Dipylon

This is part of « Archaeological Site of Kerameikos »

The Dipylon (‘double gate’) covers a total area of 1800 square meters (19,375 sq. ft). This is where the arterial roads to Thebes and Corinth started, and the spacious forecourt served as a convenient meeting point.

The Dipylon Gate went through two major building phases. First, in 478 BC, the Athenians placed a pair of gates in a recess of the wall. Two pairs of square roofed towers protected the enormous rectangular forecourt in front of the gates. Between these ran two flank walls with small windows for archers. The design created a cul-de-sac that could prove deadly to any would-be attackers that managed to reach the gate. They were exposed to crossfire in every direction from high up. The southern outer tower projected much further than the corresponding north tower and gave the defenders more time to attack the exposed right-hand side of the attackers. Ancient Greek soldiers carried their shields on their left arm, so they were always vulnerable to an attack from the right.

At the end of the fourth century BC, the Athenians added another pair of gates to the front and turned the cul-de-sac into a deadly trap. The gates were now almost impregnable.