Gagr.dir 171 Attic vase with red figures, detail with plowing scene
ÑGagr.dir 172 View of countryside with olive trees
ÑGagr.dir 173 Vine
ÑGagr.dir 174 Attic lekythos depicting the fruit harvest - Syracuse, Museo Archeologico
ÑGagr.dir 201 The system of land ownership varied greatly in Greece, differing with time and place. In Sparta, for example, each Spartiate possessed a plot of land that was inalienable, although this did not prevent some families from growing richer at the expense of others, eventually concentrating large areas of land in their own hands. In fact the system of large landed estates could be found in many regions of Greece.
ÑGagr.dir 202 The development of democracy in Athens and above all the subdivision of land among heirs reduced the number and size of the large estates and in the fifth century BC Attica was farmed mainly by small landowners. While there was never enough wheat and barley to feed the whole population, ancient Greece was the main exporter of oil and wine in the Mediterranean. The most widely cultivated fruit was probably the fig. Vegetables were generally considered a luxury and did not form part of the diet of the poorest members of the population.
ÑGagrig.dir 171 The Valley of the Temples, Agrigento
ÑGagrig.dir 172 The temple of Hera Lacinia, mid 5th cent. BC - Agrigento
ÑGagrig.dir 173 The temple of Hera Lacinia, mid 5th cent. BC - Agrigento
ÑGagrig.dir 174 The temple of Hera Lacinia, detail - mid 5th cent. BC
ÑGagrig.dir 175 Temple of Concordia, mid 5th cent. BC - Agrigento
ÑGagrig.dir 176 Temple of Concordia, mid 5th cent. BC
ÑGagrig.dir 177 Temple of Concordia, frontal view
ÑGagrig.dir 178 The telamones of the temple of Zeus Olympios, graphic reconstruction
ÑGagrig.dir 179 Telamon of the Temple of Zeus - Agrigento, Museo Archeologico
ÑGagrig.dir 180 Telamon of the Temple of Zeus - Agrigento, Valley of the Temples
ÑGagrig.dir 181 Telamon of the Temple of Zeus, detail - Agrigento, Museo Archeologico
ÑGagrig.dir 201 Founded in the first twenty years of the sixth century BC by colonists from the nearby city of Gela, who were joined by other Greeks originally from Crete and Rhodes, it reached the peak of its splendor in the first half of the fifth century, a time when it was able to extend its rule as far as the northern coast of Sicily. This situation of political dominance and economic prosperity was undermined by conflict with Syracuse, in which Agrigento came off worse. Later, in 406 BC, the city was subjected to terrible pillage by Carthaginian troops. This marked its end as a great political and military power on the island. From that time on, in fact, and up until the Roman conquest of Sicily, Agrigento remained under the political sway of Carthage.
ÑGagrig.dir 202 TEMPLE OF HERA LACINIA (OR JUNO)
Built around the middle of the fifth century, it stands on a rocky spur on the southern edge of the settlement. The irregularity of the terrain made necessary the construction of a large base, on which the temple was erected. It is surrounded by a row of Doric columns, which stand on a plinth with four steps. All the columns on the north side and part of those on the east side have survived, while the rest are in a more or less fragmentary state. Inside, the temple was divided into three rooms, the pronaos, the cella or naos proper, and the opisthodomos.
ÑGagrig.dir 203 TEMPLE OF CONCORDIA
This is one of the best preserved temples of the Greek world, since it was converted into a church in 597 by Saint Gregory the Great. In both its structure and its size, the temple, built around the middle of the fifth century, is similar to that of Hera Lacinia, but unlike the latter it has intact entablatures on the outside and pediments, while the walls of the pronaos and opisthodomos still have their triglyphs. On the other hand the rear wall of the naos has vanished, along with the covering of the roof, which must have been made of tiles of colored marble.
ÑGagrig.dir 204 We know nothing of the decoration of the pediments, though it is inconceivable that the triangles of the tympana were left empty. When the temple was turned into a Christian church, the building's orientation was reversed, the wall separating the naos from the opisthodomos was knocked down, and the gaps between the columns were filled in, dividing the space into a nave and two aisles.
ÑGagrig.dir 205 TELAMONES OF THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS OLYMPIOS
Its dimensions (52ß74 x 110ß10 m) made this temple one of the largest in the whole of the Greek world. In order to support the heavy Doric entablature, the architect who built the temple used engaged columns attached to a masonry wall that ran right around the inner hall instead of normal columns. Between the engaged columns were set gigantic figures of telamones, halfway up the wall, whose bent arms appear to be supporting the architrave of the temple with its capitals.
ÑGarch.dir 171 The Library of Ephesus
ÑGarch.dir 172 Ephesus, the archeological area
ÑGarch.dir 173 The Library, view of the facade
ÑGarch.dir 174 Ephesus, the main street
ÑGarch.dir 175 The Theater of Dionysus, Athens
ÑGarch.dir 176 The Theater, Ephesus
ÑGarch.dir 177 The Agora, Ephesus
ÑGarch.dir 178 Ephesus, view of the archeological area
ÑGarch.dir 179 Ephesus, the main street
ÑGarch.dir 201 The fascination of Greek architecture can still be perceived today in the solemn and elegant appearance of its monuments, enhanced by the nobility of marble, the solidity of stone, and the wonderful decorations and sculptures with which they were adorned. In ancient times the temple was a small building with a simple and essential plan, but with the diffusion of architectural orders from the seventh century BC onward, it assumed more and more complex and differentiated forms. Another monument typical of Greek architecture was the theater, which was of great importance in the religious and public life of the Greek cities. This building played a fundamental role in the development of literature and art .
ÑGarch.dir 202 Musical performances, on the other hand, were staged in special buildings called oideia or odeons, while athletic contests were held in stadia. Squares (agorai) and porticoes (stoai) were other important features of Greek cities. Toward the end of the sixth century BC they were joined by halls for the council (bouleteria), for the popular assemblies (ekklesiasteria), and for the initiates to the sacred mysteries (telesteria). From the fifth century BC onward Greek cities were laid out in a gridiron pattern, with streets meeting at right angles and regular blocks, an approach to planning that the literary tradition associates with the name of Hippodamos of Miletus. This scheme became widespread during the Hellenistic period and in the Roman world.
ÑGarte.dir 171 The Temple of Hera II, mid 5th cent. BC - Paestum
ÑGarte.dir 172 Archaic kuroi: Cleobis and Bython - Delphi, Museum
ÑGarte.dir 173 Frieze of the Thesaurus of Siphni, detail - Delphi, Museum
ÑGarte.dir 174 Parthenon, detail of the frieze in the naos - ca. 440 BC
ÑGarte.dir 175 The Acropolis of Athens, graphic reconstruction
ÑGarte.dir 176 Praxiteles: Hermes with the Child Dionysus - Olympia, Archeological Museum
ÑGarte.dir 201 The development of art was influenced by the process of expansion of Greek society, from its initial manifestations down to the foundation of the poleis, the conquest of markets in the Mediterranean, and the phenomenon of colonization. The frenzy of building that accompanied the growth of the cities is reflected in the design of the temple, the most significant building in Greek architecture and intended to house the deity. At first the latter was represented by wooden statuettes and it was not until the middle of the seventh century that the first true sculptures began to appear.
