Temples Flashcards
What was the sanctuary wand what elements did it contain?
The sanctuary was a holy area that contained a temple and an altar dedicated to a God.
What were the temples used for?
It was a home for a God and housed their cult statue in the main room (naos/cella), but only the priests were allowed to enter it.
Where was the altar?
The altar was most commonly placed on an East to West axis because that is where the sun rose and set.
What sculpture was on a temple?
There was a pediment and a frieze and they could have sculptures related to the city they were built or to the Greeks as a whole civilisation.
What is the opisthodomos and what was its use in a Greek temple?
The opisthodomos was the room at the back of the temple and it stored all of the treasuries and offerings to the Gods.
What is the stylobate?
The stylobate was the platform the temple was sat on.
What is the pronaos?
The pronaos was the room at the front of the temple.
What is the naos/cella?
The naos in Greek is the main room that housed the cult statue and its Roman name is the cella.
What is the pediment?
The triangular space at the front and back of the temple that was usually decorated.
What are the metopes?
The square sections on a frieze of a doric temple.
What is the freize?
The band that runs around the entire temple that can be decorated in a Doric or Ionic style.
What is the triglyph?
It’s the section on a Doric style frieze that has three grooves.
Where was the Temple of Zeus located?
The sanctuary of Altis at Olympia.
What order was The Temple of Zeus?
Doric
What was special about the sanctuary of Altis?
It was Pan-Hellenic which meant that all Greek people could go there.
What story is shown on The Temple of Zeus’s East pediment?
Pelops and Hippodamia.
What story is shown on The Temple of Zeus’s West pediment?
The centaurs vs The Lapiths.
What is shown on the Temple of Zeus’s metopes?
The twelve labours of Herakles.
Where does The Parthenon get its name from?
Parthenos which means virgin as Athena had a virgin birth.
What order was The Parthenon?
Doric because it had pediments on both sides and metopes.
What special features does it have?
It has an ionic continuous frieze.
What story is shown on the East pediment of The Parthenon?
The birth of Athena.
What story is shown on the West pediment of The Parthenon?
The patronage for Athens.
What story is shown on The Parthenon’s North metopes?
The Trojan War.
