| TEMPLE
OF ZEUS AT OLYMPIA |
Severe, a
Doric temple from the Early Classical period (470-457 B.C.), designed by
Libon from Elis.
Pausanias 5.10.3 ff.:
The temple and the image were made for Zeus from spoils, when Pisa was crushed
in war by the Eleans, and with Pisa such of the subject peoples as conspired
together with her. The image itself was wrought by Pheidias, as is testified
by an inscription written under the feet of Zeus: Pheidias, son of Charmides,
an Athenian, made me. The temple is in the Doric style, and the outside
has columns all around it. It is built of native stone. Its height up to
the pediment is sixty-eight feet, its breadth is ninety-five, its length
two hundred and thirty. The architect was Libon, a native. The tiles are
not of baked earth, but of Pentelic marble cut into the shape of tiles.
The invention is said to be that of Byzes of Naxos. |
| East pediment
|
Pausanias
5.10.8 ff.:
To come to the pediments: in the front pediment there is, not yet begun,
the chariot-race between Pelops and Oenomaus, and preparation for the actual
race is being made by both. An image of Zeus has been carved in about the
middle of the pediment; on the right of Zeus is Oenomaus with a helmet on
his head, and by him Sterope his wife, who was one of the daughters of Atlas.
Myrtilus too, the charioteer of Oenomaus, sits in front of the horses, which
are four in number. After him are two men. They have no names, but they
too must be under orders from Oenomaus to attend to the horses.At the very
edge lies Cladeus, the river which, in other ways also, the Eleans honor
most after the Alpheius. On the left from Zeus are Pelops, Hippodameia,
the charioteer of Pelops, horses, and two men, who are apparently grooms
of Pelops. Then the pediment narrows again, and in this part of it is represented
the Alpheius. The name of the charioteer of Pelops is, according to the
account of the Troezenians, Sphaerus, but the guide at Olympia called him
Cillas. The sculptures in the front pediment are by Paeonius, who came from
Mende in Thrace. |
| West pediment
|
Pausanias
5.10.8 ff.:
Those [sculptures] in the back pediment are by Alcamenes,6 a contemporary
of Pheidias, ranking next after him for skill as a sculptor. What he carved
on the pediment is the fight between the Lapithae and the Centaurs at the
marriage of Peirithous. In the center of the pediment is Peirithous. On
one side of him is Eurytion, who has seized the wife of Peirithous, with
Caeneus bringing help to Peirithous, and on the other side is Theseus defending
himself against the Centaurs with an axe. One Centaur has seized a maid,
another a boy in the prime of youth. Alcamenes, I think, carved this scene,
because he had learned from Homer's poem that Peirithous was a son of Zeus,
and because he knew that Theseus was a great grandson of Pelops. |
| Metopes
from the porches |
Pausanias
5.10.9 ff.:
Most of the labours of Heracles are represented at Olympia. Above the doors
of the temple is carved the hunting of the Arcadian boar, his exploit against
Diomedes the Thracian, and that against Geryones at Erytheia; he is also
about to receive the burden of Atlas (here Pausanias fails to make reference
to the Cerberus labor), and he cleanses the land from dung for the Eleans.
Above the doors of the rear chamber he is taking the girdle from the Amazon;
and there are the affairs of the deer, of the bull at Cnossus, of the Stymphalian
birds, of the hydra, and of the Argive lion. |
| PARTHEON
ON ATHENIAN ACROPOLIS |
A Doric and
Ionic temple from Parthenon period (447-432 B.C.), classical moment; architectural
features designed by Iktinos and Kallikrates, cult statue made by Pheidias,
and architectural sculptures probably designed by Pheidias.
Plutarch, Life of Pericles 13.1.4 ff.:
[4] His (Pericles') general manager and general overseer was Pheidias, although
the several works had great architects and artists besides. Of the Parthenon,
for instance, with its cella of a hundred feet in length, Callicrates and
Ictinus were the architects.
Vitruvius 7, Praef. 12:
Iktinos and Karpion [wrote a volume] about the Doric temple of Athena which
is on the Acropolis in Athens. |
| Pediments |
Pausanias
1.24.5 ff.:
(24) As to the temple they call the Parthenon, all the figures in the gable
over the front entrance relate to the Birth of Athena, while in the rear
gable is the strife between Poseidon and Athena for the country. |
| TEMPLE
OF APPOLLO AT BASSAE |
Doric, Ionic,
and Corinthian temple from Parthenon period (450 B.C.) and Rich-Style period
(425-420 B.C.); second phase designed by Iktinos.