ÑGarte.dir 202 Sculpture soon came to be used, from the beginning of the sixth century BC onward, to decorate temple pediments and metopes as well. From the latter part of the sixth century until the end of the Peloponnesian War, Athens was unquestionably the most important city in Greece and it was there that the greatest architects and artists of the era, in particular Phidias, did their work. The proving ground for new tendencies in art was the Acropolis, which was completely rebuilt after the Persian invasion. Outstanding among the great sculptors of the fourth century BC were Scopas and Praxiteles, who broke with the earlier athletic ideal to produce figures filled with pathos and of a voluptuous and ambiguous beauty. In the Hellenistic period, Greece lost its political freedom, but remained a cultural and artistic center of primary importance.
ÑGarti.dir 171 Greek carafes and vases in a nineteenth-century engraving
ÑGarti.dir 172 Marble quarries, general view
ÑGarti.dir 173 Engraved gold dish - Agrigento, Museo Archeologico
ÑGarti.dir 174 Two bronze forearms with gold bracelets - Taranto, Museo Archeologico
ÑGarti.dir 175 Gold pendant - Taranto, Museo Archeologico
ÑGarti.dir 201 Among the various artisan activities, one of the most common was the working of clay, for, especially in the more distant past, almost all the household articles of everyday use were made out of this material. The Greek potters achieved such perfection in the manufacture and decoration of their products that they spread through wide areas of the Mediterranean. Pots were often exported as mere containers, as in the case of the amphorae, or, under other circumstances, were used as vessels from which to drink the exported wine.
ÑGarti.dir 202 Another activity at which the Greeks excelled was the cutting and dressing of stone. Greece had quarries that yielded high-quality marble, especially on the island of Paros and the slopes of Mount Pendelikon in Attica. These types of marble were much in demand in antiquity for the carving of sculptures, but they were also used to embellish temples and other monuments. The Greeks also produced engraved stones and jewelry of incredible beauty, especially the ones made by the craftsmen of Graecia Magna.
ÑGatene.dir 171 The Acropolis, Athens
ÑGatene.dir 172 View of Athens in a nineteenth-century engraving
ÑGatene.dir 173 The Acropolis of Athens, general view
ÑGatene.dir 174 View of the Acropolis and Hadrian's Gate, Athens
ÑGatene.dir 175 The Parthenon, 5th cent. BC
ÑGatene.dir 176 The Parthenon, detail of the trabeation
ÑGatene.dir 177 Parthenon, detail of the frieze in the naos - ca. 440 BC
ÑGatene.dir 178 Imaginary reconstruction of the interior of the Parthenon with the chryselephantine statue of Athene
ÑGatene.dir 179 Parthenon, close-up view of the front
ÑGatene.dir 180 The Propylaea, Athens
ÑGatene.dir 181 The Propylaea of the Acropolis, graphic reconstruction
ÑGatene.dir 182 The Acropolis of Athens: the pinacotheca
ÑGatene.dir 183 The Small Temple of Athena Nike, 421-407 BC
ÑGatene.dir 184 Detail of the balustrade of the Small Temple of Athena Nike, 421-407 BC
ÑGatene.dir 185 The Acropolis of Athens: the Erechtheion viewed from the southeast
ÑGatene.dir 186 The Erechtheion, frontal view
ÑGatene.dir 187 Acropolis, Erechtheion: The loggia of the Caryatides
ÑGatene.dir 188 The loggia of the Caryatides, detail
ÑGatene.dir 189 The Stoa of Attalos, detail - 159-38 BC, Athens
ÑGatene.dir 190 Stoa of Attalos, detail
ÑGatene.dir 201 The site on which the city is built has been continuously inhabited since the Mycenean era. Over the course of the first millennium BC it began to develop slowly, reaching the peak of its power and beauty between the fifth and fourth century BC. Subsequently, when Greece came under Macedonian rule, Athens's importance began to decrease. Nonetheless, it remained an important artistic and cultural center, to the extent that several Hellenistic rulers erected magnificent monuments there to increase their prestige. In the second century BC Athens, like the rest of Greece, came under the control of Rome.
ÑGatene.dir 202 In 87-86 BC Sulla destroyed the city because it had taken the side of King Mithridates of Pontus against the Romans. Throughout the Roman domination Athens retained its importance as center for philosophy and culture, where many of the most illustrious Roman families sent their children to be educated. The final crisis for Athens came in 529 BC, when Emperor Justinian closed down the schools of philosophy and thereby extinguished all the city's intellectual movements.
ÑGatene.dir 203 ACROPOLIS
In the Mycenean era the Acropolis of Athens had a chiefly defensive function. In fact the king had built his palace there, where it was well protected from enemy attack by a sheer precipice. This military function was retained in later periods as well, but as time went by numerous sacred buildings were constructed on the Acropolis and the area became the hub of the city's religious life. Completely destroyed by the Persians after the battle of Thermopylae, it was rebuilt some fifty years later when Athens was governed by Pericles.
ÑGatene.dir 204 Work commenced with the construction of the temple of Athena Parthenos, or the Parthenon (449-435 BC), followed by the Propylaea (437-432 BC), the temple of Athena Nike (421-407 BC), and finally the Erechtheion (421-406 BC). To carry out all this work architects and sculptors came to Athens from different regions of Greece. Among them, of course, was Phidias.
ÑGatene.dir 205 PARTHENON
The temple, in the Doric style, was erected on the summit of the Acropolis. The building stood on a platform with three steps and was surrounded on all sides by a row of columns. The colonnade supported the entablature made up of metopes and triglyphs. On top of this, on the short sides, stood the pediments. Inside, the temple was divided into two parts, the naos and, behind it, the opisthodomos, where the thesaurus of the goddess was located. At the back of the naos, right in the middle of the building, stood the enormous chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos (Virgin Athene), carved by Phidias.
ÑGatene.dir 206 The temple's sculptural decoration was conceived and designed by Phidias and required an immense creative effort. Around seventy artists and a huge group of craftsmen were involved in the undertaking. All the sculptures and reliefs were carved out of the same Pentelic marble from which the whole building was constructed. The metopes all depicted scenes of wrestling, symbolic of the victory of reason over chaos. On the outside of the naos, at the top, Phidias designed a continuous frieze, about 160 m in length, representing the solemn procession of virgins in honor of Athene. The birth of Athene from Zeus' head was represented on the eastern pediment, while the western one depicted the dispute between Athene and Poseidon for possession of the Acropolis.
