Some new thoughts on Herodes Atticus's tomb, his stadium of 143/4, and Philostratus VS 2.550

Abstract

In the early 140s Herodes Atticus rebuilt the Panath- enaic stadium and constructed a temple to Tyche on the hill above. So closely was Herodes associated with this area that when he died in A.D. 179 the people of Athens buried him there. Across the stadium from the Tyche temple a sarcophagus, an inscription, and the ruins of a long nar- row building have been thought to represent the remains of Herodes' tomb. The date and the unfinished state of the sarcophagus, however, make it unsuitable for Her- odes, and the inscription cannot be used in identifying the site of burial. The long building itself is not a tomb, but a monument built to house the Panathenaic ship that Herodes provided for the Panathenaic procession of 143/4. Herodes' actual resting place may be in the running track, as would befit his elevated status.