Monument of Lysikrates

View looking north at the south side of the monument.  It was constructed in 334 B.C.  It is called a “choragic monument” of which there were many in ancient Athens.  Prizes (tripods) were given to one of the choruses that competed in the drama and music festivals that were held in the Theater of Dionysus and monuments were built to display them - a "choragic monument."

This particular one is well preserved because for many years it was actually part of a convent – now destroyed.  It is about 33 ft. [10 m.] high.  The base is composed of six columns of Pentelic marble that are surmounted by Corinthian capitals (some of the earliest examples known).  In between the columns are panels of light blue Hymettian marble.

 

The carved frieze around the top depicts Dionysus turning pirates into dolphins — a topic possibly related to the drama for which the prize was given.  The cluster of acanthus leaves that protrudes from the top actually supported a bronze tripod that Lysikrates had won.

 

This monument is located in the Plaka, about 365 yrds. [400 m.] south southeast of the Tower of the Winds, and about 100 yrds. [110 m.] due east of the eastern point of the Acropolis.