ÑGatene.dir 207 THE PROPYLAEA
These constitute the monumental entrance to the Acropolis. They were built on the western side of the rocky hill, where the slope was less steep and access to them was provided by a winding flight of steps. The building had the same orientation as the Parthenon, so that anyone entering the sacred area was immediately confronted with the statue of Athena Promachos. The central part of the structure has six thick Doric columns on the external facade and six more on the internal one. It was through the central door, larger than the others, that the procession of virgins in Athene's honor passed.
ÑGatene.dir 208 TEMPLE OF ATHENA NIKE
Set alongside the Propylaea, the temple juts out from the southwestern spur of the Acropolis like the prow of a ship, symbolizing the victorious city. Designed by Callicrates, it was begun in 421 BC and not finished until 407, after a long interruption during the years of the war in Sicily. It is a small Ionic temple with four columns on each front and a frieze with a noteworthy innovation: the subject is not a tale from mythology but a historical event, the battle between the Greeks and Persians at Plataea.
ÑGatene.dir 209 THE ERECHTHEION
Named after the mythological hero Erechtheus, who was the judge in the dispute between Poseidon and Athene over the possession of Attica. The building was built on the highest point of the rock, close to the sacred olive tree of the goddess Athene. It contained the tomb of Erechtheus and the archaic wooden statue of Athene that was said to have fallen from the sky. The fact that different cults were celebrated in the Erechtheion is the reason for the complex plan of the temple, made up of a main rectangular block, a portico to the north and the loggia of the Kourai. In this loggia the architect replaced the columns, in accordance with an old Ionic tradition, with statues of women (caryatides).
ÑGatene.dir 210 THE STOA OF ATTALOS
To the north of the Acropolis stood the Agora of Athens, which was, as elsewhere in Greece, the political and social center of the city and the location of the administrative and judicial bodies. The most striking building on the Agora is the stoa donated by King Attalos II of Pergamum (159-138 BC) to Athens. The structure, which has been completely rebuilt, has a double nave on two stories and with two orders of columns: Doric on the front and Ionic on the inside on the lower floor, with Ionic columns on the front and Corinthian on the inside on the upper one. At the back are a series of square rooms that served as storehouses.
ÑGcasa.dir 171 Architectural model in terra-cotta - Athens, Archeological Museum
ÑGcasa.dir 172 The entrance of a Greek house in a nineteenth-century engraving
ÑGcasa.dir 173 Base of statue with relief of a dwelling
ÑGcasa.dir 174 Interior of a Greek dwelling in a nineteenth-century engraving
ÑGcasa.dir 175 Group of Greek women in a nineteenth-century engraving
ÑGcasa.dir 201 The Greek house had a very simple structure. Usually on one story, it was made up of two separate courts, onto each of which opened various rooms that did not communicate with one another. The openings for illumination were located exclusively on the side of the court. These two courts were often adorned with a wide porch that sheltered the rooms from the sun and rain. One of the two courts, together with the rooms facing onto it, was known as the andronite and was reserved for men; the other, called the gynaikeion, was for the women. The marked separation of men and women, who were confined to the innermost and least accessible part of the house, throws light on the difference between the status of the Greek woman within the family and that of the Roman woman, who had her own domain within the house and played an active part in the social life of her husband.
ÑGdelfi.dir 28 The site was occupied in the Mycenean era, when there was a small village in which a female deity, the goddess GÉ (or Gaea), was worshipped. It was not until later that the cult of Apollo was established there, turning Delphi into one of the most famous places in the Greek world. Ever since the fame of the Pythia, an old woman from Delphi through whom the god expressed his will, had spread among the Greeks, the sanctuary of Apollo had been accumulating enormous wealth.
ÑGdelfi.dir 171 Delphi: the Castalia Spring
ÑGdelfi.dir 172 Delphi, panorama
ÑGdelfi.dir 173 The Temple of Apollo, 4th cent. BC - Delphi
ÑGdelfi.dir 174 Temple of Apollo, detail
ÑGdelfi.dir 175 Temple of Apollo, view from above
ÑGdelfi.dir 176 The Theater, 4th cent. BC - Delphi
ÑGdelfi.dir 177 The Theater, 4th cent. BC
ÑGdelfi.dir 178 Relief depicting Athene - Athens, Museum of the Acropolis
ÑGdelfi.dir 179 The Tholos Temenos of Athena Pronaia - Delphi
ÑGdelfi.dir 180 Delphi: the three Doric columns of the Tholos of Athena
ÑGdelfi.dir 181 Bronze charioteer, detail - 5th cent. BC - Delphi, Archeological Museum
ÑGdelfi.dir 201 As a result Delphi chose to form the amphictyony, or holy alliance, to protect itself from the designs of those tempted by the shrine's bulging coffers. In addition, when the sacred area was in fact devastated, it was the members of the amphictyony who rebuilt the damaged monuments. The decline of the sanctuary was linked to the Roman conquest of Greece, after the victory of General Aemilius Paullus over King Perseus of Macedonia at Pydna in 168 BC. From that time on the shrine came under Roman control and ceased to use its oracles to intervene in the political affairs of the Hellenic cities, no longer exercising any kind of influence.
ÑGdelfi.dir 202 TEMPLE OF APOLLO
It was rebuilt several times over the course of the centuries, and it is the last version, dating from the fourth century BC, that can be seen today. The new building was not completed until 330 BC and its columns and entablature were constructed out of tufa, while the dark stone of Mount Parnassus was used for the remaining parts. The building was designed by the architect Spintharos and completed, after his death, by Xenodoros and Agathon.
ÑGdelfi.dir 203 The decorations of the pediments were made by the Athenian sculptors Praxias and Androsthenes. Persian shields from the battle of Marathon and shields captured from the Galatians when they sacked Delphi in 279 BC had been placed on the metopes. Inside the pronaos there was a bronze portrait of Homer, with an oracle issued to the poet inscribed on the base. The naos was split into parts and a gold statue of Apollo was kept in the innermost one, reserved for the priests of the cult.
ÑGdelfi.dir 204 THEATER
Built during the fourth century BC, it is one of the best preserved in Greece. It is consists of a cavea, with thirty-five tiers of seats set in a semicircle for the spectators, and a stage. The cavea is in turn split into parts by an open corridor that allowed the audience to move around more easily. The stage is split in two as well: the proscenium made up of three spaces and the backstage, with another three rooms. The theater could hold 5,000 people, something that was necessary in order to accommodate the numerous pilgrims who flocked to Delphi from all over Greece during the great celebrations held in honor of the god Apollo.
