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Las Incatadas

The Incantadas were sculptures of the Roman colonnade of the Stoa of Idols, which probably decorated the main entrance of the Roman Agora.

  1. Modern and Contemporary era (1912 - )


  2. Ottoman era (1453- 1912)


    1752 The first drawing representation of the monument by Stuart and Revett takes place.

    1864 Removed and transferred to France by Emmanuel Miller.

  3. Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)


  4. Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)


    Made during this era.

  5. Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)


  6. Classical era (478-323 BC)


  7. Archaic era (800-479 BC)


  8. Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)


  9. Prehistory (-1100 BC)


What I can see

The Stoa of Idols used to exist at this spot, which had inside it the “Idols” or “Incantadas”, meaning “Spellbound” in the Hispanic-Sephardic dialect of Thessaloniki’s Spanish Jews, who were exiled from Spain in 1492 and came here as refugees.

What I can't see

The Incantadas were sculptures of the Roman colonnade of the Stoa of Idols, which probably decorated the main entrance of the Roman Agora. According to Professor Aristotelis Mentzos, the portico (Greek: stoa) was perhaps part of the luxurious imperial hot-bath complex. This included a Corinthian order colonnade and, above it, squared columns with statues of Maenad, Dionysus, Ariadne, Leda with Zeus as a swan, Nike, Aura, Dioscurus and the abduction of Ganymede. The building survived in the courtyard of a 19th century house of the Jewish quarter, and had impressed many travellers. However, the “Caryatids of Thessaloniki” as they were known, were dismantled by the French Palaeographer Emmanuel Miller with permission from the Ottoman administration, and are now on display in the Louvre. Miller’samateurism and the poor organisation strategy on behalf of France caused the total destruction of the monument. After that and after the inhabitants’ violent reaction, the Ottoman state tightened the conditions of antiquities acquisition and began to deal more seriously with their protection, although they were still used as means of developing international relations. Casts of Incantadas are displayed at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, while the municipality is persistently claiming their return to Thessaloniki.

Bibliography

Mazower M., (2006), Θεσσαλονίκη. Πόλη των φαντασμάτων, χριστιανοί, μουσουλμάνοι και εβραίοι 1430- 1950, [Salonica. City of ghosts], Athens: Alexandreia Publications

Adam- Veleni P., (2001), Θεσσαλονίκη νεράιδα, βασίλισσα, γοργόνα, [Thessaloniki, fairy, queen, mermaid], Ζitros/ 958fm

Vakalopoulos Α.Ε., (1991), Θεσσαλονίκια και άλλα Μακεδονικά Μελετήματα δημοσιευμένα μεταξύ 1981-1990, [Thessalonian and other Macedonian studies, published between 1981-1990] Thessaloniki: Vanias Publications

Zafeiris Ch., (1997), Θεσσαλονίκης Εγκόλπιον, ιστορία, πολιτισμός, η πόλη σήμερα, γεύσεις, μουσεία, μνημεία, διαδρομές, [Thessaloniki Handbook, history, culture, the city today, flavours, museums, routes], Athens: Exantas

Ζafeiris Ch., (2014), Θεσσαλονίκη, η παρουσία των απόντων, η κληρονομιά Ρωμαίων, Μουσουλμάνων, Εβραίων, Ντονμέδων, Φράγκων, Αρμενίων και Σλάβων, [Thessaloniki, the presense of the absent, the heritage of Romans, Muslims, Jews, Doenme, Franks, Armenians and Slavs], Thessaloniki: Epikentro