On the northwestern side of the hill of Muses, or hill of Philopappos as it is more widely known, one can today observe a rectangular opening at the front of the rock. It is a construction that has been carved into the rock and literary tradition has associated it with the tomb of Kimon, father of Miltiades, the general of the Marathon Battle.
The underground construction called “Kimonian tombs” or “Kimoneia” consists of two carved into the natural rock larnakes (closed coffins) with an integrated headrest, separated by a wall. Above the entrance, there is an engraved inscription dating back to the 3rd century, stating that the burial chamber was used for the interment of a certain Zosimianos. It also stipulates a fine in case someone violates it.
On the slopes of the hill of Muses and Pnyx, the ancient deme (municipality) of Koile developed, protected to the south and west by the Themistoclean wall. The ravine formed between the two hills was crossed by an important trade route that connected the city with Phaleron and Piraeus. This road has been identified with the “Koile odos” mentioned by Herodotus. The historian narrates that Kimon the Elder was buried on the outer side of the street along with his horses, who had been a three-time Olympic champion. Moreover, the traveller Pausanias and the historian Marcellinus mention that after Thucydides’ death in Thrace (396 BCE), his remains were transferred in the area and placed in the Kimonian tombs.
During the classical period, the deme of Koile showed significant residential development, while the important road axis which started from the Acropolis and crossed the deme, served trade to and from the ports as well as the city’s supply in cases of siege. In the Hellenistic period, the so-called “Diateichisma” (the wall built within the urban area dividing the city in two parts) was built along the ridge of the hills to protect the city from the Macedonians, resulting in the reduction of the area within the walls. The western slopes, which remained outside the city, gradually transformed into a cemetery that remained in use from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. The Kimoneia, remained outside the enclosure after the construction of the Diateichisma as well, and became included, like other underground structures (the ‘Koufos’ and ‘Kakon aderfadon’ caves ), in the cemeteries that developed in the area.
