L’Altare dei Dodici Dei e le acque violate dell’Eridano

This paper examines the Tyrannic Phase of the Agora of the Kerameikos and specially the position and the role of the Altar of the Twelve Gods. The built of the Altar could be dated to the Peisistratid period, when the N/W area of the square, near to the southern bank of the river Eridanus, was reclaimed. The reconstruction of the late-archaic phase of the Agora is very complex; the Altar area presents different structures, here analyzed and connected to the evolution of this part of the Agora. The position of the Altar in connection with the ancient flows of the river is another important element; the reclaim of this area, with all its hydraulic works, especially the aqueduct, appears as one of the main moment of the Tyrannical policy, which is represented also through the images of Heracles, who turns the swamp in useful earth. In this context the creation of the Altar appears as a penance for the canalization of the Eridanus, an act that needs a solemn sanctification, symbol of the refoundation of the city due to the Tyrants and new center of the region.