Nemea
(Some images taken from the NVAP online project) In an upland
valley of the Arcadian mountains, southwest of Corinth, lies the
site of Nemea. In antiquity, Nemea was the home to the Nemean Games,
one of the four major Panhellenic festivals.
The Nemean Valley lies just to the west across a
low ridge from the main Corinth to Argos road - one of the most important
routes in all of ancient Greece. This upland valley is two or three
miles long and about a mile wide. It contracts at its northern outlet
to a mere gully, which does not allow all of the rain to escape and keeps
the valley bottom green and moist (even marshy in some places). This,
along with the fact that the valley itself lies about 300 feet above sea
level, contributes to the rich pastures and the unusually mild climate
of the valley. Steve Miller, the site's chief excavator, has stated
that the often cool (but very powerful) summer breezes may have been a
determining factor in the selection of the site for Pan-Hellenic games.
I wish those cool breezes were around last summer! When I was in
Nemea on July 4, the temperature at the site was 117 degrees Fahrenheit
(not the heat index, but the temperature)!!! In the 3-D view of the
valley here (the Nemean Valley lies to the right of the large, circular
hill in the upper middle of the view) the sanctuary is marked with a "T"
and the stadium is marked with the "S".
History and Myths
There are several important layers and periods of
time that exist at the site of Nemea. It must be rembered that during
the archaic and classical periods, Nemea was not a settlement. A
village, Bembina, was located nearby, but only during the games and the
training period was there a large number of people at the site. But
there were people in the vicinity of Nemea long before the Panhellenic
games.
The large round hill of Tsoungiza, to the west of the sanctuary, has
yielded remains from Neolithic settlements (in the 6th millenium BC), and
more importantly, it was the center of the area’s Bronze Age population,
but there was also activity in the sanctuary itself at this time.
With the presence of such a long running settlement so near to an archaic
sanctuary, the question of continuity must be raised. But the material-remains
during the Dark Age, none of which are datable before 800 BCE, appear to
show that there was little if any activity at the site. Also, the
myths themselves are not proof of the continuity from prehistoric times.
During the 8th century BCE there was a revival at
the site. Hieronymus tells us (Chronicle 179) that the Nemean games
were founded in 573 BCE and were celebrated in honor of Zeus. There
has been nothing to make us doubt either of these statements. There
are two different foundation myths for the games. The most commonly
accepted myth (and the subject of a lost play of Aeschylus as well as one
of Euripides) revolves around the infant Opheltes. His father Lycourgos,
who was either a king or priest of Nemea), had asked the Delphic oracle
how to keep his son and heir safe. The oracle responded that the
baby could not be allowed to touch the ground until he could walk.
A slave woman, Hypsipyle, was given the charge of watching the baby.
One day she was carrying Opheltes when the Seven Champions passed through
the valley on their way to Thebes from Argos. They asked for something
to drink and Hypsipyle led them to a spring and sat the baby down on a
bed of celery (or parsley) while she helped them. A snake then killed
the baby while everyone’s attention was diverted. The Seven thought
this a bad omen and tried to appease the gods, so they founded the Nemean
Games. The robes of the judges (Hellanodikai) are black as a sign
of mourning and the crowns were made of celery to further remember the
incident.
The other major myth involves Hercules who, after
defeating the Nemean lion as one of his twelve labors, established the
sanctuary and games as a thank offering to his father Zeus. The earliest
reference to this connection though was made in the 1st century AD.
(Virgil – Georgics 3.19) and it appears to just be a later Roman creation.
The Ancient Site Today
Heroon
In the first half of the sixth century (roughly the
time when the games began), an area to the southwest of the sanctuary received
some sort of an early Heroon. The exact layout of the earliest period
remains 
unknown,
but its walls were taken down and use as packing later inside the Heroon.
About fifty years after its construction, a change was made in the Heroon.
New foundations and probably a mud brick wall were constructed, encircling
a better-defined area. Inside the Heroon, a rectangular structure
made of large boulders was constructed. The large amount of votive
deposits and layers of ash and bone suggest that this was an altar, possibly
the tomb of Opheltes. In the Hellenistic period, during the large
building program, the walls were torn down and rebuilt. There seems
to have been no roof since no supports were found and the shape and size
of the space is too big to be without them. There also is evidence
of trees growing within the tenemos. Other altar-like blocks are
spread throughout the Heroon. All of this matches Pausanias’ description
of the enclosure. “Here is the grave of Opheltes with a a stone fence
around it and altars inside the enclosure.” (Pausanias 2.15.2)
Archaic Temple
Also in the first half of the sixth century, a long,
slender, nonperipteral temple with a hipped roof (no pediments) was built
in the sanctuary. It probably had a prostyle porch or one in antis.
Not much more about it is known though. This temple was violently
destroyed in the late fifth century along with most of the rest of the
sanctuary. Large quantities of weapons were found at the destruction
level, which can be dated no earlier than ca. 430 BCE and which has recently
been dated by Miller to 415-410. What could have happened?
