At one time, the temple of Athena Alea was considered one of the greatest creations created by man. Its beauty fascinated, making you believe that the ancient gods really existed. Even today, this place is saturated with the amazing energy that has surrounded it for many centuries. But, unfortunately, only the ruins of the temple have reached us.
Why did such a magnificent place know the bitterness of destruction? Why did the power of the ancient gods of the Greeks evaporate in an instant, leaving their former shelters without protection? And what secrets about the past are hidden in the temple of Athena Alea?
Athena - goddess of war and wisdom
So, any story should have its beginning and end. It so happened that our origins lead far into the depths of history, in those days when the great legend of the goddess Athena was born . According to the belief of the Hellenes, she was the fifth daughter of Zeus, which made her very powerful.
And although she was considered a warrior, she was very different from her brother Ares. She was not as aggressive and reckless as he was. Her destiny is planning strategies and tactics, thanks to which wars ended with minimal losses. She was also considered the patroness of scientists and artisans. And according to ancient legends, it was she who taught the girls to create fabric and sew clothes from it.
Given such a range of possibilities, it is not surprising that her cult was one of the largest in ancient Greece. By the number of adherents, she could even compete with Zeus himself, the king of all gods.
King Alei
Tegei is an ancient city located on the territory of modern Greece. No one knows when it was erected, since there is no reliable information about this. However, according to historical chronicles in the VI century BC. e. he fell under the oppression of the Spartans, who needed him because of the strategically advantageous location.
For almost two hundred years, the domination of strangers continued until the legendary king Alei came to power. They say that Athena herself endowed him with the wisdom that everyone around us envied. For this, the future king promised to build a temple of unprecedented beauty in her honor.
The construction of the temple
Perhaps this is all fiction, but Alei still erected a great structure in honor of the goddess. And not far from the temple, he built his own mansion, so as to always be under the supervision of Athena. It should be noted that it was this king who led Tehei to their greatness. During his reign, not only the temple of Athena Alea was built, but many other beautiful buildings were erected.
But, alas, the wondrous sanctuary was not destined to live long. In 395 BC e. there was a big fire in Tegea. The fire claimed many lives, and a third of all buildings in the city were burned to the ground. Among them was the ancient temple of Athena, on the site of which there were only charred stones.
New architectural masterpiece
The fall of the temple terrified people, because they did not want to lose the protection of the good goddess. And yet, its reconstruction was a little delayed, and the political reforms led to the formation of the great Arcadian League. It was this union that allowed the Hellenes to finally throw off the shackles of slavery of Sparta.
After peace reigned over most of Arcadia, the Tegean authorities took up the restoration of the temple of Athena Alea. As the chief architect, Skopas was chosen. The creations of this genius have long impressed all of Greece with their beauty and grandeur, not to mention the fact that he was the creator of many temples of that time.
The reconstruction itself began in 465 BC. e. and took several years. But it was worth it, because the new building came out much more magnificent than its predecessor.
What did the ancient temple of Athena Alea look like?
Skopas's creation was different from all that he had built earlier. The new temple was designed so that all its details spoke of the richness of this place. Everywhere there were carved murals, engravings and skillfully sculpted statues.
The temple itself was a classic peripter. Simply put, it was a rectangular structure framed by a row of columns. The building was approximately 20 meters wide and 50 meters long. The height of the outer columns was in the limit of 9.7 meters, which made the temple of Athena Alea one of the tallest buildings in the city.
Before the entrance to the temple stood an altar made of marble and decorated with carved decorations. The inhabitants of Tehei often brought their gifts here in order to appease Athena and ask for her patronage. Another sanctuary was in the temple itself, but it was intended more for priestesses than for mere mortals.
Life inside the temple
If you believe the ancient scrolls, then the first priestess of the temple of Athena was the daughter of the king Alea Oj. After this, an unbreakable tradition has developed that only girls whose honor has not yet been touched can serve the goddess. And therefore, as soon as they reached puberty, they were replaced with new priestesses, forming a continuous cycle.
One of the main treasures of the temple was considered a statue of the goddess Athena. It was carved from ivory, and its detail just hit the minds of the parishioners. They say that the goddess herself posed for the sculptor, because how else could such a miracle happen?
Also, the temple of Athena served as a refuge capable of protecting anyone from disaster, whether it be a resident of the city or a wandering traveler.
The fall of the faith of the ancient Greeks
Unfortunately, saving others, the temple of Athena Alea in Tehea could not protect itself from destruction. The first blow to his pride was the invasion of the Romans, who, although with respect for the culture of other peoples, still loved to take the most valuable things to their homeland. That is why, having seen the statue in the temple, they treacherously broke it and sent it to the capital.
However, the sunset of the temple of Athena was the arrival of Christianity. The new religion completely supplanted the old gods, and with them their refuge. Having lost parishioners, they began to decline, and former glory quickly left their walls.
The ruins of the great temple
It is sad, but today at the site of the ancient temple of Athena lies only a pile of stones. Nevertheless, thanks to the titanic work of archaeologists, we still managed to find many parts that served as the basis for the sanctuary.
For example, in the Greek Museum there is a part of wall engravings from the temple, testifying to the craftsmanship of the craftsmen of that time. Scientists were also lucky to find fragments of ancient sculptures and columns that led the entrance to the temple. Many of these pieces were sent to various museums of world history in order to clearly demonstrate how good our ancestors were in the manufacture of truly magnificent and beautiful things.