7/28/2019 The Setting of Hellenistic Temples http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-setting-of-hellenistic-temples 1/7 The Setting of Hellenistic Temples Author(s): Phyllis Williams Lehmann Source: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Dec., 1954), pp. 15- 20 Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society of Architectural Historians Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/987634 . Accessed: 22/04/2013 07:31 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . University of California Press and Society of Architectural Historians are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. http://www.jstor.org
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The Setting of Hellenistic TemplesAuthor(s): Phyllis Williams LehmannSource: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Dec., 1954), pp. 15-20Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society of Architectural Historians
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/987634 .
Accessed: 22/04/2013 07:31
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
.
University of California Press and Society of Architectural Historians are collaborating with JSTOR to
digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.
IN THEHELLENISTICge the creativepowerof Greekarchi-tects found expression not so much on the mainland of
Greece, n the venerablesanctuariesof the past, as in AsiaMinor and certain of the neighboring islands. For in thecenturiesfollowing Alexanderthe Great,this was the most
productiveregionof the Greekworld,architecturally peak-ing. In such a newly founded city as Pergamon or a re-settled town like Priene, the new architecturalconcepts of
the day could more easily be put into practicewithoutthecrippling necessity of adjusting them to already existingcivic and religious centres.
To be sure,essential tastes andpracticesof previouscen-turiescontinued,especiallyin the last decades of the fourth
century and the beginning of the third. The archaic andclassical taste for heights,for placinga templeon an akrop-olis as at Athens or atop a steep promontory overlookingthe sea as at Sounion, persisted,if anythingintensified,inthe Hellenistic period. At Herakleia-on-the-Latmos Fig.1), an early Hellenistic temple perched high up on an out-
cropping of rock overlooking the lake reflects this same
tendency.So, too, does the Templeof Athena which crownsthe akropolis at Lindos (Fig. 2, A). In the later fourth
century,whenit was built, it was still possible to enjoy the
sight of a building standingin lonely isolation. But not for
long. In due time it became necessary to add a vast and
impressive approach o the templecomposedof a H-shapedcolonnade precededand followed by a monumentalflightof steps leading to a propylon from which one finally
gained access to the temple at the highest point of the
akropolis. Similarly,theearlyHellenisticTempleof Athenaat Pergamonwhichoriginallyhad occupieda commandingposition on one of the uppermostheights of the akropolis,
visible from afar, utterly devoid of setting, was providedin the secondcenturywith a greatarchitectural rameworkin the form of a two-storied stoa (Fig. 3).
And why? Not only because these colonnades and the
rooms behind them were in themselvesfunctional and de-
sirable but because in the previous century a new archi-
tecturalconcepthad become irresistible-the desire to pro-vide each significant architectural unit, like the temple,
with its own architecturalenvironment, ts own setting or
surrounding.No longer could such a building be left inisolation or loosely juxtaposed against its neighbors as ithad been in previouscenturies. Now even oldersanctuarieslike the temples of Athena at Pergamonor Lindos had to
be remodelled n accordancewith the new principles.These new principles are visible in the sanctuary of
Asklepiosat Kos (Fig. 4). There the major temple, built
in the mid-second century B.C., is the focal point of agrandiose composition. Placed on the highest of three
terraces, it is framed by a horseshoe colonnade and ap-proachedby three monumentalstairways leading from theouter propylon,across the lower terraces, to its facade. Afew standardarchitectural ngredients-a propylon,stoas.
monumental stairways, an altar, the temple itself-are
groupedinto a clearlydefined,immediatelygraspablecom-
position, a composition characterizedby simplicity, bold-ness and plasticity, by a sharp, firm juxtaposition of thefew standardelements.Contrastsof scale, an elevatedandcentralposition,anaxial approach,emphasison thefacade,
all make of the templethe focal point, the culmination ofthe composition.