It seems possible that a takeover of the games by Argos was the occasion.
Kleonai controlled the sanctuary at least down to the 460’s, but by 388
it had already passed to Argos. In 408/7 Euripides’ Hypsipyle provides
a clear basis in myth for the original foundation of, and hence control
over, the Nemean Games. So it seems the Argive takeover occurred
during the Peloponnesian War and with force. It is also clear that
throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods the games were frequently
shifted from Nemea to Argos and back again, depending upon the political
fortunes of Argos at any given time.
There was an absence of activity following the destruction
until the second half of the fourth century. During this time the
games were surely moved to Argos as they also later were. When they
arrived back at Nemea, the sanctuary was revitalized in a major rebuilding
program.
Sacred Grove
At this time there was also a grove of sacred cypress
trees to the south and east of the temple. The remains of the 4th
century grove have been located by large holes, dark and moist soil areas,
and root analysis and the trees planted here were definitely cypress (Pausanias
reported this and root analysis confirms it). There are no known
special rites that were performed in the grove, but on the practical side
they must have served as shade and protection from the wind for both visitors
and athletes. Cypress trees have been replanted in the same locations
as their ancient counterparts.
Oikoi
A group of buildings (the row of buildings in the upper
middle of the plan above), built early in the 5th century - before the
sanctuary’s destruction - were either reconstructed or remodeled by the
late 4th century, and were quite conspicuous in the sanctuary’s Hellenistic
life. There were nine Oikoi at the site and they were related to
the site much like the treasuries at Olympia were related to theirs.
They define the southern edge of the sanctuary and actually are, on the
whole, much larger than those at Olympia. Inscriptions survive that
show one was Rhodian and one was Epidaurian, but we don’t know which ones
these were. It is probably appropriate to think of them as storerooms,
embassies or meeting halls and not simply as treasuries. They are
poorly preserved though. Some of the Oikoi are slightly out of alignment
(barely perceptible in the plan above), but they were probably all built
at roughly the same time. One puzzling find is the remains of square
bases inside some of the Oikoi that are pierced by holes in the middle;
possibly for use as anchors for ropes or tethers.
Circular Structure A
Just opposite the pat to the west of the Oikoi, there
are the remains of what was most likely a monumental statue. Two
circles of stones remain as do a number of marble and some bronze fragments.
Cuttings on the stones indicate another row of stones sat on top of them.
Pottery and a coin inside the remains date the structure to the second
quarter of the 5th century and it seems to have been destroyed violently
at the end of the 5th or beginning of the 4th century. There is no
way now to find the subject of the statue though.
Circular Structure B
Also built in the second quarter of the 5th century,
this single circle of hard limestone is placed just to the south of the
eastern side of the temple. Unlike A, B has no inner ring of stones,
but instead was filled with softer crumbled stone. It too was abandoned
and partially destroyed at the end of the 5th century. Its use may
have been similar to A, in that it may have held a statue or statue group,
or it may have a stepped, circular altar for use in sacrificing or burning
offerings.
Nu Structure
The Nu Structure is found just to the south of Circular
Structure B and seems to have been constructed after the disuse of B.
The strange T-shaped construction must have supported a statue group.
The base is not rectangular, and indeed was changed at some point during
antiquity but kept its general shape. The statues must have been
very heavy or numerous for the foundations are substantial.
Xenon
A 4th century construction, the Xenon was built alongside
the main road that ran just to the south of the sanctuary. It faced
the road and its back faced the backs of the Oikoi and small dining establishment
in between them. It originally had 12 rooms on the lower floor (6
apartments with a front and back room for each one). The back rooms
all have column supports in the middle and a small room in the middle of
the Xenon probably held a staircase to an upper floor. This upper floor
most likely only existed over the rear of the building. Athletic
gear was found here and so were some hearths and cooking items (one room
was definitely a kitchen). A later addition, two more rooms were
added to the east side of the Xenon in the late 3rd century BCE and probably
served some religious purpose, though exactly what purpose is unknown (an
altar was found in one of the rooms). A basilica was built on top
of the western third of the Xenon in the 6th century AD.
Bath
Firmly dated to the last third of the 4th century BC,
the bath, located to the southwest of the Temple of Zeus, contains three
chambers. The smallest part (on lower right side in the plan) was
also divided in three parts. In the middle there is a plunge pool
and on either side are separate areas with four “bathtubs” in each, designed
not for immersion, but for splashing or throwing water up onto the bather
possibly so that they wouldn’t dirty the big pool too much. The bath
was supplied by a covered aqueduct that brought water from a nearby spring
and the pools were flushed periodically by a system of reservoirs to the
south of the building. It is not known if it was only for athletes’
use since the palaestra and gymnasium have not been found yet.
