Athens, Ancient Greece

Athens, Ancient Greece

Religious Architecture 
Annalyn Markley

The overall function of this building is to worship the god or goddess which this temple was made for. The ancient Greeks were very interested in sharing their respects to their gods and felt temples brought them closer to the immortals. Each temple would have slight differences according to the god or goddess it was made for. For example, the temple of Zeus in Olympia featured a giant statue of the Zeus while the temple of Athena had a statue of Athena.

Elevation Plan

  The elevation plan showcases steps going up to the main temple where one is met with five Doric columns on the facade and the ten Doric columns on the side of the temple. Above the columns is the entablature and the pediment. On the pediment, three statues are featured. If painted in it's original state, these statues would be very pigmented with bold and loud colors. However, overtime the color has faded to a white. Past the columns is the pronaos and the main building of the temple where the cella and adyton are held. 

  The Doric columns are made up of many parts. The main one being the shaft (the actual column). Above the shaft sits the necking, then echinus (the rounder support) and abacus (the square like support). The entablature on top of the columns is made up of many parts as well. The section immediately above the column is called the architrave. The sectioned off parts above the architrave are the triglyph and the metope. Friezes can be found on the metopes of this temple. Finally, the portion of the entablature separating it from the pediment is the cornice.  

Floor Plan 

While looking at my floor plan of a temple in Athens, one first sees the row of columns lining the outer wall. Five columns are on the facade and ten are on the sides.  Inside the wall of columns is the main building where the entrance is at the far right side. When entering, it is shown that the visitor would first come across the pronaos. After the pronaos is the cella where four columns are featured in the front of the room. Finally, after the cella is the adyton where the statue of the temple's god or goddess is held. 

  The pronaos is always the entrance of a temple. It is positioned between the columns and the entrance to the actual building. The cella is the main floor of the temple where guests make their offerings and worship the god or goddess they are reaching out to. This area of the temple is also usually the largest room. Finally, the adyton is the innermost portion of the temple that holds  the shrine to the god or goddess.