#Metroon

[thinkingimages]

Marble statuette of Kybele

Roman 1st–2nd century CE

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 156

Based on a gold and ivory statue by the Greek sculptor Pheidias or Agorakritos of the late 5th century B.C. The cult of Kybele, the mother goddess of Anatolia, had been brought to Athens by the fifth century B.C. A statue of the enthroned goddess accompanied by lions and holding a cymbal stood in the Metroon, a prominent building in the Agora–the marketplace–of Athens. Over one hundred small marble copies such as this have been found in the Agora.

[kebriones]

At the time when the Athenians being masters of the sea brought lawsuits involving islanders to Athens, someone made a case against Hegemon and brought him to the city. When he arrived he assembled the artists of Dionysos (the actors' guild) and with them approached Alkibiades claiming his assistance. Alkibiades bade them have confidence, and telling them all to follow him he went into the Metroon, where were the records of the lawsuits; and wetting his finger in his mouth he erased the lawsuit of Hegemon. The clerk and the archon were very annoyed, but held their peace because it was Alkibiades; the prosecutor took the precaution of fleeing from Athens.

( from Athenaeus)

(NEW ULTRA RARE ALCIBIADES ANECDOTE)

[thedepartmentofdiscoveries]

Diogenes

Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824-1904)

1860

oil on canvas

The Greek philosopher Diogenes (404-323 BC) is seated in his abode, the earthenware tub, in the Metroon, Athens, lighting the lamp in daylight with which he was to search for an honest man. His companions were dogs that also served as emblems of his "Cynic" (Greek: "kynikos," dog-like) philosophy, which emphasized an austere existence. Three years after this painting was first exhibited, Gerome was appointed a professor of painting at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he would instruct many students, both French and foreign.

INSCRIPTION

[Signature] Upper left: J. L. Gerome; [Date] Upper left: MDCCCLX

PROVENANCE

Purchased by Goupil et Cie, Paris, March 7 1865 (from whom purchased is unclear); purchased by Ernest Gambart, London, March 3 1861; purchased by August Belmont, New York, before 1864 [1]; August Belmont Sale, New York, November, 1872, no. 31; purchased by William T. Walters, Baltimore, 1872; by inheritance, Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest, Walters Art Museum, 1931.

[dosartistas]

Jean-Leon Gerome - Diogenes [1860] por Gandalf's Gallery Por Flickr: The Greek philosopher Diogenes (404-323 BC) is seated in his abode, the earthenware tub, in the Metroon, Athens, lighting the lamp in daylight with which he was to search for an honest man. His companions were dogs that also served as emblems of his "Cynic" philosophy, which emphasized an austere existence. Three years after this painting was first exhibited, Gerome was appointed a professor of painting at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he would instruct many students, both French and foreign.

Jean-Leon Gerome. Diogenes, 1860.

[pollonegro666]

2022/08/10 Bajamos al subsuelo para montar en metro, el único medio de transporte urbano que nos faltaba.

We went underground to ride the subway, the only means of urban transport that we lacked.

Google translation into Italian: Siamo andati sottoterra per prendere la metropolitana, l'unico mezzo di trasporto urbano che ci mancava.

Google Translation into Portuguese: Descemos para pegar o metrô, o único meio de transporte urbano que nos faltava.

Google Translation into French: Nous sommes allés sous terre pour prendre le métro, le seul moyen de transport urbain qui nous manquait.

Google Translation into Arabic: ذهبنا تحت الأرض لأخذ المترو ، وهو الشكل الوحيد من وسائل النقل الحضري الذي افتقرنا إليه.

Google Translation into German: Wir gingen in die U-Bahn, um die U-Bahn zu nehmen, das einzige städtische Verkehrsmittel, das uns fehlte.

Google Translation into Albanisch: Shkuam në metro për të marrë metronë, i vetmi transport urban që na mungonte.

Google Translation into Bulgarian: Отидохме до метрото, за да вземем метрото, единственият градски транспорт, който ни липсваше.