ÑGdelfi.dir 205 SANCTUARY OF ATHENA PRONOIA
The foundation of this shrine dates from the Mycenean era. The sacred area was occupied by numerous altars, two thesauri, and two temples dedicated to Athene. Between the two temples to Athene stands the tholos, one of the masterpieces of Greek architecture. Built around 380 BC, it has twenty Doric columns supporting the entablature with an architrave, triglyphs, metopes in relief, and cornice. The wall of the naos had triglyphs and metopes on the outside and was lined with ten engaged columns on the inside.
ÑGdelfi.dir 206 THE CHARIOTEER
Kept in the Delphi Museum, this statue is one of the most important examples of Greek sculpture in bronze. The charioteer is represented life size (1.80 m) and immediately after winning a race, at the moment when he parades before the audience in triumph with his team of four horses. The group, made up of the charioteer, his chariot and horses, and a groom, had been offered to Apollo by Polyzalos, tyrant of the Sikeliot city of Gela, to celebrate his victory in the four-horse chariot races during the political contests of 478 or 474.
ÑGdivini.dir 201 ZEUS -JUPITER
Chief of the gods and all-powerful Lord of the Universe, god of the sky, thunder, and lightning. He had brought down the ancient divine race of the Titans and was the father of almost all the Gods of Olympus. He was usually depicted with a thick head of hair and beard. His attributes were the eagle, the scepter, and the thunderbolt. In Greece the Olympic Games were staged every four years in his honor. In Rome he was one of the members of the ╟Capitoline Triad,╚ along with Juno and Minerva.
ÑGdivini.dir 202 APOLLO or PHOEBUS
God of light, divination, poetry, music, and medicine, he was the father of Aesculapius, the most celebrated physician of antiquity. The main center for his worship was Delos, the island of his birth, while he had the most famous oracle in the ancient world at Delphi. Represented in various forms, he had many attributes: the bow and arrows, symbols of the sun god, or the lyre and laurel wreath, symbols of the arts.
ÑGdivini.dir 203 PALLAS ATHENE -MINERVA
Goddess of war, wisdom, and the female arts, she sprang from Zeus' head fully grown and armed. Protectress of the Greeks and above all Athens, to whose inhabitants she gave the olive, her emblem was the owl, a symbol of wisdom. Her attributes were the helmet and the shield.
ÑGdivini.dir 204 ARES -MARS
Irascible god of war, the son of Zeus and Hera, his cult probably originated in Thrace. Particularly venerated by the Romans, he was one of the triad of gods who defended Rome, together with Jupiter and Quirinus. He was usually represented armed.
ÑGdivini.dir 205 POSEIDON -NEPTUNE
Brother of Zeus, he was the god of the sea and the lands that bordered it. He lived with his beautiful wife Amphitrite at the bottom of the sea, in a wonderful palace whose walls were encrusted with mother of pearl, gems, and coral. He ruled over the minor deities of the sea: the Nereids, Tritons, and Sirens. The horse and dolphin were sacred to him and the trident was his chief attribute.
ÑGdivini.dir 206 APHRODITE-VENUS
Goddess of love and beauty, born according to legend from the foam of the sea, her cult was of Oriental origin. The Phoenicians worshipped her under the name of ASHTAROTH. As the mother of Aeneas she was the progenitrix of the Roman people, and of the gens Julia in particular. Consequently many temples dedicated to her were erected in Rome and the month of April, the beginning of spring, was sacred to her.
ÑGdivini.dir 207 ARTEMIS -DIANA
Twin sister of Apollo, she was the goddess of the moon, the hunt, and chastity. Originally she was the goddess of birth and death as well. Invoked under the name of Hecate, she was mistress of the night and the protrectress and guide of wayfarers. The hind was her sacred animal. She was generally represented with a bow and quiver.
ÑGdivini.dir 208 HERMES -MERCURY
Messenger of the gods, he was the protector of merchants, thieves, and travelers, and the guide for the souls of the dead in Hades. He was usually represented with winged sandals, a hat, with or without wings, known as the petasus, and the caduceus, a staff with two serpents entwined around it, a symbol of peace.
ÑGdivini.dir 209 HERA-JUNO
Zeus' sister and wife, she was venerated as queen of the gods. Goddess of marriage, birth, and fertility, the main centers for her worship were Argos and Samos. The peacock was sacred to her. We generally find her represented on a throne, with long hair, a scepter, and a pomegranate, the symbol of marriage and fertility.
ÑGdivini.dir 210 HADES-PLUTO
The brother of Zeus, he was the ruler of the kingdom of the dead and dispenser of all the riches that came from the depths of the earth. All the monsters and minor deities of the Underworld were subject to him. He is usually represented on a throne, with a beard and scepter, sometimes in the company of his wife Persephone (Proserpina) and Cerberus, the three-headed dog who was the guardian of the Underworld.
ÑGdivini.dir 211 HEPHAESTUS-VULCAN
God of fire and divine blacksmith, he was for this reason considered to be the protector of industry and especially of all those who worked metal. It was in his forge that Zeus' thunderbolts were made, with the help of the Cyclopes. He also forged the famous weapons of Achilles and Aeneas. He was represented as lame and deformed, with a beard, and sometimes with the typical tools of the blacksmith: the hammer and tongs. He was the husband of Venus.
ÑGdivini.dir 212 DIONYSUS-BACCHUS
or LIBER PATER
God of wine and of terrestrial vegetation in general, his cult was extraordinarily widespread in all the regions of Greece and Asia Minor, where numerous festivals were celebrated with dancing and rowdy processions. He was represented in a variety of ways: sometimes majestic and with a long beard, at others beardless and with a feminine appearance. He was often depicted surrounded by dancing maenads and satyrs.
ÑGepida.dir 171 Epidaurus: Entrance of the Temple of Asclepius
ÑGepida.dir 172 Epidaurus: The ruins of the Tholos
ÑGepida.dir 173 Epidaurus: Detail of the Temple of Asclepius with eaves in the form of lion's heads
ÑGepida.dir 174 Epidaurus: The theater, 4th cent. BC
ÑGepida.dir 175 Epidaurus: Detail of the tiers of the theater, 4th cent. BC
ÑGepida.dir 176 View of the theater, detail
ÑGepida.dir 201 City of the Argolis, on the Saronic gulf, famous for its great sanctuary devoted to the god Asclepius. It went through a period of great splendor and expansion from 370 BC onward, a time in which the existing buildings were enlarged and embellished and new ones were erected. At the center of the sacred area stood the temple of Asclepius, surrounded on all sides by Doric columns and containing a chryselephantine statue of the god. Adjacent to the temple, on the north side, there was a long portico where sick people waiting patiently for divine intervention used to sleep. In fact it was believed that the god came to them at night, while they were sleeping, to cure or enlighten them.
