Brauron is a fertile valley in the south Euboean Gulf, through thich the Frasinos River flows into the narrow, marshy bay of Brauron. The are h can be described as rural, woody, coastal and riparian, was ideal for a sanctuary dedicated to Artemis to be established, as it combines all the elements that match the personality of the goddess.

The sanctuary of Artemis, originally the religious centre of the ancient deme of Philaidae, became one of the most important sanctuaries in Attica. According to the myth, Orestes and Iphigeneia, Agamemnon's children, stole the wooden effigy of the goddess Artemis from the Taurian land (nowadays Crimea) and instructed by Athena, arrived in Attica to establish a sanctuary in order to house it. The tragedian Euripides (Iphigeneia in Tauris, 1462-7) mentions that Iphigeneia served the goddess until her death as her priestess at the sanctuary at Brauron and was buried there.

The site of the sanctuary was located in the 19th century CE by the archaeologist Ludwig Ross. The excavation carried out (1949-1963 CE) by the archaeologist Ioannis Papademetriou, expenses of the Archaeological Society at Athens, revealed the prehistoric settlement on the Kommeno Lithari hill and the buildings of the sanctuary in the valley. The excavation was prompted by the request of the inhabitants of Markopoulo village to build a fence around the church of St. George. The restoration of the portico began in 1960 CE, applying the study by the architect Professor Charalambos Bouras, and was completed two years later.

circa

The natural protection offered by the surrounding hills, the mild climate, the fertile soil, the abundance of water and the way out to the sea provided suitable conditions for permanent habitation in the area. On the low, elongated Kommeno Lithari hill, a predominant spot overlooking the Brauron bay, the first human settlement dates back to the end of the Neolithic period and to the Early Bronze Age (3500 - 2000 BCE).

During the Middle Bronze Age (2000 - 1600 BCE) the settlement on the hill evolved into an organized, flourishing community, as indicated by the building remains (houses, walls, enclosures) revealed during the excavations. Habitation continued in the Late Bronze Age or Mycenaean period. The large cemetery of chamber tombs on the Lapoutsi hill, 200 meters east, is associated with the Mycenaean settlement. The settlement was abandoned around 1200 BCE.

The earliest evidence of a cult at the site in 9th century BCE is associated with the prehistory of the area. Presumably, remains of prehistoric times were attributed to the tomb of Iphigeneia, influenced by the myth. From 700 BCE on, the sanctuary goes through its first period of flourishing. Around the middle of the 6th century BCE the first cult buildings were erected, and from the mid 5th century and during the 4th century BCE the sanctuary was at its peak. The prosperity of the sanctuary owe it to the political and financial support of prominent citizens of the Philaidae family, like the tyrant Peisistratus and the generals Miltiades and Cimon. The sanctuary was abandoned around 300 BCE for unspecified reasons.

In the early post-Byzantine period (1450 onwards) Saint George's church was founded on the rock cut surface at the southwest side of the area, on top of the ruins of a larger church. It belongs to the cross-in-square type with dome. Wall paintings cover the interior walls, the oldest of them dating to 1450 - 1500 CE. Timotheos, Bishop of Euripos and founder of the Monastery on Mount Pendeli restored the church and the wall paintings around 1580 CE.

circa 800 BCE

Tomb or Memorial of Iphigeneia
The mythical tomb of Iphigeneia, known from literary was identified by the excavator in the cave towards the south-east of the temple of Artemis. It was the cult centre of Iphigeneia, the key-bearer priestess of the goddess Artemis, since the 8th century BCE. She was worshipped as a chthonic heroine, associated with death and the underworld. The clothes of women who died in labour were dedicated to Iphigeneia.

The interior of the cave was divided in to a number of rooms or chambers. After the roof had collapsed, possibly during the 5th century BCE a small temple and a megaron-shaped building were built, conventionally known as the "Memorial of Iphigeneia" and the "Sacred House".

