Areas of Worship NEW

Topic Overview: Places of Worship

• Objective: This section explores the most significant locations for Greek worship, specifically focusing on archaeological and artistic evidence including artifacts, temples, and games.

• Key Focus Areas: The Athenian Acropolis, the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, and the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia.

The Athenian Acropolis and its Civic Importance

• Name and Etymology: 'Acro-polis' translates to 'high city.'

• Physical Characteristics:

  • Built on a flat rock outcrop.

  • Area: Approximately $30,000\,m^2$.

  • Elevation: $150\,m$ above sea level.

• Historical Timeline:

  • Late Bronze Age ($16^{th}\text{--}12^{th}$ centuries BC): Site of a Mycenaean palace complex.

  • $6^{th}$ Century BC: Extensive building began; the site transitioned from a fortress to a purely religious sanctuary.

  • 480 BC: The Persians sacked Athens and destroyed the pre-Parthenon temple and other religious buildings.

  • Oath of Plataea: Athenians reportedly swore an oath not to rebuild the destroyed structures as a reminder of 'barbaric impiety.'

  • Mid-to-Late $5^{th}$ Century BC: Rebuilding commissioned by the politician Pericles using funds from the Delian League treasury.

• Civic and Religious Significance:

  • The religious heart of Athens and a key site for all of Greece.

  • Major festivals held here: The Panathenaia and the Plynteria.

  • Primary Sanctuary: Dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess, though it housed offerings to other divine figures.

Pericles and the Building Program

• The Delian League: After the Persian Wars, Athens headed this naval alliance. By the 450s BC, it became the Athenian Empire.

• Funding: Pericles moved the treasury from the island of Delos to Athens in 454 BC, using the funds to pay for an extensive building program.

• Architectural Goals: Pericles aimed to make Athens the architectural center of the world.

• Architects and Artists:

  • Phidias: Lead architect and sculptor in charge of general design and the statue of Athena.

  • Iktinos and Kallikrates: Architects of the Parthenon.

  • Mnesicles: Architect of the Propylaea and the Erechtheion.

• Motivations for Building:

  • To honor Athena as the patron and warrior-goddess.

  • To honor Zeus, her father.

  • To demonstrate Athens' wealth, power, intellect, and skill to the world.

  • To provide employment and enhance the city's reputation.

The Parthenon: Structure and Function

• Key Stats:

  • Dates: Constructed between $447\text{--}432\,BC$.

  • Materials: The first temple on the Greek mainland built entirely of marble.

  • Dimensions: Approximately $69.5\,m$ long and $30.9\,m$ wide.

• Religious vs. Civic Function:

  • Dedicated to Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin).

  • Lacked an attached altar and did not have a priestess until decades after construction.

  • Functioned as a treasury or bank. Gold used for the chryselephantine statue was removable and could be melted during financial crises (e.g., during the Peloponnesian Wars).

• Design Features:

  • Orientation: East to west.

  • Base: Three-stepped base.

  • Columns: 8 columns on the ends, 17 on the sides.

  • Ionic Elements in a Doric Temple:

    • A continuous Ionic frieze ($540\,feet$ in length) behind the external facade.

    • Four Ionic columns supporting the treasury (Opisthodomos).

    • Slender column proportions.

The Statue of Athena Parthenos

• Type: Chryselephantine (gold and ivory).

• Sculptor: Phidias.

• Location: The Naos of the Parthenon.

• Pausanias’ Description ($1.24.5\text{--}7$):

  • The goddess is upright, wearing a tunic reaching her feet.

  • Helmet: Features a Sphinx in the middle and griffins in relief on the sides.

  • Aegis: The head of Medusa worked in ivory on her breast.

  • Attributes: Holds a statue of Victory (Nike) in one hand and a spear in the other. A shield lies at her feet with a serpent near the spear.

Parthenon Sculptural Program: Pediments

• East Pediment (The Birth of Athena):

  • Narrative: Athena born fully grown and armed from the head of Zeus.

  • Composition: Zeus and Athena were likely central (now lost). News of the birth travels from the center to the corners in 'waves of excitement.'

  • Corners: Helios (Sun) and his chariot on the left (dawn); Selene (Moon) and her chariot on the right (dusk).

  • Key Figures: Dionysus (reclining male nude), Three Goddesses (intimate grouping with 'wet look' drapery), Iris or Artemis (messenger goddess shown in motion).

  • Style: High Classical, featuring motion lines and 'catenaries' (U-shaped folds in drapery).

• West Pediment (Athena vs. Poseidon):

  • Narrative: The contest for the patronage of Athens.

  • Composition: Athena and Poseidon in the center moving away from each other in a cross/V-shape.

  • Key Figures: Iris (messenger), Ilissos (river god filling a corner, showing distinctions between bone, muscle, and fat).

Parthenon Sculptural Program: Metopes and Frieze

• The Metopes:

  • 92 sculpted metopes ($1.25\,m \times 1.2\,m$).

  • Themes:

    • South: Centauromachy (Lapiths vs. Centaurs).

    • North: Greeks and Trojans.

    • East: Gods and Giants.

    • West: Greeks and Amazons.

  • Overriding Theme: Civilization (Greeks/Gods) vs. Barbarism (Centaurs/Giants/Foreigners).

  • Specific South Metopes:

    • Metope 26: Less accomplished; unrealistic pose of the Lapith; Centaur has no neck.

    • Metope 27: Highly effective; Lapith’s cloak forms a background; excellent use of catenaries and light/shadow.

    • Metope 28: Depicts a Centaur's victory over a dead Lapith; features a panther skin representing bestiality.

