Religion and the City: Temples Flashcards
Greece and Rome
What was a sanctuary?
- holy area in a settlement
- contained a temple and alter to a god
- separated from city by wall
- Could have temples and alters to more than one deity
- fresh water source to remove polltion
Greece (and Rome?)
How were people deemed polluted before entering a temple - so they had to cleanse themselves?
Discouraged favour of gods,
Sanctuary could be polluted by a polluted person visitting – someone who is impure
Person could be polluted for a number of reasons:
* came into contact with a dead person
* come into contact with a new-born
* committed homicide
Pollution could last a number of days or be removed immediately with a wash
Greece and Rome
What was a temple?
A building dedicated to a god and used to house the cult statue of that god.
A house that gave the gods a residence on earth for when they left Olympus
Greece
Who was allowed in a temple?
Only the priests
Greece and Rome
What was the function of the altar?
Where the sacrifice and offering to the god took place
Greece and Rome
Most common orientation of the temple
East to west
Same axis as the alter it served
Greece
Identify the numbered places
Image from https://www.reed.edu/glam/studyguides/temples/overview-styles.html
- Stereobate
- Stylobate
- Colonnade
- Pranaos
- Cella, or Naos
- Opisthodomus
- Anta
- Columns in Antis
Greece
Temple building
- Sizes vary
- East to West
- Built on a solid foundation plinth – provided steps, gave granduer
- Colonnade on foundation plinth, ran around temple, supported roof
- Cella or naos housed cult statue
- Opisthodomos held treasure acuired in war and offerings
Greece
Opisthodomos
Rear of temple, held all treasure acuired in war and offerings to the gods
Greece
Cella, naos
Room that housed the cult statue
Greece
Areas that were decorated on a temple
Pediments and friezes
Greece
Pediment
Traingular space at either end of temple, could be left blank or have a sculpture
Greece
Ionic frieze
A continuous strip of stone or marbe that runs around a temple.
Good for telling continuous story, or using many characters
Parthenon
Greece
Doric frieze
Continuous strip of stone or marble divided into metopes
Good for several stories or several scenes from a story
Temple of Zeus, Olympia
Parthenon
Greece
Hiereus
‘one who sacrifices to a god’
A Greek priest
Greece
Hiereia
‘one who sacrifices to a god’
A Greek priestess
Who attended the Temple of Apollo at Delphi
Both priests and priestesses
Greece
Priesthood
Temporary role
No training
Could last a year, life, or just for a festival
Citizens becae priests at least once to show committment to city
Ovarsaw correct ritual at correct time, and assisted in upkeep of temple
Importance varied based on who the god was and where the temple was
Greece
Instances of priests being given honoury positions
Priestess of Demeter in Olympia was only woman allowed to watch the Olympic Games
Priest of Dionysus in Athens sat in front row at City Dionysia
Greece
Manteis
soothsayers
predict future
Omens read by looking at entrails of sacrificed animals – blemishes or imperfection meant bade sign
A mantis would accompany the army and make a reading before battle
Greece
Augery
Predict future by reading flight of birds
Greece
Offering
- Gifts of money
- Dedications of songs
- War booty
- Gift of food – commonly a blood sacrifice
Greece
Sacrifical animals
wealth
Households may restrict sacrifices to cheap animals, chickens, piglets
Cities would spare no expense, the biggest would be a hecatomb (100 oxen)
Sacrifice
A planned ritual with several stages that had to be done correctly.
