Sanctuary of Brisaios or Brisagenis Dionysus

The archaeological site of the sanctuary of Brisaios or Brisagenis Dionysus is located 4.5 km. southwest of the existing village of Vrisa (Brisa), at the cape of Agios Fokas of Lesbos, where the homonymous chapel is built today, dedicated to the patron saint of sailors. In ancient times, the site belonged to the territory of ancient Pyrrha and was probably its southernmost harbour, as is evident from the archaeological data so far: the building remains of the adjacent ancient harbour under the modern pier, in combination with the fixed and portable finds in the wider area (fragmentarily preserved buildings, architectural fragments, inscriptions, pottery, coins), which testify to the existence of a settlement all the way back to the Early Bronze Age with a lifespan up to the Byzantine period.

This is supported by the written sources that refer to the ancient city of Vrisa (Brisa), to the sanctuary and the cult of the Brisaios or Brisagenis Dionysus. From the Athenian politician and historian Androtiona we learn that the founder of the sanctuary was the mythical settler of Lesbos, Makar («…τ ερν το θεο ν τ Βρσ φησν δρσθαι π Μάκαρος») (FGrHist, 377, F59).  (FGrHist, 377, F59). In later times, we are informed by Stephanus of Byzantium that the city of Vrisa is located at the edge of Lesbos, where one finds the homonymous sanctuary of the Brisaios Dionysus («Βρσα, κρα Λέσβου, ν δρυται Διόνυσος Βρισαος»)  (Ethnica, l. Vrisa, 186.20).

The site was first identified by the German architect and archaeologist, Robert Johann Koldewey (1855-1925), who based his identification on the visible architectural remains and the inscriptional evidence preserved in the area at the time. One of these inscriptions refers to an ode dedicated to Brisagenis Dionysus by Megaritis, son of Aeschines (IG XII, 2: 478):

ΜΕΓΑΡΙΤΟΣ ΑΙΣΧΙ[ΝΑ]
ΔΙΟΝΥΣΩ ΒΡΗΣΑΓΕ[ΝΗ]

The few marble architectural parts that are preserved (drums of Doric columns, pilasters, stone blocks) seem to have belonged to a small, Doric, amphidistyle (with two columns) in antis temple of the 1st c. BC. However, an earlier date cannot be ruled out, given that some of the epigraphic evidence seems to date back to the 3rd c. BC. Of particular interest is a fragment of the temple’s epistyle, which bears a relief decoration depicting a standing male figure, probably a warrior. This element is an important indication of the existence of relief decoration on the entire epistyle of the small Doric temple of Dionysus, a rare innovation that reminds us of the usually richly decorated frieze of Ionic style, which is found only in the Archaic temple of Athena at Assos in Troy.

The exact location of the temple in the sanctuary is unfortunately not known to us. In 1972 newer excavations were carried out at the site by the then Ephorate of Antiquities. However, it was not possible to locate the foundation of the temple, although other important findings were unearthed. The archaeological research focused on the site of the older and destroyed chapel of Agios Fokas, which was replaced in 1968 by the present one, and to the south-west of it on the adjacent property of I. K. Vassos. More specifically, the architectural remains of an early Christian cemetery basilica, probably a cemetery, were uncovered, as indicated by the burials found near the sanctuary and in its narthex. Apart from the identification of the base of the unshafted column bearing the inscription:

ΧΑΡΙΣΤΗΡΙΟΝ

of which Koldewey had already spoken at the end of the 19th c., an inscribed fragment of an architectural element, probably an epistyle, was found embedded in the partition wall between the central and the southern nave, on the front of which these letters can be seen: TIBE. The excavation carried out on the Vassos estate, 100 m. southwest of the newer chapel of Agios Fokas, revealed a rectangular building identified as a watchtower, as well as sherds of the Early Bronze Age, Archaic and Classical periods.

More recent research at the site might shed more light on the structure of the basilica, the architecture of the temple, and more generally on the history of the ancient city of Vrisa on Lesbos. The archaeological site of the sanctuary of Brisaios or Brisagenis Dionysus is now open and accessible to the general public.

Location

Municipality: Western Lesbos

Municipal Section: Polihnitos

Location: Cape Agios Fokas

Images

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