The paper considers the mode of expression of the sacred places within the City of
Athens showing that, contrary to common belief, the urban reality was characterized
by extreme fragmentation of the presence of shrines scattered among private homes
and installations craft ('ergasteria'). It also highlights how even the monuments of the
sanctuaries were, as a matter of in fact, very different from what is generally supposed:
basic elements were indeed not the temple, but rather altars, a space cut out ('temenos')
and possibly cult images.