Google Translation into Czech: Šli jsme na metro, abychom jeli metrem, jedinou městskou dopravou, kterou jsme postrádali.

Google Translation into Slovak: Išli sme na metro ísť metrom, jedinou mestskou dopravou, ktorá nám chýbala.

Google Translation into Slovenian: Šli smo na metro, da bi se peljali s podzemno, edinim mestnim prevozom, ki nam je manjkal.

Google Translation into Suomi: Menimme metroon ottaaksemme metron, ainoan kaupunkiliikenteen, joka meiltä puuttui.

Google Translation into Greek: Πήγαμε στο μετρό για να πάρουμε το μετρό, τη μοναδική αστική συγκοινωνία που μας έλειπε.

Google Translation into Dutch: We gingen naar de metro om de metro te nemen, het enige stadsvervoer dat we misten.

Google Translation into Norwegian: Vi dro til t-banen for å ta t-banen, den eneste bytransporten vi manglet.

Google Translation into Polish: Poszliśmy do metra, aby wsiąść do metra, jedynego transportu miejskiego, którego nam brakowało.

Google Translation into Romanian: Am mers la metrou să luăm metroul, singurul transport urban care ne lipsea.

Google Translation into Russian: Мы пошли к метро, ​​чтобы сесть на метро, ​​единственный городской транспорт, которого нам не хватало.

Google Translation into Swedish: Vi gick till tunnelbanan för att ta tunnelbanan, den enda stadstrafiken vi saknade.

Google Translation into Turkish: Eksik olan tek şehir içi ulaşım aracı olan metroya binmek için metroya gittik.

Google Translation into Bengali: আমরা পাতাল রেল নিতে সাবওয়েতে গিয়েছিলাম, একমাত্র শহুরে পরিবহন আমরা নিখোঁজ ছিলাম।

Google Translation into Chinese: 我们去地铁是为了坐地铁，我们唯一缺少的城市交通工具。

Google Translation into Korean: 우리는 우리가 놓친 유일한 도시 교통 수단인 지하철을 타기 위해 지하철을 탔습니다.

Google Translation into Hebrew: הלכנו לרכבת התחתית לנסוע ברכבת התחתית, התחבורה העירונית היחידה שחסרה לנו.

Google Translation into Hindi: हम सबवे लेने के लिए मेट्रो गए, एकमात्र शहरी परिवहन जो हमें याद आ रहा था।

Google Translation into Indonesian: Kami pergi ke kereta bawah tanah untuk naik kereta bawah tanah, satu-satunya transportasi perkotaan yang kami lewatkan.

Google Translation into Japanese: 唯一欠けていた都市交通である地下鉄に乗ろうと地下鉄に行きました。

Google Translation into Malay: Kami pergi ke kereta bawah tanah untuk menaiki kereta api bawah tanah, satu-satunya pengangkutan bandar yang kami hilang.

Google Translation into Pashtun: موږ فرعي سړک ته لاړو چې فرعي سړک واخلو، یوازینی ښاري ټرانسپورټ چې موږ ورک وو.

Google Translation into Persian: به مترو رفتیم تا سوار مترو شویم، تنها وسیله نقلیه شهری که گم شده بودیم.

Google Translation into Tagalog: Pumunta kami sa subway para sumakay sa subway, ang tanging urban transport na kulang sa amin.

Google Translation into Thai: เราไปรถไฟใต้ดินเพื่อขึ้นรถไฟใต้ดินซึ่งเป็นระบบขนส่งในเมืองเดียวที่เราขาดหายไป

Google Translation into Urdu: ہم سب وے لینے کے لیے سب وے گئے، واحد شہری ٹرانسپورٹ جو ہم غائب تھے۔

Google Translation into Ukrainian: Ми пішли на метро, ​​щоб сісти на підземку, єдиний міський транспорт, якого нам бракувало.

