The Temple of Hera or Heraion is an archaic

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, built around 610 BC in the ancient city of Korkyra (or Corcyra), in what is known today as ''Palaiopolis'', and lies within the ground of the Mon Repos estate. The sanctuary of Hera at Mon Repos is considered a major temple, and one of the earliest examples of archaic Greek architecture. Large

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

figures such as lions,

gorgoneion In Ancient Greece, the Gorgoneion (Greek: Γοργόνειον) was a special apotropaic amulet showing the Gorgon head, used by the Olympian deities Athena and Zeus: both are said to have worn the gorgoneion as a protective pendant,. and often ...

s, and

Daidala The ''daidala'' is a type of sculpture attributed to the legendary Greek artist Daedalus, who is connected in legend both to Bronze Age Crete and to the earliest period of Archaic sculpture in Bronze Age Greece. The legends about Daedalus recog ...

maidens, created and painted in vivid colour by

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

s inspired by

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...

traditions across the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, decorated the roof of the temple, making it one of the most intricately adorned temples of

Archaic Greece Archaic Greece was the period in Greek history lasting from circa 800 BC to the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, following the Greek Dark Ages and succeeded by the Classical period. In the archaic period, Greeks settled across the ...

and the most ambitious roof construction project of its time. Built at the top of Analipsis Hill, Hera's sanctuary was highly visible to ships approaching the waterfront of the ancient city of Korkyra.

Location

Hera's temple is situated at the western limits of Mon Repos, close to

Kardaki Temple Kardaki Temple is an Archaic Doric temple in Corfu, Greece, built around 500 BC in the ancient city of Korkyra (or Corcyra), in what is known today as the location Kardaki in the hill of Analipsi in Corfu. The temple features several architectu ...

and to the northwest. It is approximately to the southeast of the Temple of Artemis in Corfu. Hera's Temple was built at the top of Analipsis Hill, and, because of its prominent location, it was highly visible to ships passing close to the waterfront of ancient Korkyra.

Discovery

Following the discovery of

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

column capitals by workers opening up a road in the hill of Analipsi, German archaeologist

Wilhelm Dörpfeld Wilhelm Dörpfeld (26 December 1853 – 25 April 1940) was a German architect and archaeologist, a pioneer of stratigraphic excavation and precise graphical documentation of archaeological projects. He is famous for his work on Bronze Age site ...

visited the area in 1914 and, for a short period, started excavations on behalf of the ''

Deutsches Archäologisches Institut The German Archaeological Institute (german: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office of Germany ...

''. Following his excavations, he left, never to return. Much later, Greek archaeologists Giorgos Dontas and Petros Kalligas, working for the

Greek Archaeological Service The Greek Archaeological Service ( el, Αρχαιολογική Υπηρεσία) is a state service, under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture, responsible for the oversight of all archaeological excavations, museums and the country's ar ...

, started wide-range excavations in July 1962, which ended in 1967. The archaeologists published 7 reports enumerating the results of their discoveries. The Greek archaeologists reopened Dörpfeld's excavation sites and expanded in the surrounding areas. They determined that the remains of the temple had been looted during the Byzantine or Venetian eras and that there were no ruins left at the top of the Analipsis hill, where the temple was once situated. Further, the

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigrap ...

of the area had been disrupted completely. However, traces of a perimetric wall surrounding the

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 ...

of the ancient temple were found, which were of substantial height in certain areas. A road constructed in modern times destroyed the western and southern flanks of the temple. To the northwest of the temple, the excavations were affected by dense plant growth.

Evolution

The excavations of the Greek archaeologists were performed over most of the area of the temple and the architectural fragments they discovered are stored at the

Archaeological Museum of Corfu The Archaeological Museum of Corfu ( el, Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Κέρκυρας) in Corfu, Greece was built between 1962 and 1965. The museum land was donated by the city of Corfu. Its initial purpose was to house the archaeolo ...

. The excavations found evidence that a sanctuary existed by early 7th century B.C. with a major structure being built by the end of that century complete with auxiliary structures and a

. A major fire destroyed the temple by the 5th century B.C. but the sanctuary was rebuilt and expanded and a new temple was built in the 4th century B.C.. The new temple was completely destroyed during the Venetian and Byzantine periods due to looting of its stones which were removed to be used as building materials.

Architecture

The sanctuary of Hera at Mon Repos is considered a major temple, and one of the earliest examples of archaic Greek architecture. Large

figures such as lions,

s, and

maidens, created and painted in vivid colour by

s inspired by

traditions across the

, decorated the roof of the temple, making it one of the most intricately adorned temples of

and the most ambitious roof construction project of its time. The lion elements were

geison {{other Geison ( grc, γεῖσον – often interchangeable with somewhat broader term cornice) is an architectural term of relevance particularly to ancient Greek and Roman buildings, as well as archaeological publications of the same. The ge ...

roof tiles protruding over the walls with water spouts at the mouth of the lion to drain water from the roof. The ''Digital Archaic Heraion Project at Mon Repos'' is a project that has undertaken the task of

digitising DigitizationTech Target. (2011, April). Definition: digitization. ''WhatIs.com''. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer-r ...

the architectural fragments found at the Corfu Heraion with the aim to reconstruct in 3D the Temple at Palaiopolis in

virtual space Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), edu ...

Gallery

20140418 corfu149.JPG, Column fragments 20140418 corfu154.JPG, Column fragments 20140418 corfu153.JPG, Ruins of the perimetric wall 20140418 corfu178.JPG, Ruins of the perimetric wall

References