele of Agathon, the marble bull of the tomb of Dionysios of Kollytos, and the tomb of Lysimachides with the marble Molossian hound.
On the north side of the Street of Tombs were the tombs of Koroibos of Melite and the grave relief of Hegeso. There were also hundreds of tombs from the Geometric period through the Roman period.
Sacred Way
The Sacred Way (Iera Odos) led from the Sacred Gate to Eleusis. It was a very important road in terms of religion because it was used for the procession of the Eleusinian Mysteries. This was a secret religious rite dedicated to Demeter and Persephone with the belief that participants would be rewarded in the afterlife. The Sacred Way runs alongside the Eridanos River, which was rediscovered in the late 1990s.
Features along the Sacred Way
There are a few interesting features along the Sacred Way. First, at the base of the Archaic grave tumulus is a small sanctuary to an unknown deity. Next are the two ambassadors’ grave monuments, which mark the tombs of the Corcyraean Consuls. Across the river is the burial mound of Anthemokritos followed by more burial plots and grave tumuli.
At the end of the Sacred Way within the Kerameikos archaeological site, there are more family funerary monuments. Tombs would have flanked the road for several kilometers towards Eleusis.
Tritopatreion
At the junction of the Street of Tombs and the Sacred Way is the Tritopatreion. This simple open-air sanctuary was where Athenians worshipped their common ancestor. The cult began in the 5th century BC and lasted until around 300 BC. Athenians would often leave food and drinks for their ancestors.
Road to the Platonic Academy
The road from the Dipylon led to the Platonic Academy and was 1,600 meters in length. It was known as the Dromos (road). On either side of the road was the Demosion Sema, or public tomb, where prominent Athenians and warriors who fell in battle were buried. Among the burials were Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BC), Harmodius and Aristogeiton (d. 514 BC), Cleisthenes (c. 570 – c. 508 BC), Thrasybulos (c. 440 – 378 BC), and Lycurgus (c. 390 – 324 BC).
At the beginning of the road was a square 40 meters wide. Athenians would gather there to honor their dead with ceremonies, games, and speeches. Pericles delivered his Funeral Oration there in 430 BC during the Peloponnesian War. Only the west side of the road has been excavated, except for the area under the Church of the Holy Trinity.
A few monuments line the west side of the road that has been excavated. The first few are an Archaic tumulus and a Classical bath followed by the Tomb of the Lacedaemonians.
Next is more of the Demosion Sema, and at the end of the excavation is the “burial monument at the third boundary stone”.
Tomb of the Lacedaemonians
The Tomb of the Lacedaemonians was excavated in 1914 and 1915 and was an important archaeological discovery. Inside the tomb were the skeletons of 23 Spartans killed during heavy fighting in Piraeus in 403 BC, when Thrasybulus overthrew the Thirty Tyrants. 20 were soldiers between 20 and 25 years of age; two were warlords and veterans of the Peloponnesian War, Chaeron and Thivrachus; and the final one was Lacrates, an Olympic champion from 416 BC. The bodies were buried respectfully and wrapped in their cloaks, and the names of the dead were written on the tomb. No offerings were found inside.
Fragments
Finally, during my last visit, east of the road to the Platonic Academy were a handful of architectural fragments and a sarcophagus.
Fortifications at Kerameikos Archaeological Site
Some of the best preserved fortifications and gates of ancient Athens are found at the Kerameikos archaeological site. They separate Outer Kerameikos from Inner Kerameikos.
Themistoclean Wall
The Themistoclean Wall, which was completed in 478 BC, ran for about 200 meters through Kerameikos and divided it into two sections. The entire length of the wall was about 6.5 kilometers and it had at least 13 gates. The best preserved section and the two most important gates (see below) are in Kerameikos.
The Themistodean Wall in Kerameikos had a stone base with the rest built with unbaked brick. It stood seven or eight meters high and was topped by battlements. It was 2.5 meters wide and had a moat in front.
The wall was repaired three times. The first repair was around 420 BC during the Peace of Nicias at the time of the Peloponnesian War. The second time was under Conon (before 442 – c. 389 BC) around 394 BC. The third time was after the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC or 307 BC under Macedonian military leader Demetrios Poliorketes (337-283 BC). During the third repair, an outer wall was built with a ring road passing between it and the main wall.
In 86 BC, Roman general Sulla invaded Athens through Kerameikos, destroying the wall in the process. The city fortification fell into disuse over the next few centuries and wasn’t repaired until after the Sack of Athens by the Heruli in 267. The last renovation was during the reign of Justinian in the 6th century.
Sanctuary
Around 1890, archaeologists discovered a marble monument on the corner of the outer wall near the Sacred Gate. It was at the Roman period level of the street, 3.5 meters above the 4th century BC level. In 2002-03, the layers below the monument were excavated and its base was discovered, allowing it to be identified as a 5th century BC altar.
