In ancient Greece, the temple was the most important building in the policies. It served as a center not only for political but also for public life, and was also used to store the state treasury. One of the earliest types of sanctuaries was distill (a temple in antas). You will find the photo, the history of occurrence and the description of the building later in the article.
Features of the ancient Greek religion
The development of Greek culture is closely connected with the formation of policies that appear at the beginning of the archaic period (750 BC). At this time, after long Dark Ages, art, religion and architecture, which reached their peak in the 5th-4th centuries BC, “wake up”. e.
Religion occupies one of the most important places in the life of the population and has a direct impact on the worldview. Numerous myths narrate about powerful, but imperfect, gods and heroes, about nymphs and monsters.
According to the Greeks, the power of the gods is not unlimited. Yet they know how to control some of the forces of nature and patronize people. Initially, they are worshiped on the altars, which are later carried inside the temples. Priests act as intermediaries between people and gods.
With the final formation of policies in Ancient Greece, the tradition of worshiping the patron gods of a particular city spreads. The largest and pompous temples are being built in their honor. Much attention is paid to the decoration of buildings. This leads to the emergence of an order system that is transmitted even to Roman architecture.
Types of Greek Temples
The temples in ancient Greece differed in both appearance and size. Of course, everything depended on the development and importance of the cult of this or that god. Sometimes they were dedicated to heroes and were then called heroes.
Temples were the most important buildings, each detail of which carried not only an aesthetic function, but also a semantic load. All the components of the building had clearly defined parameters and proportions. And the rules for their combination are dictated by the order system (Doric, Ionic or Corinthian).
There were several types of temples. Their main difference was in the number and principle of the arrangement of columns. The most ancient type is distill or anta temple. He had only two columns on the front facade. The following buildings complicated their designs:
- prostil - four columns at the main entrance;
- double prostil (amphiprostyle) - porticoes with four columns on the front and rear facades;
- peripter - completely surrounded by a colonnade;
- dipter - two rows of columns were placed on the sides;
- pseudo-dipter - one row of columns from the sides;
- Monopter - a round building surrounded by a row of columns.
All buildings, except the monopter, were rectangular in shape. They consisted of the main room - naos or cella. In the front part there was usually a canopy or an entrance hall. In the depths of the naos was an altar with a statue of a deity to whom the temple is dedicated. On the rear facade was often an opistode - a room for storing donations and temple utensils.
Anta temple: description
The first temples were an altar in the form of a statue of a deity, which was placed in the middle of a green grove. Later, more serious buildings resembling dwellings appear. The material is wood, then stone and clay.
The Anta Temple is an example of an architectural structure of the early archaic period. The ancient Greeks represent the temple as a divine house, which means they build it according to the type of living quarters. The technique and craftsmanship of the builders were significantly inferior to that of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture. The temple in antas was erected from raw (unburnt brick) and clay.
In terms of construction, it resembled a megaron - the most ancient type of Greek housing, which existed already in the third millennium BC. After the altar, the anta temple was the simplest type of religious building. It consisted of a cella, and an entrance portico of two columns.
Ants or ant - are lateral protrusions that are a continuation of the longitudinal walls of the building. They frame the columns and support the cornices resting on them.
Treasury of Athens at Delphi
Distil is one of the oldest types of Greek temples. From most of them, only the foundation has been preserved at present. The most famous temple in Ants (photo see below) is located in Delphi. This is the treasury of Athens, discovered in the 20th century.
According to the conclusions of researchers, the temple was built at the turn of the VI and V centuries BC during the period of Athenian hegemony. The main “message” that the building carries is the exaltation of the democratic system and its victory over tyrant power. According to another version, based on the descriptions of Pausanias, the treasury was erected as a sign of victory over the Persians after the decisive Marathon battle.
The temple in Antes, located in Delphi, has been preserved only partially, but enough to determine its appearance. The elements of the frieze remaining from it are kept in the Delphic Archaeological Museum. And at the place of discovery of the treasury, a copy of plaster was put.
Antique temple in Russia
Relatively recently, the remains of an ancient temple in antes were discovered on the territory of Russia. The sanctuary was discovered near the modern village of Sennaya. Archaeological excavations in this place have been carried out since 1936, but the temple itself was found only in 2013.
In ancient Greece, one of the colonies was located here - Phanagoria. On the site of the city, the remains of the sanctuary of Aphrodite were found in the form of marble pedestals of marble statues, as well as mounds of the ancient necropolis.
The recently found temple was located within the Upper City - the Acropolis. It was very small and covered an area of 12 square meters. The building is a typical temple in Anta with two columns, a naos (central room) and a pronaos (an extension near the entrance). This is the oldest antique temple in Russia. It was built around the 5th century BC, but what kind of deity it is dedicated to remains a mystery.
The importance of temples
Ancient Greek temples were usually located on a hill in the upper part of the polis. They were located within the acropolis, the central figure of which was the temple of the main god or goddess. In Athens, for example, the Parthenon was such a building.
Buildings had a clear location and always oriented east. Religious rites and celebrations were held in front of the temple. Only the priest was allowed inside. Residents of the city could set a maximum on the territory of the pronaos.
The temple in ancient Greece was not just a building. It was a center of public life and a meeting place. In the event of an attack on the policy, it served as a refuge for residents. In addition, it was a kind of bank - the city treasury was kept in the opistode of the main temple.