The Intraurban Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone was an intraurban sanctuary in ancient
Cyrene in
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
, dedicated to
Demeter
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...
and
Persephone
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...
.
[Susan-Marie Cronkite , ]
The Sanctuary of Demeter at Mytilene: A Diachronic and Contextual Study. Volume Two Catalogue
', 1997, Institute of Archaeology, University College London
The sanctuary was located on the north-west edge of the agora. It was founded in 7th-century BC, and the predecessor of the larger and more monumental
Extramural Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya, which was founded somewhat later. Initially, it was a small temple,
hypaethral
In classical architecture, hypaethral describes an ancient temple with no roof. (From the Latin ''hypaethrus'', from Ancient Greek ὕπαιθρος ''hupaithros'' ὑπό hupo- "under" and αἰθήρ aither "sky, air".) It was described by the ...
, and consisting of a
peribolos
In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peribolos was a court enclosed by a wall, especially one surrounding a sacred area such as a temple, shrine, or altar. This area, however, is not a necessary element to these structures since those built ...
wall and two altars. In the 6th century BC, the
temenos of the temple was enlarged until it surrounded an area of about 13×13 metres. The Intraurban Sanctuary was used at least until the Extramural Sanctuary was completed and fully operational.
References
{{reflist
Sources
* Susan-Marie Cronkite,
The Sanctuary of Demeter at Mytilene: A Diachronic and Contextual Study. Volume Two Catalogue', 1997, Institute of Archaeology, University College London
* Bacchiefli, Lidiano, 1981. VA, gora di Cirene H lp 27–39. Rome: LTrma di 'Bretschneider Monografle di Archaeologia Libica XV.
Temples of Demeter
Temples of Persephone
7th-century BC religious buildings and structures
Archaeological sites in Libya
Cyrene, Libya