The altar originally sat in a small sanctuary enclosed on three sides by large ashlar blocks. When the outer wall was built at the end of the 4th century BC, the altar was moved. It was in used until at least the 2nd century but the worshipped deities have not yet been identified. The altar was put back on its original base in 2004 and a roof was built above for protection.
Sacred Gate
The Sacred Gate (Ἱερὰ Πύλη) was one of the two important gates mentioned above. It was built at the same time as the Themistoclean Wall and was renovated under Conon around 394 BC. The gate lasted until around 125 when it was removed or replaced under Roman emperor Hadrian.
The Sacred Gate opened to the Sacred Way and was the starting point for the procession of Eleusinian Mysteries. The Eridanos River, which was rediscovered in the late 1990s, was channeled and a separate arch on the Sacred Gate allowed it to continue its flow.
Dipylon
The gate to the north was the Dipylon. It was the main gate on the city walls and the largest gate in the ancient world. It was built in 478 BC along with the Themistoclean Wall and rebuilt in the 4th century BC. The wall remained in use until the 3rd century. From the Dipylon, the procession for the Great Panathenaea led into the city through the Agora and towards the Acropolis.
The Dipylon consisted of a set of double gates with four square towers at the corners. This created a rectangular courtyard in the center. The curtain walls connecting the towers were originally nine meters (30 feet) high and four metres (13 feet) thick. There were windows at the top of the towers and on the walls for archers. The entire gate covered an area of about 1,800 square meters (19,000 square feet).
The towers were enlarged during the Hellenistic period and two large doors were added on the city side of the gate. In front of the outer part of the gate, the Romans added a marble pedestal to hold a statue.
In addition to its function of trapping attacking enemies, the courtyard in the center was frequented by merchants. It was also a meeting place for funerary ceremonies at the Demosion Sema (public tomb) outside the gate.
Inner Kerameikos
Inner Kerameikos was the section inside the city walls of Athens. There are a few important structures that have been excavated.
Pompeion
The most important building in Inner Kerameikos was the Pompeion. It filled the space between the Dipylon and the Sacred Gate, which were the two most important gates on the walls of Athens. It was built around 400 BC to carry out preparations for the Panathenaea festival, which took place every four years in the middle of August. The festival incorporated religious ceremonies and competitions in athletics, poetry, musical, and cultural events.
The building measured about 70 by 30 meters and had a large colonnaded courtyard in the center where the processional ship for the Panathenaea was prepared. There were rooms for public feasts as well as storage for equipment and materials and collection of offerings. During the rest of the year, it may have been used as a gymnasium.
According to ancient sources, there was a bronze statue of Socrates (c. 470 – 399 BC) by Lysippos (c. 390 – c. 300 BC) in the Pompeion and painted portraits of Isocrates (436-338 BC) and comic poets. Only one mosaic floor depicting animals has survived and it can be seen in the Kerameikos Museum. The Pompeion was also frequented by the cynic philosopher Diogenes (412 or 404 BC – 323 BC).
The Pompeion was destroyed in 86 BC during the Siege of Athens under Roman general Sulla. Two buildings were later erected on its ruins. The first was the so-called Storehouse in the 2nd century, which was destroyed during the Sack of Athens by the Heruli in 267. Two parallel arcades separated by a street ending in a gate were built around 400. It’s possible that both structures continued to be used for the preparation of the Panathenaea until the end of antiquity.
Propylon
The entrance to the Pompeion was through a monumental marble Propylon on the east side. It had four Ionian columns on the façade and it became the model for propyla during the Hellenistic period. Wheel ruts can still be seen on the ramp leading into the Pompeion.
Fountain
Just inside the city side of the Dipylon gate was a fountain. It was built between 307 and 304 BC, but there was probably another fountain there before it. It allowed travelers to refresh themselves before entering the city. Water flowed into an L-shaped basin and the hall was supported by three Ionic columns, of which two bases survive today.
Buildings Z, X, and Y
Finally, south of the Sacred Gate are three buildings that have been excavated. They’re separated from the wall of the gate by a narrow street. The most completely excavated is Building Z, which was constructed around 430 BC. It had an area of around 600 square meters and was rebuilt several times until the 1st century.
Building Z was originally a two-story house with a courtyard and well in the center. The rooms surrounding the courtyard consisted of men’s and women’s quarters, a storeroom, and kitchen. During the 4th century BC, it may have functioned as an inn with maids, weavers, and prostitutes who served travelers.
From the 1st century BC through the 1st century AD, the entire complex of Buildings Z, X, and Y was converted to pottery workshops and bronze smiths. The remains of pits for casting bronze and kilns for firing pots still exist today.