Houses
(The bottom structures in the above plan) These were built in the
last quarter of the 4th century BCE. There are seven discernable
units, some sharing walls, and had gone out of use by the middle of the
3rd century BCE. They have been labeled ‘houses’ but they are larger
than normal dwellings and objects labeled as belonging to Zeus were found
in them. They probably were the official quarters of the priests
or judges or caretakers of the sanctuary.
Temple of Zeus
The second temple was constructed directly above (though not mirroring
the plan of) the earlier archaic temple of Zeus. It was built from
local gray limestone, but some dark limestone from Argos was also used.
As you can see here it was a Doric peristyle temple (6 columns on ends,
12 on sides) and all three orders were represented at different parts of
the temple. A ramp led up to the eastern side and it is still preserved
in pretty good condition. The temple had a pronaos in antis but no
opisthodomos.
Instead of the opisthodomos it had, at the rear
of the cella, an adyton (or crypt). This extended down to the ground
level of the archaic temple and the side walls of the crypt incorporated
numerous reused blocks with unfinished sides. They were most likely stuccoed
over. In addition, one of the walls of the early temple follows along
the line of one of the crypt’s sides, so that the crypt was probably positioned
at the western end of the archaic temple, at its southern side (possibly
a very holy spot in the early temple).
You can also see that inside the cella, there was an interior colonnade.
The interior colonnade had two levels. On
the lower level, relatively short free-standing Corinthian columns wrapped
around three sides (all except the eastern entrance). The capitals
are similar to those at Tegea. The sides of the capitals that faced
the walls were not carved nearly as precisely as the sides facing the inner
part of the cella (you can see in the plan above that they were relatively
close to the walls). Cuttings in the western columns would have held
a screen restricting access to the adyton.
The upper tier of the interior colonnade had half
and quarter Ionic columns carved into piers. The volutes of the capitals
were carved with deep grooves and spiraling edges terminating in the eyes.
This design made the most of the little light entering the upper part of
the cella.
The cult statue probably sat at the western end
of the interior colonnade and not next to the adyton in the rear of the
cella, though no cuttings for the statue have been found.
On the exterior, the Doric columns are quite slender
(contrasted to the stubby Corinthian columns inside). W.M. Leake
said in 1830 that “The slenderness of the columns is particularly remarkable
after viewing those of Corinth; it is curious that the shortest and
longest specimens, in proportion to their diameter, of any existing Doric
columns, should be found so near to each other.” The two columns
of the pronaos remain standing with epistyle and frieze blocks still atop
them. The one column by itself remains from the exterior colonnade.
All of these columns do display entasis, though it is slight. The column
profiles are very similar to those at Tegea. The corner columns are
of course moved in slightly to help compensate for the triglyph-metope
problem. The finished building had no sculptural decoration. The
triglyph-metope frieze not even painted, quite plain for its day.
The sima was the only part of the building that survives which was made
of marble – Pentelic. It featured alternating lion’s head spouts
and spiraling acanthus tendrils.
While there are numerous similarities between this
temple and the one at Tegea to Athena Alea, they do differ slightly in
overall plan and design. It seems as if there was a conscious effort
at Nemea to adopt some forms used at Tegea, but it does not follow that
the same architect designed both temples. Numerous artisans probably
worked on both temples though.
Altar
The unusually long altar that ran to the east of the
temple was not constructed all at one time. It is similar to the
altar of Poseidon at Isthmia, but it is quite hard to date because of the
different layers (only a relative chronology). Beat up quite a bit
by Christian farmers who ripped stones up or cut rows in them, one side
is not preserved to its full length, which will probably never be known.
Little of the superstructure remains but we can tell that there were steps
up to it and there was a long flat surface for numerous sacrifices to take
place at the same time. At the southern end, there is a base for
two statues. In addition, numerous blocks are found near the altar
and throughout the sanctuary, leftovers from inscriptions and statue bases.
Stadium
Though the early stadium has not been found yet, the
4th century stadium has. It was originally the standard 600 ancient
feet but with no retaining wall at the northern end, much of the end of
the track has eroded away. Notable features of the stadium include
a ‘sidewalk’ and water channel around the edge of the track as well as
the entrance tunnel. The water channel had occasional silt-deposit
receptacles and obviously had running water for the athletes and spectators.
The starting lines have been found and blocks were also found that surely
held some sort of starting mechanism like at Isthmia, but not quite the
same (precise nature unknown).
Probably the most interesting feature of the stadium
is the entrance tunnel which runs from 19 meters shy of the track 55 meters
west towards the sanctuary (another 400 meters away). It is possibly
the earliest known vaulted structure in Greece (depending upon the dating
of Macedonian tombs at Vergina at in the Chalcidice) but it is not known
for sure that the vault was introduced by Alexander after his journey to
the East. It’s a controversial subject that I won’t spend any more
time on here. There have also been numerous colorful arguments on
the possibilities of graffiti inside the tunnel, but I will leave that
out here too.
Continue on to Nemea, Part 2
(Part 2: The Nemean Games, Modern Practicalities, Bibliography,
Links)
