Temple of Artemis - Brauron
I present to you the Sanctuary of Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, wild animals, the Moon and protector of women in childbirth, at Brauron which is located 45km (40 min drive) from the center of Athens!
By Alexios Demos on April 15, 2020
Sanctuary of Artemis | Brauron - Mesogeas | Markopoulo| © Copyright 2021 Alexios Demos
Indicative Information | Tickets Full: €6, Reduced: €3 | Visiting Times Summer: 09:00 -16:00 (Except Tusedays) | Brauron - Mesogeas, Markopoulo (Prefecture of Attiki) Postcode: 19003 | More info call +302299027020 / 2299027020
Young girls who were approaching the age of marriage spent a vital amount of time here running races, partaking in sacred dances and in fully devoting themselves to the goddess through sacrifices.
“In the water spring of Brauron, nearby many artifacts (token objects) have been discovered that were offered to Artemis on the eve of marriage and during childbirth.”
I wanted to make a change in my life and one day spontaneously I decided to get in my car and drive to a place where I could clear my mind and feel the tranquility of the ancient world.
Temple of Artemis - Brauron
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I present to you the Sanctuary of Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, wild animals, the Moon and protector of women in childbirth, at Brauron which is located 45km (40 min drive) from the center of Athens! It functioned as a place of worship for at least 500 years (8th c. BC – 3rd c. BC) and is considered one of the earliest & most important sanctuaries of Attica that had great significance for Athenian women. Young girls who were approaching the age of marriage spent a vital amount of time here running races, partaking in sacred dances and in fully devoting themselves to the goddess through sacrifices. There was a noteworthy festival held here every 4 years called the “Brauronia” and part of it was the ritual of the “Arkteia” that involved these young women acting as she-bears (“arktoi”) and marked the completion of their time here (rite of passage). Witnessing the serenity of the site I have the feeling that these young girls must have been sad to leave from this enchanted sanctuary! In the water spring of Brauron, nearby many artifacts (token objects) have been discovered that were offered to Artemis on the eve of marriage and during childbirth.
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The Doric prostyle Temple of Artemis was constructed in the late 5th c. BC of local Tufa (limestone variety) stone as a replacement to an older Archaic temple on the site and again feels unusual especially in terms of color at least to a Greek who is used to marble. It should be noted that there was a fabled sculpture of Artemis of immense beauty in the temple allegedly made by the renowned sculpture Praxiteles (395 BC-330 BC) as mentioned in texts by Euripides, Pausanias & Plutarch! It should also be mentioned that the site was known & inhabited as early on as the Neolithic period.
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I wanted to make a change in my life and one day spontaneously I decided to get in my car and drive to a place where I could clear my mind and feel the tranquility of the ancient world. When we were in Elementary school we had a field trip here I must have been around 7 years old and unfortunately I never visited again until this day when the goddess Artemis inspired me to make Greek Temples during this visit!
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Date of Visit: Oct 25, 2019 Weather Conditions: Afternoon visit and even though we were approaching November the weather was wonderfully sunny and summery!
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