Greek

Sanctuaries and Temple

 -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

“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 temples
_simple rectanguler building to hold the Colonnade
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 Pronaos Naos
(Porch) (Cella) (opisthodomos)
If placed in the facade – prostyle
Part of a Greek Temple
If placed in the flank - antis
 opisthodomos

Naos
(Cella)
Pronaos
(Porch)

Colonnade
Temple typology

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
Parthenon

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
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
Statue of Athena
Ionic
column
Two tier
doric Hexastyle
column prostyle

Porch

Colonnade
17 column
Colonnade
8 column
Parthenon (Treasury)

– Western room
– Depository of valuable
offerings colonnades to
support the timber roof
– Here the roof is supported by
four ionic columns

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
1. Entasis on the column example of optical correction in Parthenon
– 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

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