Imagine doves circling overhead. They are the sacred birds of Aphrodite. This is fitting as we stand before the Sanctuary of Aphrodite Urania. This sanctuary was dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, in her celestial aspect. “Urania” means “of the heavens.”
The Sanctuary of Aphrodite Urania is northwest of the Ancient Agora. Archaeological finds in the 1980s confirmed its location. The sanctuary’s story began around 500 BC. It started with a simple marble altar. Over time, the ground level rose burying the altar. Around 100 BC, a structure was added. It was likely a fountain house to the west of the altar.
In the 1st century AD, a temple was built. This Ionic temple mimicked the Erechtheion’s north porch. It stood to the north of the altar. Sadly, by the 5th century AD, the temple was in ruins. It became part of a concrete platform. Later, a Late Roman Stoa replaced the platform in the 5th century AD. That structure, too, fell into ruin in the 6th or 7th centuries AD. Byzantine houses then covered the area.
How do we know this was a sanctuary to Aphrodite? Literary accounts help. Pausanias, a 2nd-century AD travel writer, described it. He mentioned the sanctuary while walking from the Temple of Hephaestus to the Agora. Pausanias wrote that Aegeus established the cult. Aegeus believed Aphrodite Urania caused his childlessness. A statue of Aphrodite made of Parian marble by Phidias stood here.
Archaeological finds also confirm the sanctuary. Excavations uncovered an altar dating back to 500 BC. A temple was added north of the altar during the Roman period. The altar’s bone remains tell a tale. Many sacrifices were doves. Doves were exclusively sacrificed to Aphrodite. A votive relief from the 5th century BC supports this. It shows a veiled woman with an incense burner. This is typical iconography for Aphrodite Urania.
The early altar measured 5.08 by 2.40 meters. It faced north-south. The altar had a superstructure and a limestone sill. Priests would stand on the west side to make sacrifices. The superstructure had marble orthostates. Inside, poros slabs supported a marble surface. Marble barriers with painted palmette acroteria adorned the ends. Pottery shows the altar was built around 500 BC. The ground level was raised before 480 BC. Damage suggests the Persians may have sacked it in 480 BC. Repairs occurred around the 420s BC.
Inside the altar during repairs, they found ash and bone. Over 80,000 bone fragments were found. Most showed signs of burning. Many bones came from goats and birds. Most bird remains were doves. Goat bones were mainly inedible parts. The animal was decapitated. Most of the meat was eaten. Forelimbs were often given to priests.
West of the altar was a platform of poros blocks. It might have been a fountain house. It was built around the 2nd or 1st century BC. The early Roman temple covered part of this platform. The temple was destroyed around 396 AD. This was likely due to Alaric’s sack of Athens.
The early Roman temple had four columns across the front. It faced south. The altar aligned with its central axis. The porch was larger than the cella. The structure stood on a high podium. The columns mimicked those of the Erechtheion. When the temple was built, the ground level was raised. This happened in the 1st century AD. Five layers of poros blocks surrounded the altar. A new altar was placed on top. Physical contact linked the sacred character of the original altar to the new structures.
Later, a bath complex was added to the north. It included a latrine built against the temple’s west wall. The temple fell into ruin before the 5th century. Its remains were used in a concrete platform. In the 5th century AD, a stoa was built. It connected the Stoa Poikile to the Early Roman Stoa. The stoa fell into ruin in the 6th or 7th century AD.
Excavations began in 1980. They revealed the sanctuary’s location. Before that, the sanctuary was misidentified elsewhere. The sacrifices and votive reliefs confirm this was the Sanctuary of Aphrodite Urania. It stands as a testament to the enduring worship of the celestial Aphrodite.