FIG. 256. Peiraeus and the harbor of Cantharus, from the Hill of Munychia.
In the background is the island of Salamis; the darker islet before it is Psytalleia.

by Xenophon in connection with the fortification built by the Four Hundred on Eëtioneia; hence we may look for it near the mouth of Dumb Harbor. From the Choma ships of war set out, and here the senators met prior to such departures. For this reason some would locate the Choma at the south end of the peninsula near the outlet of the harbor.

The most interesting feature of the harbors was the series of shipsheds. From an inscription we understand that near the end of the fourth century B.C. these numbered 372, of which 196 were in Zea, 82 in Munychia, and 94 in Cantharus. Athens possessed at this time about four hundred galleys; but some of these were always at sea. In their shipsheds the Athenians took great pride. The first cost of them is said to have been 1000 talents, or more than $1,000,000, but at the end of the century the Thirty

sold them by auction for three talents. After various vicissitudes the rebuilding of the sheds was completed by

Lycurgus (p. 39). Sulla ruined them again in 86 B.C., but afterwards they were once more rebuilt.

Abundant remains of the shipsheds have been uncovered, particularly in the harbors of Munychia and Zea (Fig. 257); these harbors were surrounded by sheds, sometimes two rows deep. The largest extant group is on the east side of Zea Harbor. Here the remains may be seen from the plaza, but the embankment has obliterated large portions. Cantharus the sheds seem to have been confined to the coast between the present Custom House and the southern mole.

ROAD

In

A study of the ruins in different places has made clear the main features of the construction (Fig. 258). The sheds were of poros and were built side by side; their lower ends extend down into the water, the upper ends terminating in a heavy continuous wall about 120 feet back from the bay. In Zea this wall also supported the road which ran around the harbor. From the wall rows of columns descended the slope into the water. The alternate rows of these columns begin from anFIG. 258. Plan and section of tae projecting two yards from the

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shipsheds.

2

rear wall. The rows were about

twenty-one feet apart, those not starting from the antae being higher and wider spaced than the others. Saddle roofs,

probably of wood, covered the sheds by pairs, the higher columns supporting the ridgepoles (Fig. 258). Through the middle of each slip ran a base three feet high and ten feet wide. This was grooved down the middle to receive the keels of the boats; the ships were warped up by pulleys to their places, where they could be cleaned and repaired.

The wooden gear of the ships, masts, rudders, oars, and the like, was kept in the ships; but for the hanging gear, such as sails and cordage, a special arsenal was provided. The Old Arsenal is known to us only by name, but a new arsenal was constructed between the years 347 and 329 B.C. This was one of the most elegant of Athenian buildings, and was planned by Philo of Eleusis. It was destroyed by Sulla, and not a trace of it has been found. Fortunately, however, we possess a long inscription containing a copy of the specifications for the building, so detailed and precise, that the Arsenal can be reconstructed with greater accuracy than some buildings of which considerable remains are left. The inscription was discovered in 1882 about 130 yards northeast of Zea Harbor. As the specifications prescribe that the Arsenal shall extend from the Propylum of the Agora (p. 397) to the rear of the shipsheds of Zea, the place where the inscription was found is probably close to the site of the building.

The Arsenal of Philo was built of poros; it was 405 Greek feet long by 55 feet wide (Figs. 259 and 260). Its walls were 30 feet high, to the bottom of the cornice. A triglyph frieze extended around the building. Light was provided by windows three feet high and two feet wide. There were thirty-six windows on each side, and three on each end; these could be closed by bronze shutters. When doors and windows were closed, the building was ventilated by slits left between the, stones. The roof was made of

wooden rafters, first covered with boards fastened with iron nails, and then with Corinthian tiles. In each end of the building were two doors, each 14 feet high and 9 feet wide; the doors were separated by a deep pilaster,

FIG. 259. Façade of the Arsenal of Philo, restored.

or metopon, this central pilaster and those at the side being extended into the building to form a vestibule. Over the lintel of each pair of doors, on the outside, was a projecting cornice. The entire interior of the building was paved with stone, and was divided into a nave and aisles by two rows of columns, or square pillars, thirty-five on each side. The

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nave was intended as a public promenade. On either side, between the columns, was a stone balustrade, with a latticed gate in each intercolumniation. Through these gates access was secured to the aisles, where the hanging gear was stored. The canvas was kept in presses standing against the columns and the side walls. On upper galleries the cordage was laid on open shelves.