Kos is a sanctuaryof particularcomplexity.But the es-sential ingredients of this architecturalcomposition maybe found in scores of Hellenisticsanctuaries,especially the
all-importantand new Hellenistic insistence upon provid-ing thetemplewith an architectural nvironmentor setting.The shape of this settingvaries considerably.Sometimes tis an openhorseshoeor GreekH, as at Kos; sometimesthe
H-shapedframe of stoas is elongatedand closed, as in the
sanctuaryof Artemis at Magnesia (Fig. 5), or the templeis set in the centre of a quadrangle,as at Lagina (Fig. 6).
Less frequently,the architectural rame forms a trapezoid,as at Teos or Assos (Fig. 7), and sometimes,whateverthe
shape of the enclosure, the temple is sucked back into a
dominating position at the rear of the field, a schemepar-ticularly convenient for temples presiding over markets,as at Assos, but by no means limited to them. As in the
sanctuaryof Zeus at Priene (Fig. 8), the temple may ac-
tually be engaged in the surrounding colonnades which,
incidentally,are often of a different and contrastingorder-a Doric framework or an Ionic temple,an Ionic setting
The Setting of Hellenistic Temples 15
PHYLLIS WILLIAMS LEHMANN combines archaeology in the field withclassroom teaching at Smith College.
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FIG.2. Lindos. Restored plan of the Akropolis.(C. Blinkenberg, Lindos . . ., I, P1. I)
- -.~.
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FIG. 3. Pergamon. Reconstruction of the Sanctuary of Athena Polias
Nikephoros. (Altertiimer von Pergamon, II, P1. XLI)
for a Doric. At Miletos (Fig. 9), the NorthMarketTemplehas beenliterallyembedded n the surroundingcolonnade.
Nonetheless,by virtue of its greaterheight, its projecting
porch, and its axial position opposite the propylon, it re-
tains the customary ocal position.The overwhelmingpop-
ularity of these new principleswas reflectedon the main-
land of Greecewherethey underlie the contained,defined
forms of the precinctof Zeus at Megalopolis (Fig. 10).
Finally,on the precipitousslopesof the akropolisat Per-gamon,wemeettheelongatedrectangleorbar-shaped anc-
Kathegemonis backed up to the hillside at the rear of a
long, narrow terrace (Fig. 11). On one side it is ap-
proached by an endless stoa, on the other by a combina-
tion of stoa and theatre.But,as usual, it dominates ts sur-
roundings,like a jewel in its setting, standingat the verybackof its precinctand, as we shall see, raisedto singulareffectivenessby its high position above a flight of steps
(Fig. 12).On the other side of the akropolisof Pergamonsimilar
elongated precinctswere built, amongthem the sanctuaryof Demeter. There the temple stands on a narrow ledge
high up over the city which, in antiquityas now, lay far
below in the valley. As we have come to expect, it was
framedon three sides by stoas and the stepsof a theatron,a bold terrace architecturethat required and received
strong buttressing.The use of such elongatedterracepre-cincts bearswitnessto anothersignificant eatureof Hellen-
istic sanctuaries o whichI shallreturn-the tastefor vista.
For the shapeof the sanctuariesof Demeterand Dionysoscannotbe explainedsolely by the necessitiesof the terrain.
Elsewhere in Pergamon, broad, square terraces were
created.An indispensableingredient in the dominatingrole of
the Temple of Dionysos, as I have mentioned,is its high
position at the very back of the sanctuary(Fig. 12). Had
it not been raisedup abovea flightof steps, it would have
been lost in spite of its axial position, given the excessive
lengthof theprecinctandits ownsmallsize. By virtueof its
greatpodiumof steps and the emphasisupon its facade, it
becomes of commanding importance,the dramatic,spot
lighted focal point of a rich composition.Dramaticcon-
trasts, both of scale and of level, are characteristic of
Hellenistic layouts. Hence the new importanceof monu-
mental stairways.We have seen them at Lindos and Kos(Figs. 2, 4) leadingup to the finalcrescendoof the temple.In the sanctuaryof Dionysos at Pergamon we are com-
pelled down the long, narrowprecinct and up to the im-
periousfagade.Conversely,n the sanctuaryof Demeterwe
are led downward,down from the heights of the Upper
Gymnasiumterrace below which it clings to the hillside,down into its funnel-shapedforecourt, down again into
the crampedprecinctwherethe mass of the templestands
bulkilybeforeus.
