TINOS
Cyclades, Greece.
An island situated
between Andros and Mykonos, Tinos was famous
in antiquity for the abundance of its springs. Subjugated
by the Persians, Tinos passed to the Greeks before the
battle of Salamina, for which reason its name appears
among the dedicators of the Delphic tripod or stool used
by the oracle. It therefore entered the Delian League and
participated in the Athenian expedition against Syracuse.
In the 3d c. B.C. Tinos became one of the principal representatives of the Nesiotic League and developed close
ties with Rhodes. After vicissitudes in the 1st c. B.C.,
Tinos again flourished in the Imperial age.
The ancient site, in the SW part of the island, corresponds to that of modern Tinos, ca. 300 m from the coast. Around the modern sanctuary of the Evangelistria there are visible remains of the ancient enclosing wall,
equipped with towers which may be dated to the 5th c.
B.C. Numerous rebuildings, however, are attributed to the
3d c. B.C., the period to which an inscription on the
blocks of a tower are dated.
Outside the modern center to the W, in a place called
Kionia, are the remains of a particularly well-attended
Sanctuary of Poseidon, which was mentioned by Strabo
(
10.5.11). The Phokian Confederation, in the mid 3d c.
B.C., granted this sanctuary the right of shelter and contributed to the expense of its erection. These rights were
later renewed by the emperor Tiberius. The sanctuary
could also be reached from the sea by a road 150 m long
which connected it with a pier. The approach to the cult
room was through the propylaeum, behind which are visible the remains of an altar (11 x 30 m) of the in antis type, with a frieze of garlands and ox skulls. The work is of a modest artistic level, and the construction is contemporary with the temple. The latter, which dominated
the center, is oriented E-W. It is a Doric peripteral temple, with 6 by 8 columns, and with a nearly square internal cella. The base of the temple is 1.7 m high and is connected on the E and S sides to the ground level by
stairs. Several sculpted fragments of the pediment have
been found, depicting sea monsters. Numerous titles bear
dedicatory inscriptions to Poseidon.
Parallel to the temple, but farther to the N, is another
construction linked to a second building. Viewed from
the front its architectural elements include a central
exedra with lateral porticos consisting of Doric columns
surmounted by architraves and friezes with metopes and
triglyphs. The construction has been identified as a
refectory in which visitors to the temple assembled (one
of the estiatoria mentioned by Strabo). At the N limits
of the sanctuary, another rectangular building, whose
construction dates from Roman times, was probably set
apart for the lodging of pilgrims. The monumental systematization of the sanctuary already known is attributable to the Hellenistic and Roman periods, at which time the cult of Poseidon was particularly strong, together
with those professed on the island of Delos. However,
traces of older walls oriented in the same direction and
probably dating from the 5th c. B.C. have been found
under the temple and under the altar.
A second center has been discovered at the foot of
Mt. Exoburgo, where visible remains of an encircling
wall constructed of unworked granite blocks form an
irregular screening wall on fill from the 8th c. B.C. The
defensive system has been dated to the 7th c., as has a
building situated outside the walls, with an irregular plan,
in which a tesmophorion has been identified. At the E
extremity of this city excavations have been carried out
in a necropolis which, however, is no longer visible. It
contained rectangular coffered tombs, most of which had
been plundered, datable to the 5th c. B.C. The tombs had
been furnished with funerary stelai, of which only the
bases remain.
A third locality which has furnished archaeological
material is modern Kardiani, where a necropolis containing coffered tombs from the Geometric age has been discovered on terraced ground above the sea. The tombs, which are no longer visible, contained besides the skeleton only meager funerary material, consisting mostly of
rough local ceramics and painted ceramics of the Cycladean type attributable to the Middle Geometric period. The site is the earliest habitation on the island as indicated by Neolithic material from one of the inhabited
grottos.
In the city of Tinos is a small collection of antiquities
found on the island. The late pre-Geometric and Geometric pottery includes cups, amphorae, and kantharoi with panel decoration of pendulant semicircles in the earlier period and with meanders in the more recent, that
is up until ca. mid 8th c. B.C. There are also numerous
examples of orientalizing impasto pottery with decorations in relief, mostly made on the island between mid
8th and mid 7th c. B.C. The older examples bear geometric designs, while the more recent often are decorated
with real and fantastic animals. A large amphora discovered on Mykonos, with a representation of the Trojan
horse, has been attributed to Tinos. Also in the museum
is the material from the Sanctuary of Poseidon, including
several inscriptions and several statues of the Roman period.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
There is no monographic treatment of
the island's antiquities. A number of studies relate to the
excavations: P. Graindor & H. Demoulin in
BCH 26
(1902) 399ff;
Musée Belge 8 (1904) 64ff; 10 (1906)
309ff; 14 (1910) 5ff;
REA 20 (1918) 33.
Discussions of the monument in the sanctuary: A.
Orlandos in
ArchEph 2 (1937) 608ff; C. Picard,
CRAI
(1944) 147ff. On the excavations at Kardiani: D. Levi in
ASAtene 8-9 (1925-26) 203ff.
On the excavations near Exoburgos: M. N. Kondoleon
in
Praktika (1953) 258ff; (1955) 259ff; (1958) 220ff.
For other objects preserved in the museum: J. Schäfer,
Studien zur den griechischen Reliefpithoi de 8.-6. J.v.Chr.
(1957); J. N. Coldstream,
Greek Geometric Pottery (1968) 165ff.
M. CRISTOFANI