ÑGepida.dir 202 THEATER
The theater is located slightly off center with respect to the sanctuary. Attributed to the architect Polycleitus the Younger, who was active in the fourth century BC, it is one of the best preserved examples in the whole of the ancient world. The cavea is divided in two by a two-meter wide corridor (diazoma); a second corridor ran along the top of the theater, above the fifty-fifth tier. The three lowest rows were made up of seats with backs and were reserved for the authorities.
ÑGepida.dir 203 Thirteen short, vertical flights of steps (kerkides) split the cavea into different sectors. The cavea (koilon) was not perfectly semicircular in shape, but opened out slightly like a fan to improve visibility at the sides. In the middle of the orchestra stood an altar to Dionysus, of which the base remains. The stage (skene) was behind the circle of the orchestra and had two side walls with two richly decorated doors for exiting and entering the stage (parodoi).
ÑGgreci.dir 201 The Greeks, like the Romans, had a polytheistic religion, i.e. one in which many gods were worshipped. It was the result of a long and complex process of development whose origin dates back to the time when human beings venerated the forces of nature. Around the second millennium BC, with the first migrations of peoples from the East, the Greeks came into contact with and began to worship anthropomorphic deities, which were superimposed on the primitive indigenous cults. Initially these gods with a human appearance had a character that was more terrifying than benevolent, but they subsequently took on a gentler aspect and assumed the role of protectors of public and spiritual life. As Greek civilization evolved over the course of the centuries, the religion underwent profound changes. In the historical period rites and ceremonies were imported from the East. Myths and legends grew increasingly complex and complete and recurrent religious festivals became an important part of Greek life. Later much of the Greek religion was adopted by the Romans.
ÑGistit.dir 201 During the preceding Mycenean age, the king (basileus) exercised absolute and hereditary power. Between the eighth and seventh century BC, the authority of the nobles gradually increased until they were able to impose a new form of government, described as aristocratic, in which power was in the hands of a small minority of aristoi (the best) to the exclusion of the rest of the population. Very soon, however, the economic development of the poleis led to the emergence of a new social class, the ╟demos╚, whose members were not of noble origin and did not own land, but had accumulated a certain amount of wealth through the new commercial activities.
ÑGistit.dir 202 The demos aspired to play a direct part in the public life of the polis, but came into conflict with the interests of the aristocracy. The tyrants exploited this conflict and, through their support of the lower strata of the population, acquired absolute power. Their domination did not last long, however, since even the people whom they had favored soon grew tired of their arbitrary rule. This led, after various ups and downs, to the formation of more democratic governments. In some cases these were new aristocratic regimes of a more moderate character, but in other it was the demos that assumed power directly.
ÑGistit.dir 203 SPARTA - The population of Sparta was made up of Spartiates, perioecians, and helots. The Spartiates or Lacedaemonians, descendants of the city's conquerors in the fifteenth and fourteenth century BC, were the dominant class, free citizens who played an active part in political and social life. The perioecians and helots were subject to them: the former retained their personal freedom but had no political rights, while the latter were out and out slaves. The constitution on which the Spartan state was based provided for two kings as the fundamental political authorities, with predominantly priestly and military functions, twenty-eight gerontoi, five ephors, and the apella.
ÑGistit.dir 204 The gerousia, a council of Lacedaemonian elders appointed for life by the general assembly of the Spartiates, the apella, took decisions concerning peace and war, debated laws, administered the state, and even served as judges. The ephors, on the other hand, were elected by the people year by year on the recommendation of the gerousia and wielded executive power. The apella was made up of citizens over the age of thirty and elected the elders and ephors, but otherwise was limited to voting on the laws proposed by the gerousia.
ÑGistit.dir 205 ATHENS - In the archaic era Athens was ruled by a government of aristocrats, the College of nine archons, and by the Areopagus, an important council of aristocrats that took all the decisions. There was also the ekklesia, an assembly made up of small landowners and the DEMOS as well as nobles. However the first two classes were excluded from any other public post, and this inevitably led to major clashes with the aristocracy, which in fact held all the power. In 594 Solon was called on to reconcile these conflicts, introducing radical reforms in an attempt to bring about a broader participation of citizens in political life. The population was divided into four classes, no longer on the basis of birth but on that of wealth. Yet Solon's constitution did not remove all disagreements, since it still placed the government in the hands of a small number of wealthy persons, excluding the mass of people with no property.
ÑGistit.dir 206 Taking advantage of this difficult situation, tyranny was imposed on Athens as well, and was brought to an end only with the new constitution of Cleisthenes in 510 BC.
Cleisthenes classified the Athenians in a new way, dividing them up on the basis of their place of residence. Thus he created ten phylae or tribes, each of which sent its own representatives to the central organs of government. To ensure that the phylae were represented equally, Cleisthenes raised the number of members of all the magistratures to ten, divided the army into ten cohorts, and set up ten tribunals. Finally he created the boule, or Council of Five Hundred, which exercised all the most important functions and whose members were chosen by lot, fifty for each phyle. However proposed laws had to be submitted to the ekklesia, whose authority was thus strengthened to the point where it became the chief organ of the democratic state.
ÑGmappa.dir 201 ATHENS
ÑGmappa.dir 202 EPIDAURUS
ÑGmappa.dir 203 PAESTUM
ÑGmappa.dir 204 AGRIGENTO
ÑGmappa.dir 205 SYRACUSE
ÑGmappa.dir 206 DELPHI
ÑGmappa.dir 207 OLYMPIA
ÑGmil.dir 171 Attic vase with military scenes - Agrigento, Museo Archeologico
ÑGmil.dir 172 Procession with charioteer and hoplites from a funerary relief - Athens, National Museum
ÑGmil.dir 174 Funerary relief representing chariot - Athens - Museum of the Acropolis
ÑGmil.dir 175 Greek warrior
ÑGmil.dir 176 Scene of combat
ÑGmil.dir 177 Marble head with helmet - Athens, Museum of the Acropolis
ÑGmil.dir 178 Greek hoplite
ÑGmil.dir 179 Greek warrior
ÑGmil.dir 201 The greatest powers of classical Greece were Sparta and Athens, two city states with armies of their own equipped for offense and defense. Sparta had an extremely effective force of foot soldiers, while Athens's power was founded on its navy. The decline of Sparta's military power was essentially a consequence of the city's inability to recruit men in sufficient numbers to confront enemy armies, while the weakening of the Athenian navy was partly the cause of Athens's decline.
ÑGmil.dir 202 THE SPARTAN ARMY
It was one of the best organized and most powerful armies in classical Greece. From a very young age Spartiates were given a strict training that prepared them to face war and the privations of military life without fear. At the age of twenty they were recruited into the army, composed mainly of units of foot soldiers known as ╟hoplites,╚ and were only discharged after forty years of service. The army was led by one of the city's two kings and the heavy foot was split into regiments, each commanded by a polemarchos. Subordinate officers included the lochagoi (battalion commanders), pentecontarchoi (company commanders), andenomatarchoi (platoon commanders).
