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Modern Description: The site is surrounded (2018) by a fence and sheetmetal to block the view, and is destined for a hotel. A fragment of a votive to D[ii] Mei[lichio] found in 2012 in the 2010-14 Artemis Agrotera excavations encourages the belief that the sanctuary of Zeus Meilichios referred to in ancient sources as in Agrai is in fact located near the Agrotera temple. Given the probable role of Meilichios as a snake-shaped divinity who intervenes with the Chthonian spirits in cases of purification, his sanctuaries tend to be located outside the city, preferably with running water (in Athens the Ilissos and Kefissos rivers) isolating the tainted person from the city's more fastidious divinities. The robbing trenches, cut in bedrock, for a 5th? c. Doric temple were discovered ca. 2010 on the spot ToposText marks for the Meilichios shrine. The temple, however, is probably not connected with this god. Photo at artemisagrotera.org
[Judith Binder: Zeus Meilichios: Site of the Diasia festival on the Ilissos left bank at Agrai: EM 13163; SEG_21 541 (1965), col. I, lines 38-40; the Diasia associated with the Lesser Mysteries, M. Jameson, op. cit. (no. Zeu55* above) 159-162; Schwabl, H. 1978,, 1069-1070]
Wikidata ID: Q110833611
Trismegistos Geo: 364

Info: ToposText editors

(JBK)

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