Temple Construction and Analyzation by Prof. James Muth

           

Temple Construction

The world of temples is certainly a marble covered one. It has so many layers with detail, precision and years of perfection. Temples are the worshipping areas for the ancient Greek gods, and boy are they a perfect place to do so. They have been preserved, researched and renovated to our liking but did the gods like the basic construction of these temples? We can only guess, but we can decide if we like them or not. One thing is for sure the construction is sure to amaze.

            The basic temple construction is like a rectangle surrounded by columns. The rectangle is divided into three rooms. Above the columns is the epistyle. The epistyle is the rectangle above the columns but below the roof. The epistyle is a “filmstrip” that tells or explains a story. On the Parthenon (temple of Athena) there are four epistyles, one for each side.  One of them has the Panathenaic procession. Each image in the epistyle is a marble block that has been chiseled to perfection. The epistyle looks like a comic strip on an ancient temple. The roof is very simple and just is a small slope that meets in the middle.

            The three rooms in a temple are the Prenaos, the Naos and the Opistodomos. If you were to walk into the “front door” of the temple you would walk into the Prenaos. The Prenaos is the room for preparing yourself for worship or sacrifice. Then if you would walk straight forward you would go into the Naos.  The Naos is the room that usually has the statue in it. That is were the main priest or priestess would worship or sacrifice to the god. The final room is the Opistodomos. It is the “back door” and is “filled with wisdom”.

            Our family of five went to several temples. We were engulfed in things to see and learn. There is still a lot to learn about temples but I hope this post scratched the surface on this marble covered world.                                                                -James