Asprochoma
| PK | C7283 |
| TITLE | Asprochoma |
| WGS84 | 37.738639° N, 22.752572° E |
| Accuracy | Exact |
| LAT/LON | 37.738639, 22.752572 |
| LON/LAT | 22.752572, 37.738639 |
| DMS | 37° 44' 19.1004" N | , | 22° 45' 9.2592" E |
| W3W | plea, juvenile, taillights |
| UTM | 34 S, 654421.73, 4178262.9 |
| EGSA87 | 389940, 4177262 |
| Elevation m | 233 |
| Elevation feet | 764.4 |
| Region | Argolid |
GENERAL SITE TYPE Cult
TYPE
1. Sanctuary. Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015], 'Type: Sanctuary'2. Sanctuary. Iakovidis et al. [2003], 39 'Temple precinct with a small temple building, ... '
PERIOD (High Chronology)
1. Geometric: (900 BC - 700 BC)
a. Iakovidis et al. [2003]: 39, 'The area began to be used in the Late Geometric/Early Archaic times (Altars A and B); ... '
2. Late Geometric: (760 BC - 700 BC)
a. Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015]: , 'Chronological Period: From LG to EA'
3. Early Archaic: (700 BC - 600 BC)
a. Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015]: , 'Chronological Period: From LG to EA'
b. Iakovidis et al. [2003]: 39, 'The area began to be used in the Late Geometric/Early Archaic times (Altars A and B); ... '
NOTE
1. The Aspro Chomata sanctuary first appears in Steffen's Karten von Mykenai where it is placed in a small area called Asprochoma. Asprochoma is a pass just to the E of Batsuri Rachi, a little western foothill of Profitis Elias. There it is described as 'Reste einer antiken Pass-Befestigung' (Remains of a Pass-Fortress). Find Steffen's map here.
In 1946 Marcellus T. Mitsos describes an inscription found there 'by the phylax Aristoteles Tsetsekos on his property in the locality known as "Asprochoma" near Mycenae.' Mitsos' article is here.
Leslie J. Shear describes an excavation of the site in the American Journal of Archaeology in 1966 here. He documents that the site was almost certainly a sanctuary with a temple dedicated to Enyalios (an epithet of Ares). In fact Mitsos' inscription recorded a dedication of weapons to the sanctuary. Shear says, that 'It was just this sort of dedication which the excavations revealed.'
The Atlas of Mycenae (p. 39, item B3:02) calls it the 'Temple of Enyalios' and describes the several structures in detail.
The Aristeia Project (wrong position) recaps this history here.
The transliterations are variously given: 'Asprochomata', 'Aspro Chomata', 'Asprochoma'.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Iakovidis et al. [2003]: Iakovidis, Spyros, and Elizabeth B. French, Kim Shelton, Charalambos Ioannides, Anton Jansen, John Lavery. Archaeological Atlas of Mycenae. The Archaeological Society at Athens Library, no. 229. 2003., 'B3:02 - LG-Hell', pg. 39.
2. Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015]: Mazarakis Ainian, Alexander . Η Κοινωνική Αρχαιολογία του Ελληνικού Κόσμου κατά την Πρώιμη Εποχή του Σιδήρου και την Πρώιμη Αρχαϊκή περίοδο (The Aristeia Project: The Social Archeology of the Greek World during the Early Iron Age and the Early Archaic period), 'Aspra Chomata (Asprochomata)', Online here.