The great number of offerings found during the excavations inside and outside the cave (clay vases, figurines, bronze mirrors, marble inscriptions and sculpture) lead to various interpretations of the rooms, e.g. that they served the storage of the offerings, the performance of ritual meals or the priestesses' stay etc.

circa 800 BCE

The Spring
The spring gushes below the north-west corner of the temple of Artemis. A large number of votive offerings (vases, figurines, mirrors, miniature objects etc.) dating from the 8th to the 5th centuries BCE were retrieved from the area around the spring. It is not clear whether these offerings were initially placed at the area. It is likely that they were gathered in pits after the destruction of the temple by the Persians in 480 BCE, as sacred relics. Among them, semiprecious sealstones engraved with animal representations which underline the main quality of Artemis as protector of nature, as well as wooden figurines and other objects, such as two ornately decorated shoe-soles. Shoes, as well as other personal items or garments, were dedicated to the goddess by women either as thank-you-offerings for successful childbirth or to secure her favour.

circa 600 BCE

Temple of Artemis
The temple of Artemis, the most important building of the Vravron sanctuary was constructed in Doric Order on an elevated area at the south-west part of the complex and towered over other buildings in the vecinity. It was probably built at the same spot of an older Archaic period temple (circa sixth century BCE), destroyed by the Persians in 480 BCE. In the open space east of the temple there was the altar for animal sacrifices and special rites. South-west of the temple, at the foot of the rocky hill, a raised paved terrace was constructed in the middle of the fifth century BCE, presumably for the placement of votive offerings or for the accommodation of the worshippers.

The cult statue of the goddess stood in the cella of the temple. Parts of four statues dating to the 5th and 4th centuries BCE have been identified. A second statue stood probably in the rear room of the temple while the location of the others is unknown. The statues were acrolith, with wooden bodies and marble head and members. One of them was life-sized, another was smaller and two were oversized. Women dressed the cult statue with garments specifically made for this purpose.

Artemis, goddess of nature, life and fertility was worshipped at ancient Brauron mainly as the protector of marriage, women, family life, labour and the upbringing of children. To this specific quality of the goddess a ritual of initiation, the arkteia, was related. During the ritual the arktoi (bears), girls from renowned families of ancient Athens, stayed in the sanctuary in order to be prepared for marriage and motherhood.

A great four-yearly festival, the Brauronia, was held in honour of the goddess. The procession of worshippers started from the sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia on the Acropolis of Athens, founded by the tyrant Peisistratus and his sons, and arrived at the sanctuary at Brauron. Apart from the official festival of Brauronia, a lesser, local festival was held every year.

During the festival the ritual of the arkteia concluded when the young girls, naked or dressed, holding garlands, bands and torches, participated in various rites (procession, dancing, running) around the altar. The celebration also included other rites, such as sacrifices and offerings to the goddess, dressing the cult statue, and rhapsody and probably athletic competitions.

circa 420 BCE

The Great Portico
The open air area north of the temple, where ceremonies and rituals were performed, took a monumental form in 420 BCE when a Π-shaped portico was constructed. The portico remained incomplete as the colonnade of the west wing was never built and the east one was not completed.

The north and west wing of the great portico comprised seven and four rooms respectively. The rooms of the north wing were divided by a narrow transverse corridor into two groups, four on the west and three on the east side. At the west wing the rooms were located on either side of the large double gateway. Of the eleven rooms of the portico, the nine larger ones had limestone floors, marble thresholds and were equipped with 11 wooden couches and 7 stone tables. According to recent research the rooms of the portico were intended for gatherings of men who took part in the celebration of the goddess of them are sanctuary Stuettes of Pedestals for the votive offerings of the worshippers were aligned along the façade of the north rooms and outside the west wing of the portico. still preserved today. The most prominent group of offerings during the second half of the 4th and the 3rd century BCE were the young girls and boys dedicated by the parents in order to put theen under the protection of the goddess.