[oneleggedflamingo]

Olin hukassa bussi asemalla ja viimeinen kyyti oli pian lähössä ja koitin ettii sitä pysäkkiä, mutta en millään meinannut löytää, ja juoksin sellasen järjestyksenvalvojan perään ja huutelin sille että: hei turvamies hei, ja se vaan heitti tupakan tumpin maahan ja paineli metroon :'D

Kysyin yheltä jalankulkijalta että missähän tää pysäkki on, niin se neuvo että rakennuksen toisella puolella.

[metamorfemo]

Metroo

Li eniris la metroon. En la lastan vagonon kiel ĉiam, ĉar estis en la malantaŭo de la stacio kie li atendis, ke la metroo alvenu, kiel ĉiam. El la malantaŭo de la stacio – kie li ĉiam atendis ke la metroo alvenu – eblis vidi la forvojojn sekvante al la pli-tien. Unu en ĉiu flanko, unu iranta al la pli-tien, la alia revenanta el la pli-tie, meze de la du estas herbo. Ĉiutage la herbo malsamis:…

[enkeliseepra]

Edellinen yö meinasi muuttua liskojen yöksi. Näin unta jossa olin kahvilassa, huomasin jonkun leivoksen ja tajusin että se oli äitini suosikkileivos. Tajusin salamaniskun lailla, että minulla on ikävä äitiäni. Minulla oli muitakin ongelmia; korvieni reiät olivat tulehtuneet korvskorujen vuoksi, vasen olkapääni oli solisluun kohdalta kipeä, en saanut käsivarsiani asetettua mukavaan asentoon, ja reiteni liimautuivat yhteen. Nousin ja menin pissalle, sitten menin takaisin nukkumaan, sitten nousin ja otin aamulääkkeet. Pukeuduin ja nautin aamiaista ja kahvia. En jaksanut peseytyä. Vaihdoin pyyhkeet, otin lakanat pois sängystä, ja pesin pyykkikoneeni etikalla. Lähdin junalla keskustaan ja vaihdoin metroon ja menin kaupunkifestivaaleille. Tapasin Mireten lavan edessä, meitä haastateltiin lehteen. Siellä oli monia kivoja kojuja. Menen huomenna koko päiväksi sinne kokonaisvaltaista kokemusta varten. Lähdettyäemme harhailimme asemalla, kunnes löysimme vahingon kautta bussipysäkin. Menimme bussilla Karrille, siellä oli jo paljon vieraita. Söimme paljon herkkuja. Vitsailimme ja naureskelimme. Lähdin ja matkustin bussilla kotiini. Otin iltalääkkeet ja yhden rauhoittavan. Huomenna menen sinne kaupunkifestivaaleille uudestaan, ja sen jälkeen vanhemmilleni.

[parempimaria]

Tilanne 28.4.2024

Pettymys. Vittu että sen kanssa on vaikea handlata. Se oli tän päivän tilanteen laukaisija varmasti. Ja ehkä se että KUVITTELIN taas jotain ihan omiani mahdollisuuksia.

Nyt on ollut taas parempi jakso, ehkä 26.4. oli sama kun mulla oli synttärit niin sitten kun olin ihan loppu siinä kello 23 aikaan niin iski se pettymys siitä että puolet vieraista perui.

Mutta pettymys tänään. Lauri lähti verikokeeseen, kiireellä enkä sit ehtinyt mukaan. Mut oltiin sovittu aiemmin tänään että sen jälkeen vois mennä kävelemään. No mäpä sitten KUVITTELIN ja AJATTELIN ETTÄ VITSI voidaan sit mennä pyöräilemään JA EHKÄ LAUTALLA JOHONKIN! Haha! Kello oli 18.30...

No sit ku menin vastaan Kampin Terveystalolle niin se oli sillee?? Missä oot?? Ja luulin että oon ihan väärässä paikassa niinku noni. Kiva ku et kertonu mihin meet ja nyt oon perseessä. No, olinkin oikeessa paikassa.