Divided into three parts:
* The preparation
* The kill
* The sharing of the sacrifice
Greece
Hecatomb
100 oxen sacrifice
Approximate cost of 8,000 drachmae (34 kilos of silver)
Panathenaia and Olympic Games
Greece: sacrifce
Explain the preparation sequence
Sacrifice
- All participants clean – no pollution– and wear best clothes
- Garlands or twigs worn depending on type of sacrifice
- Attendants lead animals to altar
- Horns were gilded
- Number of attendants varied
- Once procession reached sanctuary the participants cleanse themselves with water again and gather around the altar
- Fire lit
- Participants take handful of grain and
- sacrificer pours water on head of animal
- Chief sacrificer utters a prayer to the god and the other participants throw grain into fire to confirm participation
Greece
Attenants at sacrifice
- Musicians to calm the animal
- Water bearers
- Maid who carried a basket full of barley grains or cakes, and the hidden sacrifical knife
Number varied, but water bearers, and musicians necessary
Greece
Why did the sacrificer pour water over the animal’s head
Caused it to nod, as animal had to be seen to agree to the sacrifice
Greece
The Kill
Sacrifice
- Chief sacrificer take knife and remove some of the animal’s hairs, throwing them in the fire
- animal’s throat cut
- Large animals – bowl collected the blood
- Small animals – held over the alter
- The blood had to be poured over the alter
- Women let out high pitched scream to mark animal’s passage from life to death
Greece
The Sharing of the Sacrifice
- None of animal wasted
- God received their portion first – aniaml’s thigh bones removed and wrapped in fat, then burned on the alter, while wine was poured on the fire
- Entrails then read for omens, then cooked and sahred among immediate community
- Remaining meat was cooked and shared with the community
- Once feast finished, animal skin given to the sanctuary
Greece
How often was meat eaten
Rarely
At sacrifice
What did the Persians burn during the sack of Athens?
- The city to the ground
- Including Acropolis
Which state was the head of the Delian League?
Athens
What was the Delian League?
Naval allience lead by Athens.
What did the Delian League become?
Athenian Empire
Who was Pericles?
The leading politicien of Athens
Where did Pericles move the Delian League treasury from?
Neutral island of Delos
Where did Pericles move the Delian League treasury to?
Why?
Athens
Because it showed off the power of Athens
What did Athens use the Delian League treasury for?
Extensive and remarkable buildings
What was the Acropolis?
The sanctuary dedicated to Athena
What did Pericles want Athens to become?
The architectural centre of the known world.
The Parthenon was the most prominent building
What did the Parthenon become?
The location of the Athenian Empire’s treasury
Who was the lead architects of the Parthenon?
Phidias, Iktinos, and Kallikrates, although Pericles approved the plans.
Describe the location of the Parthenon
- Part of the sanctuary of Athena
- On the Acropolis
- Had several buidling a sculptures focused on Athena
- On entering, you would see a huge statue to Athena Promachos
- In the south-eastern corner was the small temple to Athena Nike
- North was the Erechtheion
- South-eastern side dedicated to Athena Parthenos
- All temple worship Athena Polias
- Altar to Athena Polias on eastern side between Erechtheion and Parthenon
Dimensions of the Parthenon
69.5 metres x 30.9 metres
What were the simalarities of the Parthenon and other Greek Temples?
- It was oriented east to west
- It stood on a three-stepped base
- It was surrounded by a colonnade
- It had a naos and opisthodomus
What was unique about the Parthenon’s architecture?
It had a another row of parallel coloumns behind the external façade to support the Ionic frieze
What were the Parthenon’s styles?
Doric and Ionic
What was the Parthenon made of?
Marble
What was the Parthenon dedicated to?
The godess Athena
What was the Parthenon’s function?
Temple and treasury
What was the Parthenon’s Significance?
The building and its decoration symbolised the power of Athens
How big was the frieze of the Parthenon?
165 metres in length and went around the whole Parthenon
Why was the second frieze of the Parthenon added?
To increase the grandeur of the building
What was the Acropolis’s main temple?
the Erechtheion
What was in the Erechtheion
A small wooden statue of Athena Polias
What was outside the Erechthion?
What was it used for?
- The Altar of Athena Polias
- It was used for sacrifices
What do the following terms mean?
* Promachos
* Nike
* Parthenos
* Polias
- To go before battle
- Victory
- The virgin
- Of the city
Did the Parthenon have an altar of priesthood?
No
How did the Parthenon honour Athena?
Through its sculptures depicting stories about Athena
What did the Parthenon’s decorations reflect from Athena?
Her greatness
How does Pausanias describe the Parthenon?
(Quote)
As you enter the temple that they name the Parthenon, all the sculptures you see what is called the pediment refer to the birth of Athena, those on the rear pediment represent the contest for the land between Athena and Poseidon
What was on the eastern pediment above the entrance to the Parthenon?
The birth of Athena
What was on the western pediment above the entrance to the Parthenon?
