Places of Worship

Question 1

What was on the friezes of the Parthenon?

Answer 1

Panathenaic procession on one and four mythical battles: gigantomachy, centauromachy, amazonomachy, trojan war on the other (also on the statue of Athene Parthenos)

Question 2

What is on the pediments of the Parthenon?

Answer 2

Athene’s birth on one side and her competition with Poseidon over Athens on the other

Question 3

Indications that the Parthenon wasn’t purely religious

Answer 3

No altar attached to it, Athene Parthenos didn’t originally have a priestess. Large amounts of gold/silver objects were stored inside the Parthenon which could be ‘borrowed’ in times of need ie. the gold on the shoulder of the chryselephantine statue of Athene was melted down and used to pay for the Peloponnesian war against Sparta

Question 4

Other sanctuary on the Acropolis

Answer 4

the Erechtheion- believed to be the home of a serpent, a representation of the mythical king Kekrops of Athens. Moreover dedicated to Erechtheios

Question 5

What was the Erechtheion used for?

Answer 5

the Plynteria (cleaning festival) and the Panathenaia

Question 6

Who was Delphi run by?

Answer 6

the Amphictyonic League- a local association of Greeks

Question 7

Delphi was the…

Answer 7

omphalos (belly button)

Question 8

Locations within the sanctuary at Delphi

Answer 8

the Temple of Apollo, the Sacred Way, the theatre, the stadium (outside the temenos)

Question 9

Buildings along the sacred way

Answer 9

treasuries, stoas and monuments set up by city-states from all over the Greek world

Question 10

Example of monuments along the sacred way used by city-states to compete

Answer 10

Athens’ monument to commemorate their victory against the Persians at the Battle of Marathon. When Spartans had defeated the Athenians at the Peloponnesian Wars, they set up a monument of 38 statues directly opposite.

Question 11

Example of monuments being used to show unity of city-states

Answer 11

the Serpent Column: erected to thank Apollo for helping allied forces fight a Persian army at the Battle of Plataea

Question 12

Boundary for the sanctuary at Delphi

Answer 12

temenos

Question 13

Example of religion mixed with sport

Answer 13

inscription forbidding the removal of sacrificial wine from the stadium

Question 14

The right to consult the oracle first

Answer 14

promanteia

Question 15

Payment to consult the oracle

Answer 15

pelanos- small sacrificial cake

Question 16

Who controlled Olympia?

Answer 16

under the authority of the city Eleusis

Question 17

Boundary wall for Olympia

Answer 17

Altis

Question 18

Main buildings at Olympia

Answer 18

the Temple of Zeus, the Echo Stoa, the stadium and the ash altar of Zeus

Question 19

Pediments of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia

Answer 19

chariot race between Pelops (Zeus’ grandson) and Oinomaos- founding myth of the Olympic Games on one and the centauromachy on the other

Question 20

Metopes of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia

Answer 20

12 labours of Hercules- son of Zeus and founder of the Olympic Games

Question 21

Statue inside the Temple of Zeus at Olympia

Answer 21

Pheidias’ statue of Zeus- cryselephantine- shows his supremacy

Question 22

Religiosity of the Olympic Games

Answer 22

Ash-altar of Zeus, running races always finished facing the Altis. There was even an oracle of Zeus there

Question 23

The Echo Stoa at Olympia

Answer 23

Dates to the mid 4th century and was almost 100m long. Held competition for trumpeters and heralders on the 1st day of the Olympics. Place to meet and set out stalls to do business.

Question 24

How long were the Olympic Games?

Answer 24

5 days, only Greeks could compete

Question 25

Scott Olympia

Answer 25

more a ‘busy sanctuary’ than only about the games.

Question 26

Scott Delphi

Answer 26

‘the oracle was but one of a number of activities at the sanctuary’

Question 27

Sanctuaries as places to compete with other states

Answer 27

Snodgrass, Marinatos, Morgan

Question 28

Significance of location of the treasuries at Olympia

Answer 28

on the way to the stadium= maximum visibility and self-promotion

Question 29

Athenian treasury

Answer 29

located at a sharp-turn in the Sacred Way, where most worshippers were likely to have stopped to rest, its marble exterior would have stood out in the sanctuary. In front of it stood a stoa, set up by the Athenians, which was on the plateau directly below the Temple of Apollo, meaning that worshipers would have waited here for their turn to consult the oracle

Question 30

Siphnian treasury

Answer 30

made entirely of marble and decorated with elaborate sculptures and caryatids on the facade. Impressive appearance exaggerated by its location next to the sacred way

Question 31

When could one consult the oracle?

Answer 31

on the first day of the month for nine months

Question 32

How the Pythia responded

Answer 32

sources differ about whether she raved incoherent noises and words that a priest then deciphered, or whether her responses were comprehensible

Question 33

Why did Greeks consult the oracle?

Answer 33

Economic, physical and time-cost for individuals and city-states to consult the oracle suggest there must have been a genuine trust in and appreciation of the advice given by the oracle.
Consultants doubtless valued the journey to Delphi as much as the response by the Pythia, giving them time to think and discuss them with strangers they would meet.
State queries would likely have benefited from the gathering of people from all around the world- sharing of information.

Question 34

Origin of the ash altar at Olympia

Answer 34

apparently here that Zeus struck his lightning bolt from Mount Olympus in Northern Greece. Reminds us that the Games, although athletic in nature, were dedicated in honour of Zeus; they were a religious affair

Question 35

Treasuries at Olympia

Answer 35

On the northern side of the Altis, before entering the stadium, are a series of twelve treasuries. All but two are dedicated by city-states from outside the Greek mainland, showing the Panhellenic appeal of this sanctuary. Their prime location on the way to the stadium meant maximum visibility and self-promotion

Question 36

the stadium at Olympia

Answer 36

Held running races, combat and field events.

Question 37

Significance of the Olympic games

Answer 37

a way to assert one’s Greek identity, since only Greeks could compete in these games

Question 38

Marinatos games

Answer 38

‘not only a means of establishing inter-state superiority but intra-state prestige as well’

Question 39

Marinatos monuments

Answer 39

‘art was also a means of competition’