2.24 Archaic Ionic Order Treasuries & Friezes

Ionic Architecture for a Different Kind of Building--The Siphnian Treasury

Restored view of the Siphnian Treasury, Delphi, Greece, ca. 530 BCE.

-this building called a treasury, used to store sacred objects and offerings. Sometimes instead of Ionic columns you could find something like this--female sculptures or caryatids. The sculptural details would have been vividly painted.

Detail, Gigatomachy frieze, Siphnian Treasury; marble, approx. 2'.

-On the building’s north side is a carved frieze depicting a popular mythological theme in Greek art, a "Gigantomachy,"—battle of the gods and giants. 

Details:

shows a section of the continuous Ionic frieze that wrapped around the building and decorated with sculptural relief that would also have been painted--and labeled!

-The divine heroes of the battle are the brother/sister gods Apollo (not surprising, since it's his sanctuary where this sits) and Artemis giving chase to a Giant (the enemy--they're wearing the helmets) while a lion (on the side of the gods) takes a bite out of an enemy.

What’s gone?

Gone are the static, standing poses common in Archaic Greek sculpture; now, we're seeing an action-packed fight going on with dynamic poses showing the figures running, lunging, or grabbing their opponent(s). With one man down on the ground, and another running away from the Apollo and Artemis, the victory is already tilting in the favor of the Olympians.