The contest for the naming of Athens
Who were to contestants for the naming of Athens?
Athena and Posiedon
Who won the contest of the name of Athens?
Athena
What was the height of the statue of Athena in the Parthenon?
13 metres tall
Who designed the statue of Athena for the Parthenon?
Phidias
When was the statue of Athena added to the Parthenon?
438 BC
Pausainias’s decription of the statue of Athena in the Parthenon.
(quote)
‘The statue itself is made of ivory and gold. On the middle of her helmet is placed a likeness of the Sphix … and on either side of the helmet are griffins in relief … The statue of Athena is upright, with a tunic reaching her feet, and on her breast the head of Medusa is worked in iivory. She holds a statue of Victory … and in the other hand a spear; at her feet lies a shield and near the spear is a serpent.’
Temple of Zeus location
Sanctuary at Olympia called the Altis
When was the Temple of Zeus at Olympia’s building begun, when was it finished
c. 472BC-c.456BC
When were the Olympics allegedly founded?
776BC
Age of the alter at the Temple of Zeus at Olympia
As old as the olympics (776BC) so older than the temple
Present about 200 years before temple
Pausanius’ description of the alter to Zeus
- Built by Hercules or later heroes
- made of ash of thighs of victims
- only men can climb to the top
- sacrifice held daily by Eleans and often by others as well
- annually the soothsayers daub it in the ash from the town-hall
hecatomb at alter to Zeus
100 oxen on third day of Olympics
how the alter of Zeus at Olympia grew
The ash left by the sacrifice built up over time, and by Pausanias’ day, 925 years after the Olympics were founded, it was some 7 metres high
Eastern pediment of the Temple of Zeus
myth of Oinomaos and Pelops
Centre is Zeus – god of justice
Either side is Oinomaos and Pelops, either side of whom are the king’s daughter Hippodamia and his wife Sterope, followed by the horses, which fit the triangular pediment (although they are a little small) and after the two great rivers (personified) Kladeos and Alpheios
Identify
Pelops and Oinomaos – east pediment of the temple of Zeus, Olympia
What were sculpted into the six east and west metopes of the temple of Zeus
12 Labours of Heracles
Cult statue of Zeus
- 13m high
- sat on a gold and ivory throne
- garland of olive shoots
- victory in right hand – ivory, gold, wears a ribbon and a garland
- made of ivory and gold
- left hand is a cepture of ‘every kind of metal’, upon which sits an eagle
- Gold sandals and robe
- On robe are figures of animals and lilies
Who designed the cult statue of Zeus at Olympia
Where
Phidias in his workshop to the west of the Altis
When was the cult statue of Zeus added to the temple at Olympia
448BC
What was the function and what was it that lay in front of the statue of Zeus
a pool of olive oil that helped maintain the ivory on the statue and would have created a shimmering reflection
Were Roman priests appointed to a single temple
No, unlike the Greeks
Rome
Temple building
- east to west
- placed on a podium (Etruscan influence), could only enter from front
- collonade on podium ran around temple – semi-engaged at side and rear
- cella – main room that housed the god
ROME
What was the main function of the Roman priests?
- Uphold the state religion by maintenance of the pax deorum
- (peace of the gods)
Rome
How was the pax deorum maintained?
correct prayer
appropriate sacrifice
fulfilling role at festivals
meaning of do ut des?
- I give, so that you give.
- This helps explain the relationship between gods and men in the Roman world - sacrifice to the gods to expect favours in return
Rome
What was a Roman priest’s job like
- veiled heads when engaged in rites
- part time - could engage in business and politics
- helped with political career making
Rome
What were the main priest colleges?