Mut sepä oli ihan väsynyt ja hiljainen. Se sano että ei halua mennä kävelemään. Noh, okei. Petyin mutta en tiiä, lähin seuraa sitä. Se ei puhunut mitää vaan tuntui vaan kylmältä koska se oli väsynyt. Se käveli eikä puhunut mitään, aloin turhautua koska en tiennyt ees että mihin se on menossa. Se halus istumaan, aha.

Musta tuntu että se vihaa mua, se on kylmä mulle, se ei puhu mulle, aloin ahdistua todella paljon. Sanoin että okei lähetään kotiin. Ja sit kerroin sille että musta tuntuu että se vihaa mua. NO! SEPÄ SAATANA ALKOI HUOKAILEMAAN JA PYÖRITTELEMÄÄN SILMIÄ!

TRIGGERED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Menin kauppaan pakoon, no en löytänyt mitä etsin, vitun K-Supermarket Kamppi saatana, saatanan omistama paskaläävä josta ei mitään löydä.

Ja tulin sieltä pois ja yritin ohjata sitä metrolle mun kaa, se vaan laahusti. Metron liukuportaissa sit tuli kyyneleet. Menin vähän sivummalle siellä alhaalla seisomaan. Se tuli perässä mut lähti sit sinne lähemmäs metroa. Menin sit metroon yksin kuulokkeideni kanssa. Se laitto viestiä "Mitä teet" "Oon metrossa" " Joo o" ja sit kerroin että mua ahdistaa ja se vaan pyörittelee silmiä ja huokailee. Se sano että "en oo vihanen sulle niin en tiiä mitä selität".

En vastannut siihen mitään. Mentiin Sörkkään omia matkojamme. Hain Kurvin K-Marketista sen vitun tahnan. Ja menin sporapysäkille sen luokse. Ja otin kontaktia. Ja sanoin että tarviin vaan reassurance. Ja yritin halata ja kosketella. Otti se sen vastaan, mutta ei nyt niin hyvin.

Mentiin ratikkaan. Mut joku vitun slut vei vikan 2 paikan, tottakai mun piti se sanoa ääneen. Ja mentiin erikseen istumaan 1 paikoille.

Sit käveltiin kotiin, emmä tiiä, kai se tilanne nyt sit on ohi. Sanoin että olin pettynyt kun olisin jotain halunnut vielä tehdä, mennä pyöräilemään.

Mutta nyt oon sit tässä kirjottamassa tätä.

Mitä mun ois pitänyt tehdä?

Ehkä vaan hyväksyä se että Lauri on väsynyt. Ja piste. Mennään kotiin, silisili pusipusi.

Mutta vittu että se pettymyksen handlaus on VAIKEETA! UGH! HALUAN OPPIA!

[willxia1]

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[rujorampaperisokea]

Espoolaiset puhuu Länsimetrosta

Helsingin puolella metrojuna rikkoutuu Länsimetron avajaispäivänä.

"Oishan se pitäny tietää, että Länsimetro ei toimi."

Arkiaamuna metrossa on ruuhkaa.

"Helvetin Länsimetro. Siitä ei ole kenellekään mitään hyötyä."

New Yorkin metro on minuutin myöhässä.

"Miksi ihmeessä Länsimetro oikein rakennettiin? Siitä pitäis tehdä maanalainen Baana!"

[waxclothing]

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[mehilaiselokuva]

🌿expressions part 5🌿

this post will be about how to make formal/honorific sentences and when they could be used.

the first and most important rule is to not use sinä. use te instead.

example: oletko menossa metroon? > oletteko te menossa metroon?

are you going to the metro?

if the person you're talking to is significantly higher than you, you want to add herra (mr.) or rouva (mrs) (note that you should use rouva for married women only)

example: päivää, presidentti > päivää, rouva presidentti!

hello, mrs. president!

