Cynosarges

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Area of ancient Athens

title: "Cynosarges" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ancient-greek-buildings-and-structures-in-athens", "ancient-greek-religion", "cynicism", "former-buildings-and-structures-in-greece", "heracles", "gymnasiums-(ancient-greece)", "festivals-in-ancient-athens", "festivals-in-ancient-greece"] description: "Area of ancient Athens" topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynosarges" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Area of ancient Athens ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Votive_relief_NAMA3952.jpg" caption="jstor=284048}} The modern suburb of [[Kynosargous]] is named after it." alt="Votive relief found at river Ilissos"] ::

Overview

Cynosarges lay somewhat northeast of the Lyceum. Its exact site is unknown but it is generally located in what is now the southern suburbs of Athens.

Its name was a mystery to the ancients that was explained by a story about a white

Herodotus mentions that a shrine was attested there around the period of 490/89 BC, and it became a famous sanctuary of Heracles that was also associated with his mother Alcmene, his wife Hebe and his nephew/helper Iolaus. It appeared that Heracles and Hebe each had a dedicated altar whereas Alcmene and Iolaus shared one. A renowned gymnasium was built there; it was meant especially for nothoi, illegitimate children. The Cynosarges was also where the Cynic Antisthenes was said to have lectured, a fact which was offered as one explanation as to how the sect got the name of Cynics.

A festival was held at Cynosarges in honour of Heracles in the month of Metageitnion, at which twelve nothoi were chosen to be parasitoi (fellow diners), who ate a meal with the cult statue of the god. They returned for smaller meals each month for a year where a priest would perform sacrifices. People who refused to serve as parasitoi were liable to be prosecuted in the Athenian court system. Clement recorded that Philip II of Macedon, who claimed Heracles as an ancestor, was honoured with a cult at the site.

Suda writes that since Herakles was reputed to be a bastard, for that reason the bastards, those qualifying as citizens neither paternally nor maternally, used to exercise there.

Archaeological excavations were carried out in 1896-7 by Cecil Smith, the Director of the British School at Athens and BSA student Robert Carr Bosanquet.

Notes

References

References

  1. {{LSJ. *kuno/sarges. Κυνόσαργες. ref
  2. Fredricksmeyer, E. A.. (1979). "Divine Honors for Philip II". Transactions of the American Philological Association.
  3. ''The Stones of Athens'', Wycherley, R.E., Princeton 1978.Pg 229
  4. or swift dog, [[Folk etymology. etymologising]] the name as ''Kynos argos'', from [[Genitive case. genitive]] of ''kyon'' (dog) and ''argos'' (white, shining, or swift). The legend goes that on one occasion when Didymos, an Athenian, was performing a lavish sacrifice, a white (or swift) dog appeared and snatched the offering; Didymos was alarmed, but received an [[oracle. oracular]] message saying that he should establish a temple to [[Heracles]] in the place where the dog dropped the offering.[[Suda]], κ2721, ε3160. In another account, (Suda, ει290) a white dog was being sacrificed, and an eagle stole and dropped the offering.
  5. [[Herodotus]], ''[[Histories (Herodotus). Historiae]]'' 6.116
  6. [[Pausanias (geographer). Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' 1.19.3.
  7. Diogenes Laërtius. "Lives of the Eminent Philosophers".
  8. [[Demosthenes]] 23.213; [[Athenaeus]], ''Deipnosophists'', 6.234E; [[Plutarch]], ''Themistocles'', 12
  9. Diogenes Laërtius. "Lives of the Eminent Philosophers".
  10. Parke, H. W.. (1977). "Festivals of the Athenians". Thames and Hudson.
  11. [https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/kappa/2721 Suda, kappa, 2721]
  12. "Digging II: 19th-century Kynosarges and the Melos Campaign in the BSA SPHS Image Collection". British School at Athens.

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ancient-greek-buildings-and-structures-in-athensancient-greek-religioncynicismformer-buildings-and-structures-in-greeceheraclesgymnasiums-(ancient-greece)festivals-in-ancient-athensfestivals-in-ancient-greece