Bassae
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
---|---|
Location | Oichalia, Greece |
Reference | 392 |
Inscription | 1986 (10th Session) |
Area | 20.46 ha (50.6 acres) |
Buffer zone | 201.58 ha (498.1 acres) |
Coordinates | 37°25′47″N 21°54′01″E / 37.42972°N 21.90028°E |
Bassae (
Although this temple is geographically remote from major polities of ancient Greece, it is one of the most studied ancient
History of the Temple of Apollo Epicurius
The temple was dedicated to
The ancient writer
Pausanias described it in the 2nd century AD:
- Phigalia is surrounded by mountains, on the left by the mountain called Kotilios . . . The distance from the city to Mount Kotilios is about forty stades. On the mountain is a place called Bassai, and the temple of Apollon Epikourios (the Helper), which, including the roof, is of stone. Of the temples in the Peloponnesos, this might be placed first after the one at Tegea for the beauty of its stone and for its symmetry. Apollon received his name from the help he gave in time of plague, just as the Athenians gave him the name of Alexikakos (Averter of Evil) for turning the plague away from them. It was at the time of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians that he also saved the Phigalians, and at no other time; the evidence is that of the two surnames of Apollon, which have practically the same meaning, and also the fact that Iktinos, the architect of the temple at Phigalia, was a contemporary of Perikles, and built for the Athenians what is called the Parthenon. My narrative has already said that the tile image of Apollon is in the market-place of Megalopolis.[6]
It was in use until the 4th- or 5th-century AD, when all pagan temples were forcibly closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire. Probably because of the remoteness of the site, the temple remained unusually well-preserved. Depictions by artists, which begin in the early 19th century, show the pteron or external colonnade standing complete, and the architrave nearly so. The internal walls were a mass of fallen blocks, but relatively few had been removed for reuse, the normal fate of these conveniently sized pieces.
Construction and decoration
The temple is aligned north-south, in contrast to the majority of Greek temples which are aligned east-west; its principal entrance is from the north.[7] This was necessitated by the limited space available on the steep slopes of the mountain. To overcome this restriction a door was placed in the side of the temple, perhaps to let light in to illuminate the cult statue.
The temple is of a relatively modest size, with the
The temple is unusual in that it has examples of all three of the
It was relatively sparsely decorated on the exterior.
Re-discovery and removals by the British
The temple had been noticed first in November 1765 by the French architect J. Bocher, who was building villas at
In 1812, British antiquaries explored the remains. They took sculptures including 23 slabs from the Ionic
In 1902, a systematic excavation of the area was carried out by the
Preservation
The temple's remoteness — Pausanias is the only ancient traveller whose remarks on Bassae have survived — has worked to its advantage for its preservation. Other, more accessible temples were damaged or destroyed by war or preserved only by
The temple of Apollo is presently covered in a white tent in order to protect the ruins from the elements.[19] Conservation work is currently being carried out under the supervision of the Committee for the Conservation of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios of the Greek Ministry of Culture, which is based in Athens.[1]
See also
- List of Ancient Greek temples
- Architecture of Ancient Greece
- List of Greco-Roman roofs
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Hellenic Ministry of Culture: The Temple of Epicurean Apollo Archived 2007-05-09 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae". World Heritage Convention. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 23 October 2022.}.
- ^ The attribution was noted by Pausanias, 8.41.7ff.
- ^ Lawrence, 177
- ^ Pausanias, 8.41.7 ff.
- ^ Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 41. 7 - 9
- ^ Lawrence, 178
- ^ Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae Archived 2006-12-31 at the Wayback Machine, World Heritage Site.
- ^ Takis Theodoropoulos, "The temple of Apollo the Helper - Heritage" Archived 2019-10-17 at the Wayback Machine, UNESCO Courier, January 1996.
- ^ Dinsmoore 1933:207
- ^ Lawrence, 178
- OCLC 63702755.
- ^ Lawrence, 179
- ^ William Dinsmoor made a detailed case for recognising former pedimental sculptures from Bassae, looted by Romans, in three pedimental figures of Niobids discovered at various times in the later nineteenth century on the site of the Gardens of Sallust, Rome (Dinsmoor, "The Lost Pedimental Sculptures of Bassae" American Journal of Archaeology 43.1 (January–March 1939:27-47).
- ^ a b Bassae Sculpture, British Museum.
- ^ "Beazley Archive". Archived from the original on 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
- ^ William Bell Dinsmoor, "The Temple of Apollo at Bassae" Metropolitan Museum Studies 4.2 (March 1933:204-227) p 204, notes Bocher's drawings, acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1914.
- ^ Dinsmoor 1933:205.
- ^ "Photograph:A giant polystyrene tent encases the 2500-year-old temple of Epikourios Apollo at Bassae, Greece, as part of a $US5 million ($A6.97 million) restoration plan". The Canberra Times. Vol. 62, no. 19, 070. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 December 1987. p. 5. Retrieved 25 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- Lawrence, A. W., Greek Architecture, 1957, Penguin, Pelican history of art