(it's also good to bow while greeting someone higher than you like the president. remember that men and women in finland bow differently)

if you are talking to a customer

example: haluatko tämän kotiinkuljetuksella > haluatteko/haluaisitteko tämän kotiinkuljetuksella

do you want this with home delivery?

if you are talking to someone older than you that you do not know

example: hei, hauska tavata! > päivää rouva, hauska tavata teidät!

hello mrs, nice to meet you!

also, in puhekieli people use sori often instead of anteeksi. sori is not to be used while being super formal (along with any other puhekieli/slang/dialect terms!)

[spainhistoryteacher]

Diógenes y el cinismo

Antístenes fue el fundador del cinismo. Ahora bien, el máximo exponente de este movimiento fue Diógenes de Sinope. Diógenes era contemporáneo de Alejandro Magno. El programa que llevó a cabo Diógenes lo encontramos en la frase “busco al hombre”, que Diógenes iba pronunciando mientras caminaba con una linterna encendida en pleno día, en los lugares donde había más gente. ¿Qué quería dar a entender Diógenes? Buscaba al hombre que vivía de acuerdo con su esencia más auténtica, buscaba al hombre que sabe encontrar su propia naturaleza y que al mismo tiempo viva de acuerda a ella y además sabe ser feliz..

Diógenes pretendía demostrar que el hombre siempre tiene a su disposición lo que necesita para ser feliz, con la condición que sepa darse cuenta de cuáles son las exigencias reales de su naturaleza. Para Diógenes las matemáticas, la física, la astronomía y la música son inútiles. ¿Por qué? Porque la acción sustituye cualquier medición conceptual. El ejemplo, el comportamiento sustituyen  a cualquier interpretación metafísica. Diógenes propone vivir sin metas (o por lo menos, sin las metas que la sociedad nos propone), sin necesidad de casa ni de vivienda fija y sin las comodidades que brinda el progreso. Tenemos testimonios de la época en los cuáles nos describen la puesta en práctica, por parte de Diógenes, de dichas teorías:”Diógenes fue el primero en doblar su capa debido a la necesidad de dormir en su interior, y llevaba una alforja para guardar los víveres: utilizaba indistintamente todos los lugares para todos los usos, para comer, para dormir o para conversar. Y acostumbraba a decir que los atenienses también le habían procurado donde habitar: señalaba el pórtico de Zeus y la sala de las procesiones (….). En cierta ocasión había ordenado a alguien que le proporcionase una casita: como éste tardaba, escogió como vivienda un tonel que había en el Metroon, como atestigua él mismo”.

Para Diógenes, esta forma de vivir coincide con la libertad. Cuanto más se eliminen las necesidades superfluas más libre es la persona. Los cínicos insistieron mucho en el tema de la libertad. En la libertad de palabra llegaron hasta la arrogancia. En la libertad de acción avanzaron hacia actitudes muy licenciosas. Ahora bien, con esta libertad de acción, Diógenes pretendía demostrar la no naturalidad de las costumbres griegas. Veamos algunos ejemplos:”Diógenes acostumbraba a hacer todas las cosas a la luz del día, incluso aquellas que se refieren a Deméter y Afrodita”.

La vida cínica tenía tres objetivos básicos: la autarquía -bastarse a sí mismo-, la apatía y la indiferencia ante todo. Con esta anécdota de Diógenes con Alejandro Magno se narra todo el espíritu cínico. Cuentan que mientras Diógenes estaba tomando el sol, se le acercó Alejandro Magno y le dijo.”Pídeme lo que quieras”, a lo que Diógenes respondió:”No me tapes el sol”. Diógenes no necesitaba para nada el poderío de Alejandro Magno. Para estar satisfecho le bastaba con el sol, que es la cosa más natural, y está a disposición de todos. Mejor dicho, le bastaba con la profunda convicción de la inutilidad del poderío de Alejandro ya que la felicidad procede del interior del hombre y no de fuera de él.

