Valley of The Muses - The Sanctuary

The Sanctuary

The Sanctuary consisted of:

• The theater, dated to the end of the 3rd century BC or the beginning of the 2nd century BC; built for the musical and theatrical games held in the valley during the Mouseia festival. Spectators sat on seats cut in the mountain slope. Only the first row - the prohedria - was marble.

• The temple or altar of the Muses, dated in the 3rd century BC; a small rectangular building. After its abandonment the church of Ayia Triada was built upon the ancient foundations, which were revealed after the demolition of the church.

• A long Ionic stoa (length 96,70 m.) on the west of the temple, dated in the 3rd century BC; this housed the votive offerings to the Muses. Originally it had an internal wall and rooms; these were replaced later by a colonnade in the Corinthian order.

• Statues of the nine Muses; works of the poet and sculptor Onestos. These original stood in a single group; their bases were discovered during the excavations. On the five most well-preserved bases were found inscribed names of Muses and epigrams.

• The square tower of Askra, dated to the 4th century BC; the tower crowned the hill Pyrgaki and dominated the valley from the north. It had three storerooms on the ground floor. An earlier circuit wall, now ruined, enclosed the tower. It was probably built by the Thespians a little before 371 BC, the time of the battle of Leuktra, to control the movements of the Thebans.