ÑGmil.dir 203 HELMET (kranos)
The Athenian hoplite of the fifth century BC was equipped with a helmet adorned with a crest. This had a nape guard and sometimes an extension in the middle and movable cheek guards to protect the face from blows. It was hemispherical in shape and lined on the inside, and weighed around two kg.
ÑGmil.dir 204 SHIELD (aspis)
The Attic shield of the classical age was circular in shape and convex, sometimes adorned with patterns or emblems. It could be made of bronze or of several layers of leather stretched over a metal framework. It weighed around eight kg and was almost a meter in diameter.
ÑGmil.dir 205 BREASTPLATE (thorax)
This was usually made of two pieces of metal held together by leather thongs or buckles at the sides. It was sometimes decorated with a schematic design imitating the musculature of the thorax. It weighed about fifteen kg. Corselets of leather or heavy linen reinforced with small metal plates were also common. Prior to the fifth century bronze armor was used to protect the legs, from the ankle to the knee.
ÑGmil.dir 206 SPEAR (doru)
This was one of the arms of offense most widely used by the Greeks since the time of Homer. About two meters long, it consisted of a wooden shaft with a metal tip of various shapes and weights attached to its end. It had a leather grip halfway down its length. The war javelin (acontion) was similar to the spear but smaller in size.
ÑGmil.dir 207 SWORD (xiphos)
The straight, double-edged sword was one of the weapons most commonly used by the Greeks in hand-to-hand fighting. Including the hilt, it could reach a length of 60 cm.
ÑGmil.dir 208 THE ATHENIAN ARMY
In the Athens of the time of Pericles (fifth century BC) the length of military service was forty-two years. Young Athenians were recruited into the army at the age of eighteen. From the age of thirty to fifty they were on active service and could be despatched on military campaigns outside Attica. During the final ten years they served, along with the epheboi (young military cadets) and metoikoi (foreigners permanently resident in the polis), as guards on the country's borders.
ÑGmil.dir 209 The hoplites were divided into ten units commanded by officers elected by the people tassiarchoi, with company commanders (lochagoi) serving under them. Originally the archon polemarchos was in supreme command of the army, but his place was taken later by the strategoi. After the battle of Marathon (490 BC), a corps of cavalry composed of men from the Athenian aristocracy was formed, along with the fleet. Military discipline was much less strict in Athens than in Sparta. With the exception of the ephebes, the greater part of the army did not serve on a permanent basis and the soldier was only called to arms in case of necessity, allowing him to carry on with his own private life and political career.
ÑGmorti.dir 171 Preparation of a sacrificial ceremony
ÑGmorti.dir 172 A burial ground in a nineteenth-century engraving
ÑGmorti.dir 173 Sepulchral monument representing Kthesiloe and Theanos - Athens, National Museum
ÑGmorti.dir 174 Sepulchral monument of unknown woman with maidservant
ÑGmorti.dir 201 Initially the Greeks used to practice both burial and cremation, but in the classical age the custom of burying the dead gained the upper hand. A coin was usually placed on the mouth of the dead body, to be used to pay Charon, the infernal ferryman who carried souls into the other world. The day after death, the body was laid out to be mourned by relatives and friends. On the third day the body was taken to the tomb, sometimes in a procession to the accompaniment of music and the cries of women hired for the purpose.
ÑGmorti.dir 202 After the last farewell, libations and sacrifices were offered to the dead, concluding in a funeral banquet in his or her honor. Similar offerings of drink and food were made on anniversaries of the death and on days dedicated to the cult of the dead. In fact the Greeks believed that the souls of the dead continued to live in the underworld and were cheered by the prayers and gifts offered up to them.
ÑGnavig.dir 171 Landing of Ulysses, drawing
ÑGnavig.dir 172 View of the Piraeus in a nineteenth-century engraving
ÑGnavig.dir 201 The need to develop trade in order to supplement scanty agricultural resources induced many noblemen to set sail for far-off lands. By the tenth and ninth century BC, Greek ships had already reached Cyprus and the coasts of Syria and southwestern Anatolia, where they purchased copper and precious objects made by goldsmiths. From the beginning of the eighth century onward, Greek merchants sailed westward as well, reaching the coasts of southern Italy and Sicily. The absence of charts and compasses made navigation at night extremely dangerous, and so they sailed only in the daytime and during good weather, trying never to lose sight of land. Very soon, however, Greek ships were plying the Tyrrhenian Sea as well, and thus established trade links with the Latins and Etruscans. From the latter in particular, they imported iron extracted from the mines on the island of Elba.
ÑGolimpia.dir 171 Olympia, the columns of the Buleterion
ÑGolimpia.dir 172 Olympia, the archeological area
ÑGolimpia.dir 173 The Olympic Games in a nineteenth-century engraving
ÑGolimpia.dir 174 Olympia, the archeological area
ÑGolimpia.dir 175 Facade of the Temple of Zeus Olympus: graphic reconstruction
ÑGolimpia.dir 176 The ruins of the temple of Zeus, 5th cent. BC - Olympia
ÑGolimpia.dir 177 Detail of the western pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia
ÑGolimpia.dir 178 Detail of the sculptural group from the eastern pediment of the Temple of Zeus
ÑGolimpia.dir 179 The interior of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia in a nineteenth-century engraving
ÑGolimpia.dir 180 The Temple of Hera, Olympia
ÑGolimpia.dir 181 Column of the Temple of Hera, Olympia
ÑGolimpia.dir 182 The Temple of Hera, general view
ÑGolimpia.dir 201 Near Olympia in Elis, the northwestern region of the Peloponnesus, there had been a sacred area ever since the Mycenean era. In the first millennium it became famous for the worship of Zeus and Hera. It was here that the Olympic Games were held every four years during the eighth century BC. The competitions, staged in honor of Zeus, attracted delegations from the whole of the Greek world. The winning athletes acquired great glory among the Greeks and their deeds were celebrated by illustrious poets and represented by famous sculptors. Heracles was considered the mythical founder of the games, but their reorganization took place from the eighth century onward, commencing in 776 BC.
ÑGolimpia.dir 202 At the same time the sanctuary was gradually given a more monumental appearance, with the construction of large buildings in the sixth century, a process that culminated in the erection of the gigantic temple of Zeus in the fifth century BC. The Macedonian and Hellenistic kings enriched Olympia with offerings and constructions, and the Romans did the same, especially from the time of Augustus onward. The center continued to prosper until the third century AD, but then went into a slow decline until 394, when a decree by Emperor Theodosius prohibited pagan cults and therefore the Olympic Games as well.
