The Hill of the Muses - Philopappos Hill Page 4
Background of the Monuments namesake: Friend of Athens,
Gaius Julius Antonichos Philopappos and grandson of Antiochos IV, last
king of Commagene in Asia Minor. Roman Proconsul of Athens,100 AD., Prince
of Syria, Citizen of Athens. He was exiled from Rome for political reasons
but with all his booty.
Errected, 114-116 AD, of pendelic marble as a tomb, by the citizens of Athens to honor this benefactor of the city and destroyed in the 17th century, no one is sure, by whom. It was still intact in 1436 when described by Cyriacus of Ancona. The facade facing the Acropolis,and decorated with a frieze, shows Philopappos as consul driving his chariot. Above were 4 Corinthian columns which formed 3 niches. The central of which contains the statue of Philopappos as an Athenian citizen of the Deme (neighborhood) of Besa. In the left niche, his grandfather Antiochos IV Epiphanes, last king of Commagne who was dethroned by Vespasian. The tomb, which lay behind the facade, has few traces visible.
In 294 BC , Demetrios Poliorketes established a fortress of which, a little remains, to control the Piraeus rd. In 1916 Greek Royalist forces fired on allied troops from this vantage point. It was also the scene of activity during the colonels coup of 21 April, 1967.
It was from this summit that Morosini bombarded the Parthenon, 26, September 1687. (Morosini was the overall commander of the Venetian forces.) The Archeological Society of Athens made excavations there in 1898-99 and later, (the now defunct?) Ministry of Public Instruction restored the monument to its present state. Archeologists now concur that the graffiti was added quite recently with spray paint by 'O Malakas Yannis' from Athens' suburb of Galatsi. Not withstanding the high, ugly, metal fence.
