Temple of Athena (Syracuse)
37°03′35″N 15°17′37″E / 37.059604°N 15.293694°E
Siciliote-Greek |
The Temple of Athena is a
History
Gelo and the construction of the temple
Right where the temple of Athena is located, there once was another, more archaic temple, still in the doric style, as archaeological discoveries during the excavations of 1912 and 1917 confirmed.[1] They included architectural elements, terracottas and part of an altar, datable to the sixth century BC.[1]
The Athenaion was built, according to the literary sources, by
The temple was dedicated to
Structure of the Temple
The Athenaio was a
The temple was converted into a Christian place of worship and parts of it are still found incorporated into the walls of the Cathedral of Syracuse. On the left side of the Duomo, some columns of local limestone and the
Architecture and pictorial decoration
It contained another temple too, consecrated to Minerva, which was very ornate and beautiful. In the pediment was the gilt copper shield of Minerva, which was so large that it was visible to sailors on the high seas. Those who left the port of Syracuse would lift a cup or a glass made of clay from near the altar of the goddess outside the walls near the temple of Zeus, when they were so distant that they could no longer see the shield, and they would fill it with apples, incense, spices and flowers and throw it all into the sea in honour of Neptune and Minerva. After performing this sacrifice, according to superstition, they continued happily on their journey.
— Tommaso Fazello, Storia di Sicilia, p.293
This is the description which Tommaso Fazello gave of the gilt shield located in the pediment of the Syracusan temple.
From Cicero, who lists the decorations pillaged by
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Il Tempio di Athena - Galleria Roma". Archived from the original on 2012-12-30. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
- ^ Cicero, Verrine II.4.122
- ^ Aedis Minervae est in Insula, de qua ante dixi; quam Marcellus non attigit, quam plenam atque ornatam reliquit; quae ab isto sic spoliata atque direpta est, non ut ab hoste aliquo, qui tamen in bello religionem et consuetudinis iura retineret, sed ut a barbaris praedonibus vexata esse videatur. Pugna erat equestris Agathocli regis in tabulis picta; iis autem tabulis interiores templi parietes vestiebantur. Nihil erat ea pictura nobilius, nihil Syracusis quod magis videndum putaretur. Has tabulas M. Marcellus, cum omnia victoria illa sua profana fecisset, tamen religione impeditus non attigit; iste, cum illa iam propter diuturnam pacem fidelitatemque populi Syracusani sacra religiosaque accepisset, omnes eas tabulas abstulit, parietes, quorum ornatus tot saecula manserant, tot bella effugerant, nudos ac deformatos reliquit.
There is a temple of Minerva on the island, which I mentioned before, which Marcellus did not touch, which remained complete and decorated, which has been despoiled and ruined by that man [Verres]. It would seem to have been wrecked not by an enemy general (on the contrary, the general maintained religion and the customary law) but by barbarian hordes. There was a painting on panels of a battle, with King Agathokles on horseback; the inside walls of the temple were covered with these panels. Nothing was more famous than this picture, nothing in Syracuse was considered more worthwhile to see. Although he had made all things un-sacred by his victory, Marcus Marcellus did not touch these panels, held back by his own religious feeling. But although they had regained their sacred and religious character thanks to the enduring submission and loyalty of the Syracusan people, that man [Verres] removed all the panels and left the walls which they had decorated for so many centuries, which had escaped so many wars, naked and disfigured.