Choregic Monument of Nikias, Ancient memorial structure at Acropolis, Greece
The Choregic Monument of Nikias was a commemorative structure that stood between the Theatre of Dionysus and the Stoa of Eumenes, featuring a temple-like design with six front columns. Its foundation remains are still visible within the Acropolis archaeological area today.
The monument was built in the early 300s BCE to honor a citizen who had sponsored a musical competition. It was later dismantled in late antiquity, with its stone blocks reused for other construction projects in the area.
The monument commemorates a prominent citizen who sponsored and organized a youth musical competition as a choregos. The inscriptions carved into its base tell the story of this public honor and reveal how important such sponsorships were in ancient Athenian society.
You can see the foundation remains of this ancient structure within the Acropolis archaeological zone, alongside other preserved ruins from the same period. Planning to visit in the morning allows you to explore both this site and the nearby theater and stoa remains in comfortable conditions.
The exact location of this monument remained uncertain for many years until American archaeologist William Dinsmoor pinpointed it in 1910. His discovery corrected decades of mistaken assumptions about where the structure had actually stood.
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