Behind the north wing of the great portico, and parallel to it, at a distance of about six metres, there was a second portico, the North one. On either end of the corridor between the two porticoes, a monumental gateway was formed. The western gateway connected with the road to Athens, while the eastern one with the road leading to the sanctuary of Artemis Tauropolos at Halai Araphenidai (modern Loutsa) and the other coastal areas.

Thirty-seven rectangular bases were lined along the interior of the Northern portico for the inlaying of wooden boards, where the names of the arktoi (bears), the girls who served the goddess, were inscribed. According to another interpretation, the bases supported planks on which the garments of women who died in labour were placed in honour of Iphigeneia.

The partial restoration of the great portico had been discussed since the very early years of the excavation. The relative study for the restoration was conducted by the architect Charalambos Bouras, professor of the National Technical University of Athens. Restoration work began in October 1960 and was completed in September 1962 CE under the supervision of the sculptor of the National Archaeological Museum Stelios Triantis. Additional restoration work was carried out in 2014 CE during the project of the arrangement of the archaeological site by the Archaeological Service.

circa 400 BCE

Circular Altar
The big cylindrical altar was discovered at the Brauron sanctuary complex was restored in 1967 CE from 28 pieces that were retrieved from different parts of the archaeological site. The fragmentary scene on the alter consisted of 15 figure reliefs that were arranged in order while above the head of each figure there was an inscription with its name. According ot an interpretive approach; the scene's theme is the welcoming reception of Dionysus as a guest deity to the sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia.

The procession was led by Hermes and the figures that followed are identified with Dionysus, the three Horae with Eirene first in order, the three Graces, a Silenus figure, the three Nymphs - the last of which is depicted seated - Apollo, Leto and Artemis.

The altar is thought to have been built around 400 BCE, which is the period right after the end of the Peloponnesian War, when peace was re-established in the region of ancient Attica. This fact may have been the reason for the artist to place Eirene right after Dionysus who was leading along with Hermes the procession towards the temple of Artemis.

However, a different theory identifies the first part of the scene, which took place at the sanctuary of Delphi, Leto, Artemis, Apollo and Pythia, seated next to him on the Omphalos. At the next scene a procession begins with Hermes and Dionysus in charge, followed by the goddess Eirene and more groups of secondary female deities tat participate in the procession. A male deity is discerned among them and could be interpreted as "Agon", who is related with Eirene's cult.

circa 500 BCE

Stone Bridge
The stone bridge located at the end of the road leading from the city of Athens to the sanctuary of Artemis at the area where the water of the Erasinos river collected, was built in order to facilitate the access to the site. It is made of rectangular limestone blocks put on top of five parallel rows of pillars placed across the riverbed. The deck is slightly curved in the middle for the water to be drained off. On the surface, traces of wheel ruts are visible. The bridge must have been built before the destruction of the sanctuary by the Persians in 480 BCE.

circa 1450 CE

Church

circa 650-500 BCE

Archaic Crater With A Chariot Race Scene
The crater with a chariot race scene (inspect) depicted on it dates back to the seventh or sixth century BCE. It was discovered during a rescue excavation in 2010 CE in an ancient cemetery near the old railway station ot Markopoulo Mesogaias, a secondary cremation with the urn buried in a pit carved in to the natural rock. Cremation was widespread from the tenth century BCE (Geometric Period) and during the Archaic period and Greek Classical times (circa seventh until fourth centuries BCE), alongside the practice of the burial of the body.

The urn from Markopoulo Mesogaias (BE 9337) is a crater with a high conical pedestal. It also contained two small slay cases as offerings; a bowl dated to the late seventh century BCE (BE 9338) and another black-figured depicting swans dated to circa 500-500 BCE (BE 9339). All three items are not preserved and displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Brauron.

The relatively larger crater is of particular interest, as only on one side of the vessel the representation of the chariot race is rendered with black-figure technique. Three one-horse chariots are included, the depiction of which is extremely rare. The intensity of the race is captured as one chariot passes the other with the horses galloping while the charioteers lean forward holding the reins with outstretched arms.