ÑGolimpia.dir 203 TEMPLE OF ZEUS
Designed by the architect Libo, it was built between 470 and 456. The temple is in the Doric style and surrounded by a colonnade. It was constructed out of poor-quality local stone and for this reason was embellished with stuccoes in bright colors, so that the blues and reds of the triglyphs contrasted with the dazzling white of the columns and walls.
ÑGolimpia.dir 204 Two groups of statues were set in the pediments: the one at the front housed a sculpture of the chariot race between the heroes Pelops and Oenomaus, while the western one represented the battle between the Lapithae and Centaurs. Finally the labors of Heracles were depicted on the metopes. Inside the temple, the naos housed the gigantic chryselephantine statue of Zeus Olympios carved by Phidias. The god, represented seated on a throne with a crown of olive sprigs, held a Victory in his right hand and a scepter with an eagle perched on it in his left.
ÑGolimpia.dir 205 TEMPLE OF HERA
Built during the sixth century BC, it is surrounded by Doric columns. Pausanias tells us that one of the pillars of the opisthodomos was made of oak and that ╟sixteen women╚, probably priestesses, used to weave a peplos for Hera every four years and held what were known as the Heran games. Only young women took part in these games, competing against one another in races. Like the men, the winners were rewarded with olive wreaths, but they also received a portion of the heifer sacrificed to Hera.
ÑGordini.dir 171 Temple of Castor and Pollux, detail - Agrigento
ÑGordini.dir 172 The Temple of Heracles, Agrigento
ÑGordini.dir 173 Ionic capital from the Temple of Artemide, Sardi
ÑGordini.dir 201 The orders of classical architecture probably had a common origin in the Mycenean civilization and then evolved in different ways among the various peoples who were the first to adopt them: the severe Dorians of Hellas and the refined Ionians of Asia Minor. The first sporadic and confused appearances of the ╟Doric╚ and ╟Ionic╚ orders date from the seventh century BC. It was from these two architectural orders that the ╟Corinthian╚ and, among the Romans, the ╟Composite╚ and ╟Tuscan╚ orders were later derived.
ÑGordini.dir 202 THE ╟DORIC╚ ORDER
This spread widely through Greece and the colonies in Sicily and southern Italy from the sixth century BC onward. It is characterized by a sturdy column with no base and deep fluting. Its diameter shrinks progressively toward the top, where it concludes in a capital of balanced and essential form. Above the archetype runs the typical frieze made up alternately of metopes (plain or figured) and triglyphs. It is likely that this order was derived in part from the wooden members of older temples.
ÑGordini.dir 203 THE ╟IONIC╚ ORDER
Of Oriental origin, it spread widely through Asia Minor and Attica. It is characterized by its typical capital with volutes, a base for the column with elegant concave and convex moldings, and an entablature that has a cornice with dentils and a continuous figured frieze of Attic origin. The slender columns of the Ionic order had more closely packed fluting than those of the Doric order.
ÑGordini.dir 204 THE ╟CORINTHIAN╚ ORDER
It originated in the fifth century BC and was only used sporadically in Greece up until the late Hellenistic period. However the Romans used it extensively, especially in the monuments of the Imperial age. It can be considered a variation of the Ionic order and is characterized by a capital with an elaborate decoration of acanthus leaves in addition to the typical volutes.
ÑGpaestu.dir 171 Paestum, the archeological area
ÑGpaestu.dir 172 The temple of Hera I, mid 6th cent. BC - Paestum
ÑGpaestu.dir 173 Temple of Hera I, detail of the lateral colonnade - middle of the 6th cent. BC, Paestum
ÑGpaestu.dir 174 Temple of Hera I, detail showing the interior of the colonnade
ÑGpaestu.dir 175 The Temple of Hera II in a nineteenth-century engraving
ÑGpaestu.dir 176 The Temple of Hera II, mid 5th cent. BC
ÑGpaestu.dir 177 Temple of Hera II, detail of the colonnade
ÑGpaestu.dir 178 Temple of Hera II, detail of the front
ÑGpaestu.dir 179 The Temple of Ceres, end of 6th cent. BC - Paestum
ÑGpaestu.dir 180 The Temple of Ceres, frontal view
ÑGpaestu.dir 201 Posidonia was founded around the middle of the seventh century BC by Achaean colonists from the city of Sybaris, on the coast of modern-day Calabria. Its favored position at the center of a fertile plain allowed it to attain a high level of prosperity, a situation that was assisted by trade with the Etruscans. However this was undermined toward the end of the fifth century, when Posidonia was besieged and conquered by the Lucanians, who changed its name to Paistom. In 273 BC Rome, after defeating the local peoples, founded a Latin colony known as Paestum.
ÑGpaestu.dir 202 TEMPLE OF HERA I
(called the Basilica)
The oldest of the temples still standing on the site, it was built around the middle of the sixth century BC. Like all Greek temples it is oriented toward the east. It has nine Doric columns at the front and eighteen on the sides. Parts of the architrave, of the Doric frieze, made of limestone and composed of triglyphs and metopes, and of the cornice with lion-head eaves have been preserved. Passing from the portico to the inside of the temple, one came into the pronaos, whose entrance consisted of three columns set between two pillars. The naos was set at a higher level than the pronaos and split into two naves by a row of seven columns, three of which are still standing. In the rear part of the naos a further division marked the area where the thesaurus of the temple was located.
ÑGpaestu.dir 203 TEMPLE OF HERA II
(called the Temple of Poseidon)
This is the biggest temple, as well as the best preserved, in the city. Constructed around the middle of the fifth century BC, it stands on a base with three steps and has a Doric colonnade, with six columns on the short sides and fourteen on the long ones. The architrave, frieze, and pediments are still in excellent condition. The interior of the temple is not complete but the gaps do not impede a perfect comprehension of its structure. After crossing the portico, one comes into the pronaos through an entrance made up of two columns set between the end pillars of the side walls.
ÑGpaestu.dir 204 TEMPLE OF CERES
This is a Doric temple surrounded by a colonnade. It dates from the end of the sixth century, and so is almost contemporary with the first of the two temples of Hera, and is remarkably similar in its structure and in the form of its columns. This temple has the unusual feature of a pediment made up solely of slanting cornices, with the horizontal one completely missing. The slanting cornices jut out strongly and have a decoration of lacunars. The eaves, now in the local museum, have lion heads alternating with palmettes and lotus flowers in relief. The frieze, finally, is decorated with ovuli and continuous wave moldings. The temple has a very simple plan with a rectangular naos preceded by a vestibule that had eight Ionic columns.