16 Journalof the Society of ArchitecturalHistorians,XIII, 4
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ing designed at the very beginning of the age and still in
progressat the end of antiquity, is animatedby all these
tendencies. The characteristic Hellenistic fluctuationbe-
tweenenormoustemples ike the Olympieionat Athensand
smallchapelssuch as we have repeatedlyseen is dramatic-
ally expressedwithinits very walls (Figs. 13-15). For this
vasttemple,so big that it is visible far awayat sea, containsin its interior a little chapel for the cult image. Indeed, itis so vast that what appearsto be a temple on the outside
actually serves as an unroofed precinct within which the
chapel stands. In a unique fashion the very temple itselfhas become a frame,a setting, an enclosurefor the chapelwithinit whichstandsin a rectangle ramednot, to be sure,
by stoas, but by a giant order of contrastingCorinthian
pilasters.Whatis more,the naiskos is visible only to thosewhoview it through hedoorsat thetop of thegreatinterior
stairway or have penetrated the courtyard via vaulted
ramps eadingdown from the porchto the seclusionof the
interior. Once again, a dramaticcontrast of levels, of as-cent of the mighty exterior stairs followed by descentintoa mysterious interior, is of prime importance. And al-
though many features of the Hellenisticbuilding had pro-totypes in its archaic predecessor, precisely this crucialdifference in levels, this primarysource of dramatic con-trast was lacking,as excavations in the interior of the cellahave revealed. In this remarkablebuildingall the essentialtendenciesof theage arereflected.
I have remarked that the taste for heights, for terrace
architecture, s coupledin manycases with an equallypro-nounced taste for vista, for the sight of a sanctuaryin the
distance and, conversely, for the view from it. Since thistastehas frequentlybeendenied, let us look at a few exam-
ples. Off the peninsula-townof Apollonia-on-LakeRhyn-dacus in Bithynia, there lies an artificial island enclosed
by a low wallto which boats can be moored.It is completelyoccupiedby a sanctuary (Fig. 16) consisting of a templeset in thecentreof a horseshoeframe of stoas andprecededby a monumentalstairway-this time curving in form-which providesan exedra-shapedascentto the worshipperarriving by boat and by its very shape attracts him into
the sanctuary.The very situation of both island and sanc-
tuary directly opposite the town, the very placing of the
entranceon the side facing the city is eloquent testimonyof the architect'sintention to create a dramaticapproachto the sacred island. And certainly one standing on the
island,looking backto Apolloniabehindwhich the snowyheights of Bithynian Olympos rise, finds it hard not to
predicate some interest in the magnificentsetting of the
oppositeshore!
So, too, one climbing up the slopesof the late Hellenistic
sanctuaryat Antioch-toward-Pisidia Fig. 17) was surelyintended to fasten his gaze on the crowning element, the
FIG. 4. Kos. Reconstruction of the Hellenistic Sanctuaryof Asklepios. (Kos, I, P1. XL)
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FIG.5. Magnesia. Reconstruction of thePrecinct of Artemis Leukophryene.(Magnesia am Maeander, Figs. 109-110)
M:"
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FIc. 6. Lagina. Restored plan of the Sanctuary of Hekate.(G. Mendel, Catalogue des sculptures grecques,romaines et byzantines, Constantinople, I, 132)
The Setting of HellenisticTemples 17
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FIG. 9. Miletos. Reconstruction of the North Market and
surroundings in the Hellenistic Period.
(Milet, I, 6, P1. XXVII)
templeset at the highest level againsta semicircularcolon-
nade, a wide hemicycle that provides a backdropfor the
temple.Here at Antioch natural and artificialsetting have
beenlinked,for the rockitself has beenshearedandshapedto receive both the templeand the curvingcolonnade.And
again, once one had ascended this terrace, certainly he
cannothave been expectedto ignore the wide panoramaof
mountain-ringedplain spread out before him.
