The Temple of Athena Polias in Priene was an
Ionic Order
The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...
temple located northwest of
Priene
Priene ( grc, Πριήνη, Priēnē; tr, Prien) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city of Ionia (and member of the Ionian League) located at the base of an escarpment of Mycale, about north of what was then the course of the Maeander River ...
’s agora, inside the sanctuary complex. It was dedicated to
Athena Polias
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
, also the patron deity of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
. It was the main temple in
Priene
Priene ( grc, Πριήνη, Priēnē; tr, Prien) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city of Ionia (and member of the Ionian League) located at the base of an escarpment of Mycale, about north of what was then the course of the Maeander River ...
, although there was a temple of Zeus.
[Ferla, Kleopatra, Fritz. Graf, and Athanasios. Sideris. ''Priene''. 2nd ed. Hellenic Studies ; 5. Athens : Washington, D.C. : Cambridge, Mass ; Distributed by Harvard University Press: Foundation of the Hellenic World ; Center for Hellenic Studies, Trustees for Harvard University , 2005. 86.] Built around 350 BC,
its construction was sponsored by
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
during
his anabasis to the
Persian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
.
Its ruins sit at the foot of an escarpment of
mount Mycale
Mycale (). also Mykale and Mykali ( grc, Μυκάλη, ''Mykálē''), called Samsun Dağı and Dilek Dağı (Dilek Peninsula) in modern Turkey, is a mountain on the west coast of central Anatolia in Turkey, north of the mouth of the Maeander an ...
. It was believed to have been constructed and designed by
Pytheos, who was the architect of the great
Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, also known as the Seven Wonders of the World or simply the Seven Wonders, is a list of seven notable structures present during classical antiquity. The first known list of seven wonders dates back to the 2 ...
. It was one of the
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
temples that was not reconstructed by Romans.
Discovery
The first record of modern discovery is
Jacob Spon
Jacob Spon (or Jacques; in English dictionaries given as James) (1647 in Lyon – 25 December 1685, in Vevey, Switzerland) was a French doctor and archaeologist, was a pioneer in the exploration of the monuments of Greece, and a scholar of inte ...
and
George Wheler George Wheler may refer to:
* Sir George Wheler (travel writer) (1651–1724), English clergyman and travel writer
* George Wheler (politician) (1836–1908), Canadian mill owner and political figure
See also
* Wheler baronets
* George Wheeler (d ...
visiting in the 17th century.
[Jenkins, ''Its Sculpture,'' 237.] The next recorded of this site was in 1764-65 when
Richard Chandler had his Asia Minor expedition funded by the
Society of Dilettanti
The Society of Dilettanti (founded 1734) is a British society of noblemen and scholars that sponsors the study of ancient Greek and Roman art, and the creation of new work in the style.
History
Though the exact date is unknown, the Society is b ...
.
The temple was surveyed and drawn a second time in the Society's 1811-12 expedition,
and in their third of 1868-69, Richard Pullan excavated and surveyed the temple and the city in a more comprehensive manner.
[Jenkins, ''Its Sculpture,'' 238.] He also brought some of the finds to the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
This saved some stones of the temple from later lundering by local villagers in 1870. Since then, excavation has been done by German archaeologists,
most significantly the 1895-99 studies by
Theodor Wiegand
Theodor Wiegand (October 30, 1864 – December 19, 1936) was one of the more famous German archaeologists.
Wiegand was born in Bendorf, Rhenish Prussia. He studied at the universities of Munich, Berlin, and Freiburg. In 1894 he worked under ...
and
Hans Schrader Johann (Hans) Hermann Schrader (15 February 1869, Stolp – 5 November 1948, Berlin) was a German classical archaeologist and art historian.
He was a student at the Universities of Marburg and Berlin, where he was a pupil of Reinhard Kekulé von S ...
.
As a result, some excavation material is stored in the
Pergamon Museum
The Pergamon Museum (; ) is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1910 to 1930 by order of German Emperor Wilhelm II according to plans by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann in Stripped Class ...
in Berlin.
Construction
The building of the temple started merely simultaneously with the constriction of the new
Priene
Priene ( grc, Πριήνη, Priēnē; tr, Prien) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city of Ionia (and member of the Ionian League) located at the base of an escarpment of Mycale, about north of what was then the course of the Maeander River ...
city. It was estimated the building date is 350-330 BC.
[Kleopatra, ''Priene'', 86.] After Alexander the Great gained his
victory at Granicus River in 334 BC, he dedicated the Temple to Athena Polias by funding the cost of construction.
Although it was not recorded in Arrian’s ''The Anabasis of Alexander'', there is a
dedication inscription records the funding gifts and a
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
award favouring
Priene
Priene ( grc, Πριήνη, Priēnē; tr, Prien) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city of Ionia (and member of the Ionian League) located at the base of an escarpment of Mycale, about north of what was then the course of the Maeander River ...
.
[''British Museum (1870). "temple; block; wall". https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1870-0320-88''
] The inscription is on a marble flank wall block of the temple.