ÑGscult.dir 171 Kore from the Museum of the Acropolis
ÑGscult.dir 172 The athletes Cleobis and Bython, detail - Delphi, Archeological Museum
ÑGscult.dir 173 Ephebe of Kritios, 5th cent. BC - Athens, Museum of the Acropolis
ÑGscult.dir 174 Bronze of athlete, detail - Syracuse, Museo Nazionale
ÑGscult.dir 175 Bronze representing an athlete - Syracuse, Museo Nazionale
ÑGscult.dir 176 Sculpture in bronze representing Poseidon, ca. 460 BC - Athens, Archeological Museum
ÑGscult.dir 177 Praxiteles: Hermes with the Child Dionysus - Olympia, Archeological Museum
ÑGscult.dir 201 Over the course of the centuries Greek sculpture underwent a gradual process of transformation, passing from the static representations of the archaic era (seventh-sixth century BC) to the more dynamic and harmonious figures of the mature and late classical era (fifth-fourth century). At this time the human figure was represented in all its natural beauty, in a harmony of composition that had no precedent.
ÑGscult.dir 202 Artists of incomparable genius, whose names have often come down to us, began to express human movement and states of mind in marble and bronze. The most illustrious artists of the fifth century were Phidias, Myron, and Polycleitus. Among the most famous names of the following century we find Scopas, Praxiteles, and Lysippus. Later, in the Hellenistic era, some of the greatest sculptural masterpieces of all time were realized, works filled with movement, expressiveness, and energy such as the Victory of Samothrace and the famous LaocoÜn.
ÑGsira.dir 171 The Ear of Dionysus, Syracuse
ÑGsira.dir 172 Syracuse, the archeological area
ÑGsira.dir 173 The Temple of Apollo, end of 7th cent. BC - Syracuse
ÑGsira.dir 174 The Temple of Apollo, detail
ÑGsira.dir 175 The Greek Theater, Syracuse
ÑGsira.dir 176 The Greek Theater, detail
ÑGsira.dir 201 According to tradition the city was founded around 733 BC by colonists from Corinth. One of the earliest areas occupied by the settlement was the small peninsula of Orthygia, which in antiquity was connected with the mainland by a narrow isthmus that later disappeared. The location was ideal owing to the presence of fresh water (the famous Arthusa spring), the ease of landing, and the possibility of controlling the plains further inland from a protected position. At the same time the settlement began to spread onto the mainland.
ÑGsira.dir 202 The agora has been located with certainty close to the point where the coast was linked to Orthygia by the isthmus, and was therefore situated at a nodal point of the city. In the classical and Hellenistic ages Syracuse underwent considerable expansion and new districts were built. The upper part of the city, the Epipolis, was never inhabited and was used for such grand defensive works as the famous Euryhal Castle. The theaters were located further down, near the Hill of Apollo Temenites.
ÑGsira.dir 203 TEMPLE OF APOLLO
The temple of Apollo was built in the northern part of the peninsula of Orthygia toward the end of the seventh century BC. Set on a stylobate with three steps, a colonnade delimits the naos, which has an elongated plan and a pronaos with two columns. The naos was divided up into three naves by a double row of columns, smaller in size than the ones on the outside, arranged in two orders and intended to support the roof. On the outside, above the Doric frieze, there was a coping of architectural terra-cottas painted white, red, and black.
ÑGsira.dir 204 THEATER
The phase of construction that resulted in the present appearance of this splendid monument dates from the Hellenistic period, when the theater was completely rebuilt. Further modifications were made in the Roman era but without altering the previous layout. The impressive semicircular cavea has tiers of seating divided by a single corridor (diazoma), on whose walls were engraved the names of the gods of Olympus and the rulers of Syracuse, used to distinguish the various sectors of the theater.
ÑGsira.dir 205 The noble seats (proedria) were the ones in the front row, around the orchestra. The members of the chorus entered the orchestra through two entrances (parodoi) at the sides of the stage. The latter was of the classical type with a back wall adorned with columns and a few caryatides. The alterations made in the Roman era were confined mainly to the cavea and, to some extent, the stage, which was set forward so that it encroached on the area of the orchestra.
ÑGteatro.dir 171 The Theater of Dionysus in Athens, graphic reconstruction
ÑGteatro.dir 172 The Theater of Dionysus, Athens
ÑGteatro.dir 173 The Theater of Ephesus, detail
ÑGteatro.dir 174 The Theater of Ephesus, view of the exterior
ÑGteatro.dir 175 The Theater of Dionysus: detail of relief with telamon
ÑGteatro.dir 201 In its most mature form, the theater probably originated sometime between the sixth and fifth century BC in Athens, where important theatrical competitions were held in honor of Dionysus. By the middle of the fifth century these buildings had spread all over Greece. The fundamental elements of the Greek theater were the orchestra, koilon, and skene. The orchestra was a circular space in which the chorus stood. At an uncertain date it became the practice for certain actors to separate from the chorus and perform on the logeion, a stage that was set in front.
ÑGteatro.dir 202 The koilon was the space for the spectators, and consisted of tiers of seating set against a natural slope or carved out of the rock, giving the theater perfect acoustics. The front row (proedria), with comfortable seats, was reserved for the more illustrious members of the audience. Finally the skene was a construction, often longer than the orchestra, with a complex and rich facade that served as a backdrop for the spectators as well as housing dressing rooms.
ÑGtempio.dir 171 The Parthenon at the time of Pericles in a nineteenth-century engraving
ÑGtempio.dir 172 Graphic reconstruction and vertical section of a temple of the Doric order
ÑGtempio.dir 173 Detail of the entablature of a Greek temple from a nineteenth-century watercolor
ÑGtempio.dir 174 Detail of the entablature of a Greek temple from a nineteenth-century watercolor
ÑGtempio.dir 175 Detail of the entablature of a Greek temple from a nineteenth-century watercolor
ÑGtempio.dir 176 Detail of the facade of a Greek temple from a nineteenth-century watercolor
ÑGtempio.dir 201 For the Greeks the temple was not a place to be used for meetings of the faithful, but the house of god, the place where the statue of the deity, the altar for sacrifices, and the sacred objects of worship were kept. It was generally small in size, with no windows, and often with openings only in the upper part. It stood on a stepped base and the main front was decorated with a row of columns. One or more rows of columns might also be ranged along the rear or completely surround the building. The cella (naos), an enclosed room with painted walls, was the most important part of the temple. In front of the door of the cella stood the statue of the deity and the altar for sacrifices and offerings. This space in front of the cella was called the pronaos. The temple's facade was crowned with a triangular pediment adorned with statues.
ÑGtempio.dir 202 The development of democracy in Athens and above all the subdivision of land among heirs reduced the number and size of the large estates and in the fifth century BC Attica was farmed mainly by small landowners. While there was never enough wheat and barley to feed the whole population, ancient Greece was the main exporter of oil and wine in the Mediterranean. The most widely cultivated fruit was probably the fig. Vegetables were generally considered a luxury and did not form part of the diet of the poorest members of the population.