Un saludo desde Academia Cruellas, en Fraga.

via Blogger https://ift.tt/2KS2lLx

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Among tales of gods who go unrecognized or are rejected, who reveal their power and finally win acceptance, the tale of the Mother of the Gods is surely one of the most remarkable. Unlike Dionysus or Demeter, whose arrivals were placed by classical sources in the legendary past, the most famous tale of the Mother’s arrival is set historically, in Athens of the fifth century. The story of the annunciation, rejection, and ultimate acceptance of the Mother of the Gods at Athens has been preserved in a variety of late sources, the most distinguished of which is an essay by the last polytheist emperor, Julian.

In opening his fifth oration, To the Mother of the Gods, Julian asks: “Ought I to say something on this subject also? . . . And shall I write about things not to be spoken of and divulge what ought not to be divulged? . . . Who is the Mother of the Gods?” Julian’s deference to mystic custom here bears comparison to the discretion that reserved the secrets of the Eleusinian Mysteries to initiates, a secrecy not otherwise associated with the Mother of the Gods. Julian continues with his account of the cult of the Mother:

The rites of the Mother . . . were handed down by the Phrygians in very ancient times, and were first taken over by the Greeks, and not by any ordinary Greeks, but by the Athenians who learned by experience that they did wrong to jeer at one who was celebrating the mysteries of the Mother. For it is said that they wantonly insulted and drove out the Gallus, on the ground that he was introducing a new cult, because they did not understand what sort of goddess they had to do with, and that she was the very Deo whom they worship, and Rhea and Demeter too. Then followed the wrath of the goddess and the propitiation of her wrath. For the priestess of the Pythian god who guided the Greeks in all noble conduct, bade them propitiate the wrath of the Mother of the gods. And so, we are told, the Metroön was built, where the Athenians used to keep all their state records.

As Julian reports, the arrival of the Mother of the Gods at Athens was precipitated by the rejection of the man whom he calls “the Gallus.” Gallus was the title by which, as of the third century b.c.e., the Phrygian eunuch priests of the Mother of the Gods were commonly known. Other sources refer to the priest who brought the rites of the Mother to Athens as “the Phrygian man”. Most often, in the sources cited below, he is called “the Metragytes,” the begging priest of the Mother. Julian states that this man was driven out by unsympathetic Athenians. Other accounts make the point that he was put to death by the Athenians, and also explain that the eventual atonement for this offensive behavior was somehow connected to the manner and place in which the Athenians had put the Metragytes to death. The fullest such account is found in the lexicon of Photius, under the lemma “Metroön”: 

A certain Metragytes came to Attica and was initiating women in the rites of the Mother of the Gods, as they say. The Athenians killed him by throwing him head first into the barathron [executioner’s pit]. When a plague broke out, the Athenians received an oracle commanding them to atone for the murdered man. On this account they built the Council House, on the spot at which they had put the Metragytes to death. Fencing the place in, they dedicated it to the Mother of the Gods, and they erected a statue of the Metragytes. They then made use of the Metroön as an archive building and repository for laws, and they filled in the barathron.

Here we learn the manner of death that the Athenians accorded to the Metragytes. We are also told that the Metroön and archive house is identical with the Council House (bouleuterion) of the Athenians. A variant of this account states that it was a law court (dikasterion) rather than the Council House that was built on the spot where the Metragytes was put to death. Another account, explaining the word barathron, states the Phrygian origin of the priest, as does Julian, and adds details that call attention to the link between the Mother and Demeter, as does Julian:

Barathron: A dark, well-like chasm in Attica, into which they used to throw malefactors. . . . Here they threw the Phrygian devotee of the Mother of the Gods because he had gone mad, since he announced that the Mother was coming in search of her daughter. But the enraged goddess sent crop failure into the land; and when, through the advice of an oracle, they realized the reason for this, they filled in the chasm and offered propitiatory sacrifices to the goddess.