This indicates that the
antae
The Antes, or Antae ( gr, Ἄνται), were an early East Slavic tribal polity of the 6th century CE. They lived on the lower Danube River, in the northwestern Black Sea region (present-day Moldova and central Ukraine), and in the regions aro ...
were built before this dedication.
![Dedication_of_Alexander_the_Great_to_Athena_Polias_at_Priene](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Dedication_of_Alexander_the_Great_to_Athena_Polias_at_Priene.jpg)
This dedication originally was not for this temple. The Alexander firstly found the
temple of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis or Artemision ( gr, Ἀρτεμίσιον; tr, Artemis Tapınağı), also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to an ancient, local form of the goddess Artemis (identified with Diana, a Roman god ...
in
Ephesos
Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in ...
for dedication.
However, he was refused.
Thereafter, he, travelling alongside the coast, found Priene and gave his dedication. Priene accepted.
From the architecture decoration style, the
capitals
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of pillars were constructed in the 4th century BC.
[Kleopatra, ''Priene'', 88.] The eastern section including the pediment was completed in the same period.
This was the first phase of construction.
[Jenkins, ''Its Sculpture'', 240.] In contrast, the western parts were remaining incomplete for at least two centuries.
These were the later phases.
![Orophernes_coin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Orophernes_coin.png)
A feature of the first construction phase was the moulding shape and size was similar to other great temples.
The
Ionic order
The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...
moulding was more complicated, and the column capitals were more decorated.
Results of this phase usually similar to the
Mausoleum of Halikarnassos. The columns constructed in later phases were simpler.
Only the upper sections dated after mid-2nd century BC survive and these were estimated consist two-thirds of the ceiling and roof.
King
Oropherenes of Cappadocia (reigned c. 158-156 BC) sponsored the temple construction, so did other Priene buildings. This indicates that the temple construction spent at least 2 centuries. The construction time across the whole Hellenistic period and reached the Roman Republic time. The temple construction, itself, was a continuing process of the Priene people and major part of Priene history. It is because the Priene residents moved to
Miletus
Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...
in 2nd century BC.
[Pausanias, ''Description of Greece,'' 7.2.11.] This was due to Priene’s river,
Maeander, became a lake, as muds blocked the entrance, causing gnats bred in vast swarms.
Thus, soon after the temple completed, or even yet to be fully completed, the temple was abandoned until the imperial period.
Under
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
reign, the Roman Empire financially supported the completion of the temple.
[Jenkins, ''Its Sculpture'', 241.] Therefore, a deified Augustus’ name was craved into the east architrave. The temple was finally fully completed before he died.
After the Construction
The temple became a ruin in the 7th century due to earthquakes. After that, only minor pillaging happened.
[Joseph Coleman, Carter. ''The Sculpture of the Sanctuary of Athena Polias at Priene''. Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London ; No. 42. London]: Society of Antiquaries of London in Association with British Museum Publications : Distributed by Thames and Hudson, 1983. 13.] The lowest stratum in the
cella
A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Ancient Greek, Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek temple, Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extende ...
was untouched.
It was because the metals of the cella doorway remained during the third excavation in 1868 and locals or invaders usually loot precious bronze if they discovered it.
The temple’s materials were mostly stationed at the original site. Therefore, it becomes one of the rare undisturbed sites to understand Hellenistic temples. The peaceful abandoning of Priene may also contribute to the temple’s completeness nowadays. Currently, there are five columns reconstructed in 1965. The rest of the site is full of scattered stones and ruins.
Architecture
The architecture style is an
Ionic order
The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...
temple, doubtlessly. However, While the Britannia Encyclopaedia claimed it is a typical pure Ionic style, Gruben suggested that older elements were combined.
[G. Gruben, ''Die Tempel der Griechen,'' Munchen: Hirmer, 1986, 380] Gruben stated his claim from the harmonious dimension ratio which was the exact integral multiples of the attic feet ().
He believed that this was a feature from academicism of late
Classical era
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
.
Similarity to the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos
![Mausoleum at Halicarnassus at the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Mausoleum_at_Halicarnassus_at_the_Bodrum_Museum_of_Underwater_Archaeology.jpg)
Pytheos was the architect of both the temple and
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus ( grc, Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ; tr, Halikarnas Mozolesi) was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an ...
, which is one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, also known as the Seven Wonders of the World or simply the Seven Wonders, is a list of seven notable structures present during classical antiquity. The first known list of seven wonders dates back to the 2 ...
.
They both were in an Asiatic style, architrave supported no frieze, rather than Attic style, which would become the major style in the Ionic order.
[Jenkins, ''Its Sculpture'', 242.] Their columns both reached .
Given their overlapping construction time, many people who worked on the tomb probably also worked on the temple.
Layout
The temple was an east-west placement. The entrance was at the east. It was a rectangle layout with 11 columns in length and 6 columns in width on the boundary.
The parallel temple walls were 100 attic feet long and 32 attic feet between them.
The temple
cella
A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Ancient Greek, Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek temple, Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extende ...
was enclosed by a western wall, created an "
opisthodomos
An opisthodomos (ὀπισθόδομος, 'back room') can refer to either the rear room of an ancient Greek temple or to the inner shrine, also called the adyton ('not to be entered'). The confusion arises from the lack of agreement in ancient i ...