The representation of the chariot race probably indicates the prominent social position of the deceased, because chariot owners were the members of the upper social and economic class. Furthermore, it echoes the heroic tradition as funeral games were held in honour of a dead hearo. The best known are those organised by Achilles for Patroclus, his friend and fellow warrior, as recounted by Homer in rhapsody or book 23 of the Iliad.

circa 575 BCE

Kore of Brauron
One of the most impressive finds of the sanctuary of Brauron is the 'Kore of Brauron'. It is made of clay, is dated at the first half of the 6th century BCE and although the lower part of its torso is missing, its size corresponds to the marble statues of the same period. The Kore was on an upright position with its hands protuberant and its palm clenched into a fist bearing an open hole where an object would probably be fixed on. Similar clay figurines have been found at other sanctuaries (Thassos, Athenian Acropolis, Sanctuary of Nymphe, Sanctuary of Artemis Mounichia). The worshiping substance of the 'Kore of Brauron is not clear, however, the sanctuaries, where the presence of this type of clay statues has been confirmed, are concidered to be female sanctuaries and are related to fertility and reproduction.

circa 450 BCE

Artemis Kourotrophos
A small group of figurines discovered at the Vravron sanctuary, dating back to the fifth century BCE, depict the goddess holding a young girl in her arms and not a baby, as it normally happens with the kourotrophos (child's nurse) figurines.

This is probably Brauronia Artemis that protected and guided girls during the transitional phase from childhood to puberty. "Young Arktoi" offered their services to Artemis in order to be educated for the marriage and be fulfilled with their children's birth.

circa 325-275 BCE

Artemis Kynigetis
This marble statue of Artemis Kynigetis, dating from the late fourth to early third century BCE, depicts the goddess in dynamic motion. She is rendered wearing a short chiton secured by crossed bands across the chest, draped beneath an animal hide. Her voluminous himation is gathered at her bent left arm, an anatomical positioning that suggests she originally held a bow. Given its compositional attributes and kinetic posture, the sculpture is hypothesized to have functioned as an acroterion for a temple structure.

circa

Artemis Dadophoros / Hecate
Chthonic characteristics were incorporated in the worship of Brauronia Artemis which indicate her relationship to the chthonic goddess Hecate, with whom Artemis is usually confused or equated.

The chthonic character (deities referred to as chthonic or chthonian were gods or spirits who inhabited the underworld or existed in or under the earth) is denoted by the torch used by the goddess for night hunting as well as means for killing her veneries. The alight torch also symbolises the purifying fire as well as the light that wards off darkness. "Light bearer" and "fire bearer" are epithets that characterise the goddess of light who purifies and punishes.

The torch has also been interpreted as one of Artemis' symbols with the quality of labour's protector, a function that was also kept by Hecate.

circa

Plates
Plates are shallow vessels with slightly raised edges or lips and low ring-shaped base. The term pinax meant initially flat surface or board and it must have been referred to wooden plates. The majority of plates are unpainted or black-painted, while some of them are decorated with black-figure or red-figure technique.

They were mainly utilitarian vessels, though they frequently obtained a votive character as well, when they were offered as gifts to a worshipped deity. In particular, at the sancturies they dedicated plates with painted decoration which had suspension holdes for their display.

circa

Artemis Tauropolos
At the Brauron sanctuary goddess Artemis also received offerings as "Tauropolos", an attribute with which she was mainly worshipped at the neighbouring sanctuary of Halai Araphenidai. The name "Tauropolos" is a complex word: bull (ταύρος) + πόλος (πολέω = hover or hang around). The depiction of a female goddess that rides a bull was already known from the Bronze Age. The relationship of Artemis with the bull derives mainly from he quality as a goddess of wild nature and fertility. The domestic cattle, as they are depicted at the large marble reliefs of Brauron, were offered and sacrificed in honour of the goddess as the most precious kind of animal's sacrifice and they are not connected with Tauropolos Artemis.