Greek Sanctuaries and Temple

“Gods and temples are not easily instituted, and to establish them rightly is the work of a mighty intellect.” -Plato

“The site should be a spot seen far and wide, which gives due elevation to virtue and towers over the neighborhood.” -Aristotle

-Greek recognised separate areas as sacred to a God

Sites –

_historic site

Occupied in late bronze age

Continuity of cult activity

Remains of earlier wall

_new site

Near natural features

_in town

Sanctuaries were in walled citadel

_in countryside

Greek temples

_simple rectanguler building to hold the statue of God.

Primarily 3 parts-

_cella / naos

Where the statue stood

_ephisthodomos (treasury)

_porch / pronaos

Porch formed by extended walls

Porch embellished with column

If placed in the facade – prostyle

If placed in the flank - antis

Colonnade

(opisthodomos)

Part of a Greek Temple

Naos (Cella)

Pronaos (Porch)

opisthodomos

Pronaos (Porch)

Colonnade

Naos (Cella)

Depending on the disposition of the columns in the portico:– In antis: the pillars of the side exceed the

wall

– Prostyle: columns only in one façade

– Anphiprostyle: columns in both façades

– Peripteral: columns around the building

– Dipteral: double columns around the building

– Monopteral: circular

Depending on the number of columns in the portico it can be:

Tetrastile: four columns– Hexastile: six columns– Octastile: eight columns– Tholos: circular temple

Temple typology

main building of the acropolis large temple of the goddess Athena 447- 436 BC architects- Ictinus and Callicrates Phidius was the master sculptor

– The temple stand on original 3 steps each 20” high

– The top step meassuring 101’x228’– 8 columns on the façade and 17 column

on the flank– Follows the doric temple ratio of

N=(2n+1)[ n=no.of column in façade, N=no.of column in flank. ]– Two end to end rooms with hexastyle

prostyle porches, these are -

1.cella 2.parthenon

Parthenon

Naos / cella

– Eastern room 98’x 63’– It has two tier of internal doric

colonnades to support the timber roof– At the end of the room there is the gold

and ivory statue of Athena– The ceiling was of wood with painted

and gilded decoration– Only light source was the door

Parthenon

Hexastyle prostyle

Porch

Two tier doric column

Statue of Athena

Ionic column

Colonnade

17 column Colonnade

8 column

The Doric Columns

– 6’-2” in dia and height 34’-3”– Which is 5.5 times in height and

dia ratio to confirm the doric system

– The columns has wider middle by means of entasis

– The corner columns are wider in dia to terminate in the triglyph

– They are spaced wider in the corner and nearer in the middle

Parthenon (Treasury)

– Western room– Depository of valuable

offerings colonnades to support the timber roof

– Here the roof is supported by four ionic columns

– The columns has wider middle by means of entasis

– 6’-2” in dia at the bottom and 6’ in dia at top below

the abacus

example of optical correction in Parthenon1. Entasis on the column

2. Horizontal lines correction

– The long horizontal lines of such features as stylobates, architrave sand cornice, which if straight in reality would have appeared to drop in the middle

– So they were built with slightly convex outline

– In the parthenon the stylobate has an upward curvature of 2.5” in the middle thaan east and west and 4.75” on the sides

3. Vertical lines correction

– The vertical lines of such features as column and freize which if straight in reality would have appeared to fall outward

– So they were built inclined inwards toward the top

– In the parthenon the axis of the columns , if extended upward would meet 1.5 miles above the stylobates

1.5 miles