• The Ionic Frieze:

  • Dimensions: $160\,m$ long, $1.01\,m$ high.

  • Figures: 378 human/divine figures and over 220 animals.

  • Theme: The Great Panathenaic Procession.

  • Narrative Path: Starts at the southwest corner, splits and moves along north/south sides, reuniuting at the east end for the presentation of the Peplos to Athena Polias.

  • East Frieze: 12 gods seated in two groups of six, framing five mortal figures performing the Peplos ritual.

The Erechtheion

• Dates: Constructed $421\text{--}406\,BC$.

• Significance: Marked the most sacred spots on the Acropolis (site of the Athena/Poseidon contest, the mark of Poseidon's trident, and Athena's sacred olive tree).

• Deities: Dedicated jointly to Poseidon Erechtheus and Athena Polias.

• Architecture: Complex and asymmetrical to accommodate uneven terrain and multiple sacred relics.

• Key Features:

  • Karyatid Porch: Six female statues acting as columns. Interpretations: Procession participants, mourners for King Cecrops, or enslaved women of Carya.

  • The Sacred Snake: Home of a serpent representing King Cecrops; its refusal to eat in 480 BC was an omen to evacuate Athens.

  • Relics: The Palladion (ancient olive wood statue of Athena), the grave of King Cecrops, the bones of Erechtheus.

Delphi: The Panhellenic Sanctuary of Apollo

• Nature: A Panhellenic site where all Greeks could gather. Located on Mount Parnassus.

• Mythology: The 'Omphalos' (navel of the world) marked where Zeus's two eagles met.

• Dual Worship: Apollo was primary for 9 months; Dionysus occupied the site for the 3 winter months.

• Management: Controlled by the Amphictyonic League (a local association of Greeks) to ensure neutrality.

• Components of the Sanctuary:

  • Lower Sanctuary: Temple of Athena Pronoia, Gymnasium, Palaestra.

  • Upper Sanctuary: Sacred Way, Temple of Apollo, Theatre, Stadium.

• The Temple of Apollo ($373\,BC$):

  • Doric, Hexastyle ($6 \times 15$ columns), $24\,m \times 60\,m$.

  • Adyton: Inner room/shrine where the Pythia gave oracles.

  • Inscriptions: 'Know thyself' and 'Nothing in excess.'

The Oracular Consultation at Delphi

• The Pythia: Priestess selected from local families; must lead a life of chastity.

• Terms of Consultation: Only 9 days a year (first day of each month for 9 months).

• Consultation Process:

  1. Promanteia: Permission to visit (Delphians first, then those granted the honor by the Amphictyony).

  2. Sacrifice: Priests sprinkle water on a goat; if it shudders, Apollo consents.

  3. Payment: Purchase of a 'pelanos' (sacrificial cake).

  4. Entry: Only men could enter the temple to consult.

• The Prophecy: Pythia reportedly chewed laurel leaves or inhaled geological vapors from fault lines below the temple to reach an ecstatic state.

• The Attic Kylix (Prescribed Source): Red-figure cup (c. $440\text{--}430\,BC$) by the Kodros painter showing the Pythia on a tripod holding laurel and a libation bowl before a consultant.

Olympia: The Sanctuary of Zeus

• Location: Central western Peloponnese.

• Management: Controlled by the city of Elis; the sanctuary boundary was called the 'Altis.'

• The Temple of Zeus:

  • Built before $456\,BC$. Dominated the Altis.

  • East Pediment: Chariot race between Pelops and Oinomaos (founding myth of the Games).

  • West Pediment: Centauromachy with Apollo in the center.

  • Metopes: Twelve Labors of Heracles.

• The Statue of Zeus by Phidias:

  • Chryselephantine, seated on a throne.

  • Height was so great that Zeus would 'unroof the temple' if he stood up (Strabo).

  • Attributes: Sceptre with an eagle in left hand; Victory (Nike) in right hand.

• The Altar of Zeus:

  • Oldest structure ($10^{th}$ Century BC), made of ash from sacrificial victims.

  • Reached a height of $7\,m$ by Pausanias' time.

  • The site of the 'Hecatomb' (sacrifice of 100 oxen).

Civic and Athletic Life at Olympia

• Treasuries: 12 buildings set up by city-states (mostly from outside mainland Greece like Gela, Syracuse, Cyrene) for self-promotion.

• The Zanes: Bronze statues of Zeus paid for by fines from cheating athletes; acted as a warning at the stadium entrance.

• Echo Stoa: Eastern boundary of the Altis; hosted competitions for trumpeters and heralds.

• The Stadium:

  • Located outside the Altis.

  • Capacity: $40,000\text{--}45,000$ spectators.

  • Seating: Only for judges and the Priestess of Demeter Chamyne (the only woman allowed).

  • Track length: $192\,m$ (mythical distance run by Heracles in one breath).

• The Olympic Games ($776\,BC$):

  • Held every four years over five days.

  • Purpose: Religious homage to Zeus, assertion of Greek identity, and political propaganda (e.g., Philip II of Macedon).

Questions & Discussion

• How justified was Pericles in his building program? Discussion of using Delian League funds for Athenian beautification.

• To what extent was the Acropolis more a place of worship than civic pride? Debate on the balance of religious function vs. political statement.

• Consider: Why did the Greeks believe the 'ravings' of a priestess?

  • Socio-economic factors: Significant time/cost investment implied trust.

  • Journey/Networking: Exchange of intelligence along the way.

  • Cultural belief: Madness perceived as divine