These accounts of the Mother’s establishment at Athens are circumstantially detailed and consistent in all important respects. But could they be historically accurate? The fact that they are preserved only in late sources has raised suspicions. The manner in which the story of rejection and atonement so clearly conforms to a mythical paradigm has decided the matter for a number of scholars, who dismiss the entire account as a late invention. ... Athenian drama of the last three decades of the fifth century repeatedly presents the Mother of the Gods to Athenian audiences, often challenging Athenians to see the Mother as somehow the same as Rhea, Demeter, and Ge, the Earth herself, and akin to Aphrodite and Artemis. She is called “the Phrygian . . . Great Mother of gods and men, Mistress Kybele” by Aristophanes. A chorus of Sophocles invokes her as “Mistress Mother, warder of the great gold-bearing Pactolus,” at Sardis. Also at Sardis, “Tomolus’ Lydian stronghold,” and at “the city of the Phrygians,” the “rites of the Great Mother Kybele” are repeatedly proclaimed by the chorus of Euripides’ Bacchae. In the usage of Euripides, she is the “Idaean Mother” in the Troad and in Crete alike. 

While Athenian audiences were thus repeatedly reminded of the Asiatic origin of the rites of the Mother, they were also reminded that it was customary to disparage her wandering priests. The comic poet Cratinus used two different appellations of the begging priest of the Mother: in his Runaway Women he used the term agersikybelis (beggar of Kybele) to satirize the contemporary seer Lampon; in his Thracian Women he used the term Kybebos (Kybebe-man), which Photius’ lexicon cites as an Ionicism for Metragyrtes.  In Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus, Oedipus chides Teiresias, who speaks ill-omened words, as a dolios agyrtes (deceitful beggar), alluding to the type of the unwelcome begging priest associated with the Asiatic Kybele. 

These allusions to the Mother of the Gods, the Asiatic Kybele, and to her wandering priests were all part of the literary record of the late fifth century, and were therefore available to later generations, when devotees of the Mother might, just conceivably, have concocted the story of the Metragyrtes out of them. Likewise, the famous plague of the early Peloponnesian War, which struck Athens in the very period when this growing attention to the Mother is attested, was part of the historical record. It would be hard to defend the historicity of the story on the basis of these elements alone. Other elements of the story, however, involve more obscure details that are less likely to have been common knowledge. For example, the barathron is attested as the executioners’ pit from the beginning of the fifth century, but after the early fourth century it is remembered only as a relic of the past. But the most remarkable set of details, which no source explains or even mentions outside of these stories about the Metragyrtes and the Mother, involves the conversion of the Council House in the Athenian agora simultaneously into an archive for state records and a shrine to the Mother.   Close to the end of the fifth century, a cult image of the Mother of the Gods was created by Agoracritus and installed in the building in the agora of Athens that became known after her as the Metroön. The statue is known to us through the many miniature replicas of it that were produced for household shrines, beginning in the fourth century. Epigraphic sources confirm that the building called the Metroön was also the state archive building, and that it was organized as such by the end of the fifth century. Archaeological investigation has revealed that this building actually was the old Council House, originally built in the time of Cleisthenes, which was replaced in the last decade of the fifth century by a new Council House built beside it, making way in the older building for the state archives, and for the Mother of the Gods.

The coincidence of the story of the “Phrygian man,” the Metragyrtes, with so many circumstantial details, and especially with the archaeologically documented history of the Athenian Council House, raises a strong suspicion that the story of the Metragyrtes bears some relation to historical events. The objection that the story is so late, coming to us from late antiquity, might even be eliminated by evidence indicating that the literary origin of the story of the Metragyrtes and the foundation of the Metroön was a historical work of the fourth century b.c.e. A scholiast, explaining a reference to archival documents “in the Metroön beside the Council House” in a speech of Aeschines, adds the following: “We know from the Philippics that the Athenians converted a portion of the Council House into the Metroön, which is the sanctuary of Rhea, on account of that Phrygian man.” The story of “that Phrygian man” was evidently told in a work entitled Philippics, which was most likely the work of that title either by Theopompus or by Anaximenes, both of whom wrote in the second half of the fourth century. Here, if only it were fully preserved, we could have found the story of the Metragyrtes, and of the foundation of the Metroön, set in its historical context.” - Mark Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion. University of California Press, 2006. pp. 58-64.