#CLST6 For my #CYO3 on #Identity, I listened to Dylan Rogers' lecture “Athens and Sulla: Revisiting the Extent of the ‘Siege’ of 86 BCE”, hosted by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

Rogers begins the lecture discussing the history and background of the siege on Athens directed by the Roman general Sulla. The event took place in the background of the First Mithridatic War, during which Mithridates IV attacked Roman rule in the Greek world.

Mithridates wished to unite the Greek people under the influence of the Kingdom of Pontus in eastern Asia Minor, contesting the recently established Roman rule in area. His forces took control of Roman Asia and eventually seizes Athens with the aid of the puppet ruler Ariston.

Rogers continues to discuss the siege of Athens that occurs under Sulla's command, involving the blocking of Piraeus, encircling of the city, and the eventual plunder of the city and slaughter of its inhabitants.

In the end much of the city's structures were destroyed and Aristion was executed, reestablishing Roman control in the region. Sulla returned to Rome in order to deal with social and political unrest within the Italian Peninsula.

Rogers describes a variety of views that were taken concerning Sulla's particular brutal destruction of the ancient city of Athens, referencing his desire to quickly return to Rome to Aristion's ridiculings, to his particularly negative character.

When examining the archeological evidence for the destruction of Athens, we can gain a greater understanding of the how the destruction impacted the layout of the city and the lives of Athenian cities in the decades to come.

Examining the points of entry for Sulla's men into Athens, we can see the destruction that took place in the Agora. Major destruction to the southern section of the Agora occurred, which we can tell from damage to the south and middle stoas, prison, and Aiakeion.

The patterns of damage appeared to be less deliberate or focused, with the destruction being caused in a haphazard manner throughout the Agora.

Additional archeological evidence comes in the form of cannonballs that have been found in the Agora, used as by Sulla's men in their looting of Athens.

Rogers discusses the situation in the aftermath of Athens' fall, describing the lasting damage done to the city and its inhabitants. The event had a profound effect on the situation in the once great city.

The style of pottery produced changed as a result of the death of many of Athens skilled potters and the destruction of molds.

The process of recovery was likely slow and painful, requiring the reconstruction of the Agora and the city walls. Previous debts incurred by Athens and Sulla's looting made financial resources slim. As a result, stones were reused to fix the entry points into the city.

The detailed ways in which we can reconstruct the process of city wide destruction and rebuilding has implications in other corners of Classical Archeology, helping us understand how ancient peoples coped with the loss of lives and their homes.

We can gain a similar understanding the sites that we have discussed, from Illion to Crete to the Greek mainland during the late Bronze Age collapse, by using archeological examination to explore how these destructive events occurred and what effects they might have had.

While Sulla's actions may be just a footnote in Roman history, their impact on the fragile state of Athens and Attica were long lasting and show clear results in the archeological deposits throughout the city.

Sources:
https://vimeo.com/344295538 

Images:
https://vimeo.com/344295538 
Athenian Walls - U.S. Army Cartographer