Returningto Kos (Fig. 4), we find the same phenom-enon, the same outspokentaste for vista. Not only is the
triple-terraced anctuaryvisible from afar, not only is its
crowningelement,TempleA, a beacontowardwhichvisitor
and worshipperalike are drawn by the now familiar de-
vices of setting, frontality and access but, again, once we
have reached the summit, a scene of breathtakingbeauty,of unexpectedamplitude,of mountain,sea and plain con-
fronts us. Althoughmany factors, notably the sanctity of
a cult spot, were involved in the choice of such sites, their
architectural treatment attests a keen awarenessof land-
scape setting as a prime aesthetic ingredient in the total
effect.
Finally, let us return to Pergamon, to the Gymnasium
complex (Fig. 18), where the vast elongated terraces are
crownedby a sanctuaryto Hera Basileia, tutelarydivinityof the city. Here a smallmysterysanctuaryhas been added
to a group of largely secular buildings as the culmination
of an intricate architecturalscheme.The temple itself has
becomesimply a facade, approachedby steps and flanked
by lateralstructures, he dominantelementof a sanctuary
which, as a whole, marks the crescendo of a great, sym-
phoniccomposition.It is scarcelynecessaryto addthatthis
groupof buildingshas beencomposedto be seenfromafar.
But I shouldlike to emphasizethat in true Hellenisticfash-ion this compositionis designedto be takenin at a glance,to be apprehendedas a whole, for its single units onlyachievetheir fullest value as parts of the whole. In this re-
spect it differs radically from classical predecessorslike
the Akropolisat Athens,where we are conscious first and
foremost of individual buildings, however carefully con-
trastedand adjustedto each otherthey may be. If this es-
sentially baroquetendency seems to architects and archi-
tectural historians accustomedto the full exploitation of
baroqueprinciplesin later ages to be as yet embryonic in
form, let us not forget that this is its first appearancein
Europeanarchitecture.But, like many otheraspectsof thisrich age, it was destinedto exert an immenseinfluenceon
the laterdevelopmentof architecture.Transplantedo Italyvia suchlate Hellenisticsanctuariesas Sulla'sat Praeneste,
it wasto bloom again on anothersoil.SMITH COLLEGE
The primary evidence for the Hellenistic temples cited in the
previous pages as characteristic examples of significant types of
sanctuaries is to be found in the following references.
18 Journalof the Society of ArchitecturalHistorians,XIII, 4
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FIG. 16. Apollonia-on-Lake Rhyndacus. General planof the town and its island sanctuary (upper right).(S. Reinach, Voyage archeologique .. ., P1. 47)
PLAN OF -
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FIG. 17. Antioch-toward-Pisidia. Plan of the site (temple in
centre). (Art Bulletin, IX [19261, opp. p. 5)
FIc. 18. Pergamon. Reconstruction of the
Gymnasium and the Sanctuary of Hera Basileiaat its summit. (Altertiimer von Pergamon, VI, Pls. I-II)
Herakleia-on-the Latmos: Antiquities of lonia, London, II, 1797,27-28, Pls. XXXIII-XXXV (under the mistaken placename Myus or Baffi).
Lindos: K.-F. Kinch, "Exploration archeologique de Rhodes (Fon-dation Carlsberg) par Chr. Blinkenberg et K.F. Kinch,"Oversigt det Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs For-
handlinger, 1904, No. 3, pp. 62 ff.; 1905, No. 2, pp. 30 ff.Pergamon, Temple of Athena: Richard Bohn, Das Heiligtum der
Athena Polias Nikephoros (Altertiimer von Pergamon, II),Berlin, 1885.
Kos: Rudolf Herzog, Kos, Ergebnisse der deutschen Ausgrabungenund Forschungen (I, Asklepieion, by P. Schazmann),Berlin, 1932.
Magnesia, Temple of Artemis: Carl Humann, Julius Kohte, Carl