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Metroon (Athens), also known as “Sanctuary of the Mother of the Gods” Gawlinski, Laura

Description

A shrine of the Mother of the Gods in Athens became connected to the archives of the city-state by the late 5th c. BCE. Based on evidence from written sources, it was incorporated alongside the records in the socalled "Old" Bouleuterion (Council House) after a new building for boule meetings was constructed. In the Hellenistic period (ca. 140 BCE), a new building definitively referred to as the Metroon was built over the remains of the Old Bouleuterion. The famous cult statue of the Mother by Agorakritos is known through many miniature copies.