- pontifices
- Augurs
- Vestals
Rome
Characteristics of the Augurs
- Originated in Greece
- Main role: take the auspices (flight of birds, behaviour of animals, direction of the thunder) to assess the gods’ will
- Auspices taken particularly before battle, marriage, or business transaction
- Romulus and Remus took the auspices to know where to found Rome: Remus went first and had 6 vultures; he took the Aventine. Romulus had 12 vultures and took the Palatine. Their followers argued leading to fighting and Remus’ death. (Not very auspicious we could say…)
augur - from augerium, the interpretation of omens
Image - Etruscan augur
Rome
Main characteristics of the pontifices college
- Means ‘bridge builder’ between gods and man
- Most important priest college
- Commonly 15 members
- Headed by Pontifex Maximus - life long
- Pontifex Maximus was elected by other pontifices
- Following Augustus - held by the Emperor
- Roles: protect temples
- Regulate burial and inheritance laws
- Supervision of the religious calendar - giving the pontifices immense power
Rome
Characteristics of the Vestal Virgins
- Only major female priesthood in Rome
- Six priestesses dedicated to Vesta, goddess of the hearth
- Lived in the House of the Vestals, located in the Roman Forum - a hub of social and political activity
- Selected by the Pontifex Maximus, girls aged between 6 and 10 - had to have both parents living, and be healthy;
- Be from Rome’s most presitigious families
- Be a priestess for 30 years and take a vow of chastity
- Protect the sacred flame, brought from Troy’s ashes by Aeneas, and housed in the Temple of Vesta (if the flame went out, Rome would fall)
- The Temple also held wills and treaties
- Privileges: front row at certain games; free from paternal authority; able to make a will
- Punishments: if the flame went out, they were whipped; if they broke their chastity, they were buried alive while their lover would be whipped to death.
What were the Haruspex?
Augurs of Etruscan origin
Specialists in
1. observing how an animal fell,
2. examine the smoke and flames when cooked,
3. read the entrails
Rome
What was the Temple of Portunus (Fortuna Virilis)
Wrongly attributed to the Fortuna Virilis (manly fortune).
- Portunus - God of harbours.
- Constructed 120-80 BC
- Located in Forum Boarium (cattle market) next to the Tiber and a Roman harbour
- Altar - at the foot of the steps, but no longer exists
- Plan: best example of Roman templed drawn from the Greeks (porch and free standing columns) and sEtruscan (the podium and steps).
- Semi-engaged columns (half exposed) attached to the cella (Gk: room at the centre of the building - esp in a temple)
ROME
Characteristics of the Pantheon
- Means “all gods” - though even Cassius Dios thought it was called such because of its vaulted roof, compared to the statues of many gods
- Commissioned by Augustus
- Built by general Marcus Agrippa between 27-25 B.C.
- Location: Campus Martius - large expanse where army would meet before campaigns; elections; and where Romans would exercise
- Plan: starts following typical plan - small plinth, free standing columns at front, semi-engaged at rear; then differs with an unique rotunda and an oculus at the top. (An amazing feat of engineering at its time - still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome!)
- Decoration: later Hadrian rebuilt it in 126 AD (orig. burnt down) and restored the original inscription that Agrippa built it.
- Cult statues - the internal structure changed with culture over time - the original plan allowed for several gods; after 609AD it became Christian.
ROME
Who is the main official in the image and how do you know?
Pontifex Maximus - he is veiling his head with his toga and is about to receive the popa (held by a man to the right).
ROME
Specifically where was the Temple of Vesta?
Roman Forum.
Rome
Name two roles for the Vestal Virgins
- Protect the sacred flame believed to be have been brought from the ashes of Troy by Aeneas.
- Make the mola salsa that was to be sprinkled on the heads of animals.
Others: keep wills and treaties. The only women allowed to testify@court
Rome
Why were the Vestal Virgins important to the state?
Maintaining the sacred flame, which, if it were to die out would bring the fall of Rome itself.
Rome
Preparation for sacrifice
Preparation: chosen participants to be clean and healthy; dress in best clothes; animal had horns gilded or ribbons tied to it; animal led to alter, priest would cover head; flute players added background music
Rome
Kill of the Sacrifice
Kill: mola salsa sprinkled on head and wine; animal would nod (from the wine, but taken as an agreement); priest offers prayer; strikes animal with popa and cultrarius slits throat. Needs to be a single blow.
Rome
sharing of the sacrifice
- Sharing: priest offers prayer in the god’s name; gods receive first share; entrails read by haruspex, cooked and then offered to gods. The remains were shared amongst the community: in a public ceremonly - first the priests, then the senate, other elites.
- The sharing reinforced the notion of community and communal spirit. Meat apparently was not a common part of Roman diet - hence it was a special occasion
