The most important and common type of architecture in ancient Greece was the temple. The earliest stone temples appeared in the early 6th century BC and began to appear in large numbers in the following century. The purpose of Greek temples is usually to place sacrificial statues or signs. Religions do not require people to gather inside temples for worship, their temples are mainly monuments to the gods. The most obvious feature of the Greek temples is the huge pillars. The Greeks used three column styles: the Doric column, the Ionian column, and the Corinthian column.
Here is an overview of the most famous Greek temples around the Mediterranean.
10. Temple of Olympian Zeus
Although there are only a few pillars left in the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens, it doesn't take much imagination to realize that it is a huge temple. The construction began in the 6th century BC during the reign of the Athenian tyrant, when the Athenian tyrant envisioned the construction of the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD, when the project began about 638 years later.
9. Temple of Poseidon in Sounio
The Temple of Poseidon, located at the southernmost tip of the Attica Peninsula in Greece, is surrounded by the sea on three sides. It was built around 440 BC on the ruins of a temple dating back to ancient times. Today only some of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon stand, but intact, and it bears a striking resemblance to the Temple of Hephaestus below the Acropolis, which was probably designed by the same architect.
8. Temple of Zeus in Cyrene
Cyrene is the most important of the five Greek colonies in Libya today. High up from the rest of the city, sits the Temple of Zeus, which dates back to the 5th century BC. It was destroyed in a Jewish rebellion in 115 AD and restored 5 years later by the Romans under the orders of Emperor Hadrian. In 365 AD, an earthquake again leveled the temple and did not rebuild it until modern British and Italian archaeologists. Larger than the Parthenon, this temple reflects the wealth and importance of Cyrene in the ancient Greek world.
7. The Temple of Eric
Erechtheum is an ancient Ionian temple located on the north side of the Acropolis. The temples seen today were built between 421 and 407 BC. The origin of the name is derived from a shrine dedicated to the Greek hero Erichtonius. The temple may be known for its unique portico, which is supported by six female figures known as female iconoclass.
6. Temple of Apollo Epicurus
The Temple of Apollo Epicurus in Bassay, located on a remote mountainside in the Peloponnese, is a well-preserved and distinctive Greek temple. It was built between 450 and 400 BC. The temple runs in a north-south direction, in contrast to most east-west Greek temples. This temple is distinctive in that it has examples of all three classical column styles used in ancient Greek architecture. Doric columns form the colonnade, while Ionian columns support the portico, and Corinthian columns are located indoors. The Temple of Apollo Epicurus is currently covered by a tent to protect the ruins from bad weather.
5. Temple of Segesta Doric
Located in the northwest of Sicily, Segesta is one of the major cities of the Illymians, one of Sicily's three indigenous peoples. Segesta's population was a mixture of Illymians and Greeks, although the Illymians soon became Hellenistic and exhibited an external feature of Greek life. The Doric Temple, located outside the ancient ruins, is well preserved. It was built in the late 5th century BC and has 6 × 14 Doric columns. There are several things that indicate that the temple was never actually completed. The Doric columns did not have grooves as usual, and the temple did not seem to have a roof for the main chamber.
4. Paestum
Paestum is an ancient Greco-Roman city in southern Italy, not far from the beach. There are three well-preserved Greek temples here. The oldest temple in Paestum is the Temple of Hera, built around 550 BC by Greek colonists. The nearby temple was built about a century later and was also dedicated to Hera, the goddess of marriage and childbirth. Further afield stands the Temple of Athena, built around 500 BC.
3. Temple of Hephaestus
Located about 500 meters northwest of the famous Acropolis, the Temple of Hephaestus is the best-preserved Greek temple in the world, although it is far less famous than its illustrious neighbors. The temple was built in the 5th century BC and is located in an area containing many foundries and metalwork shops. Therefore, it was dedicated to Hephaestus, the god of metalworking. The Temple of Hephaestus was designed by Ictinus, one of the architects involved in the Parthenon.
2. Valley of the Temples
Located on a ridge just outside the city of Agrigento, Sicily is home to the remains of seven Greek temples, called the Valley of the Temples. Built in the 5th century BC, the Temple of Concordia is the best-preserved temple in the valley and one of the largest and best-preserved Doric-style temples in existence. The Doric column is 7 m (22 ft) high, including the capital, and has a bottom diameter of 1.3 m (4.5 ft). Other temples include the Temple of Juno, which was used to celebrate the wedding, and the Temple of Hercules, the oldest temple in the site, with only eight pillars today.
1. Parthenon
The Parthenon at the top of the Acropolis is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Greece, and a tour of Athens is incomplete without a visit to this temple. Construction of the Parthenon began in 447 BC, replacing the old temple destroyed by the Persians and completed in 432 BC. The Purpose of the Parthenon is to house a statue of Athena Parthenos made of ivory, silver and gold. Sometime in the 5th century, the statue was looted by a Roman emperor and taken to Constantinople, where it was later destroyed. During its long life, the Parthenon also served as a fortress, a church, a mosque, and a powder storehouse.