" at the west, and eastern door, which separates the cella and the near square "
Pronaos
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
".
Both "pronaos" and "opisthodomos" had two columns in the façade, which was an Asiatic style.
Statue
![Athena_Polias_Reconstruction](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Athena_Polias_Reconstruction.jpg)
Inside the cella, there was an Athena Polias statue for dedication. However, the actual shape was unknown.
In ca. 158-156 BC, a sculpture, offering of
Orophernes, replaced the old statue.
Tetradrachm
The tetradrachm ( grc-gre, τετράδραχμον, tetrádrachmon) was a large silver coin that originated in Ancient Greece. It was nominally equivalent to four Greek drachma, drachmae. Over time the tetradrachm effectively became the standard ...
s at that time indicated this event.
The new statue remained of Athena but was a copy of the gold and ivory version by Phidias in Athens.
It was a standing statue of Athena, with calm facial expression and holding a spear and a shield, wearing a helmet.
[Kleopatra, ''Priene'', 96.] The statue was {{convert, 6.5, m, abbr=on tall and three times smaller than the Athenian original.
The new statue was made by an
acrolith
An acrolith is a composite sculpture made of stone together with other materials such as wood or inferior stone such as limestone, as in the case of a figure whose clothed parts are made of wood, while the exposed flesh parts such as head, hands, ...
ic mix, which only surfaces were marble, and internals were woods.
She held a small divine, might be
goddess Nike (Victory), on her right hand.
An excavation of gilded bronze wings indicates this.
The statue was broken into many fragments with ten larger parts now.
The statue’s base was a hollow scare podium with marble on the surfaces. The base also was from mid-2nd century BC.
Colour
The colours first discovered are cinnabar red and cooper blue-green.
They were for the sculptural decoration background. The blue colour was also the background of panels and the abacus of column capitals.
[Kleopatra, ''Priene'', 98.] Red was used for Ionic eggs and Lesbian moulding.
Later, their colour was switched and alternated.
Therefore, it was possible to see red and blue alternative colour on the same background or location.
Coffering
There were 26
coffer
A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault.
A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...
s on the temple. The coffers had decorations with square openings in centres.
[Jenkins, ''Its Sculpture'', 242.] The 65 cm square coffer "lid" utilized the technique of step overlaps and interlock, which also appeared at the
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
.
[Charter, ''Athena Polias'', 64.] But the version in the temple was a simplified and surer one.
This architecture style brings paradox for the archaeologist. It is because this coffering style was a c. 350-325 BC
Pytheos design. But the superstructure of the temple started to build mainly in the mid-2nd century BC. The two facts were contradicting. The actual construction time of the coffering remains unsolved.
The coffer decorations illustrated the battles between gods and
giants
A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore.
Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to:
Mythology and religion
*Giants (Greek mythology)
*Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...
.
The gods were not only in Greek mythology. An Anatolian mother goddess,
Cybele
Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forer ...
was craved on a coffer and rode a lion.
[Jenkins'', Its Sculpture,'' 244''.''] The illustration of giants cannot indicate specific giants and was mostly in male naked kind.
Amazons
In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...
were also illustrated as the allies of giants.
These coffers were painted, although colours are lost. However, the figures and other moulding were not painted and remained the marble white colour.
These designs were for the against blue painted backgrounds. The bead and reel were also not painted, to against red background.
Walls
The temple emphasised the mathematical proportions and purity in architecture style. Therefore, there was no sculpted decoration on the walls.
The only exception was the text archives on the southern wall.
Columns
The columns were typical Ionic order. The sides capitals were tendrils facing each other.
The front façade of columns capitals were mouldings and palmettes in successive series.
See also
*
List of Ancient Greek temples
This list of ancient Greek temples covers temples built by the Hellenic people from the 6th century BC until the 2nd century AD on mainland Greece and in Hellenic towns in the Aegean Islands, Asia Minor, Sicily and Italy ("Magna Graecia"), wher ...
*
Architecture of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greek architecture came from the Greek-speaking people (''Hellenic'' people) whose culture flourished on the Greek mainland, the Peloponnese, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Anatolia and Italy for a period from about 900 BC unti ...
References
Further reading
* Carter, Joseph Coleman. ''The Sculpture of the Sanctuary of Athena Polias at Priene''. Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London ; No. 42. London]: Society of Antiquaries of London in Association with British Museum Publications : Distributed by Thames and Hudson, 1983.
* Ferla, Kleopatra, Fritz. Graf, and Athanasios. Sideris. ''Priene''. 2nd ed. Hellenic Studies ; 5. Athens : Washington, D.C. : Cambridge, Mass ; Distributed by Harvard University Press: Foundation of the Hellenic World ; Center for Hellenic Studies, Trustees for Harvard University ;, 2005.
* Ian Jenkins. Greek Architecture and Its Sculpture. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2006.
* Tomlinson, R. A. ''From Mycenae to Constantinople : The Evolution of the Ancient City''. London: Routledge, 1992.
Temples in ancient Ionia
Temples of Athena