Pausanias 8.41.7 ff.:
On the mountain is a place called Bassae, and the temple of Apollo the Helper,
which, including the roof, is of stone. [8] Of the temples in the Peloponnesus,
this might be placed first after the one at Tegea for the beauty of its
stone and for its symmetry. Apollo received his name from the help he gave
in time of plague, just as the Athenians gave him the name of Averter of
Evil for turning the plague away from them. [9] It was at the time of the
war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians that he also saved the
Phigalians, and at no other time; the evidence is that of the two surnames
of Apollo, which have practically the same meaning, and also the fact that
Ictinus, the architect of the temple at Phigalia, was a contemporary of
Pericles, and built for the Athenians what is called the Parthenon. |
| TEMPLE
OF ATHENA, TEGEA |
Doric and
Corinthian temple from Late Classical period in baroque style, designed
by Skopas (375-350 B.C. or 350-325 B.C.).
Pausanias 8.45.5 ff.:
The modern temple (of Athena Alea in Tegea) is far superior to all other
temples in the Peloponnesus on many grounds, especially for its size. Its
first row of pillars is Doric, and the next to it Corinthian; also, outside
the temple, stand pillars of the Ionic order. I discovered that its architect
was Scopas the Parian, who made images in many places of ancient Greece,
and some besides in Ionia and Caria. On the front gable is the hunting of
the Calydonian boar. On the gable at the back is a representation of Telephus
fighting Achilles on the plain of the Caicus. |
| MAUSOLEUM
AT HALICARNASSUS |
A baroque
monumental tomb from Late Classical period, designed by Pytheos (362-351
B.C.).
Vitruvius 7. Praef. 12-13:
Satyrus and Pytheus wrote a book on the Mausoleum. On these men good fortune
conferred the greatest and highest tribute. For their works of art are judged
to possess merits renowned for all time and unfading for eternity, and from
their deliberations were produced works of high distinction. For example,
individual artists undertook one side each, competing against each other
in embellishing and scrutinizing the work: Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas, and
Praxiteles, while some add Timotheus. The outstanding quality of their art
caused the fame of the building to be included among the Seven Wonders of
the World.
Pliny the Elder, Natural History 36.30-31:
The rivals and contemporaries of Skopas were Bryaxis, Timotheos, and Leochares,
whom we must discuss at the same time since they too did carvings for the
Mausoleum. This was the tomb built by Artemisia, the wife of Mausolos, the
governor of Karia, who died in the second year of the 107th Olympiad [351
B.C.]. These artists put their utmost effort into this work with the result
that it came to be included among the Seven Wonders of the World. Along
the south and north sides it extends for a length of 63 feet, but it is
shorter on the front side, the total length of the circuit being 440 feet;
the tomb is 25 cubits high and is surrounded by 36 columns. They call these
surrounding columns a pteron [in Greek]. Skopas did the carving on
the east side, Bryaxis on the north, Timotheos on the south, and Leochares
on the west, but before they had completed the work the Queen died. They
did not stop working, however, until it was complete, having already decided
that it would be a monument both to their own glory and to that of their
art; and even today their hands rival one another. A fifth artist also worked
on it. For above the pteron there is a pyramid which is equal in
height to the lower part and tapers toward the top in pyramidal fashion
with 24 steps; at the top there is a marble quadriga which Pythis [name
probably should be Pytheus, as in passage from Vitruvius immediately preceding]
made. With this added, the total height of the building comes to 140 feet.
|
| IONIC
GREAT ALTAR OF ZEUS
AND ATHENA AT PERGAMON |
From Middle
Hellenistic period (182-165 B.C. for exterior, and 164-159 B.C. for interior
frieze); a baroque monument designed by Menekrates of Rhodes.
Revelations from the Bible:
2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith
he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 2:13 I know thy works, and
where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my
name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was
my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Note from David
M. Scholer: "According to Adela Yarbro Collins 'Satan's throne'
in Pergamum most likely refers to the Great Altar which served both the
sanctuaries of Athena and of Zeus... Her discussion is found in her article
'Pergamon in Early Christian Literature' in the book edited by Helmet Koester
entitled, Pergamon: Citadel of the Gods.... (Harvard Theological
Studies 46; Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1998), 163-84."
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