#5 bce

Temple of Nemesis

Rhamnous, Attica, Greek

5th century BCE

Peripteral Doric

The sanctuary of Nemesis lies on the road between Rhamnous and Marathon, around 630m south of the later city. Two temples to Nemesis and Themis can be seen at the site situated very close together.

Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ("the goddess of Rhamnous”, her most important in ancient Greece), is the goddess who enacts retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance before the gods) 

Construction of the temple to Nemesis began around 460-450 BCE and continued until 430–420. It was built as a Doric peripteral temple during the reign of Pericles when the Parthenon was built in Athens, and on a platform with a massive polygonal terrace wall. It is believed that it was designed by the architect Callicrates who designed the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, the Poseidon Temple at Cape Sounion and the Ares temple in Acharnes.

The euthynteria and lowest level of the crepidoma were made from local dark marble, while the rest was constructed of white marble.

The Peloponnesian War must have interrupted the completion from 431 BCE and carving of the column flutes was not done and the stylobate blocks were left unfinished, retaining the protective excess marble on their easily damaged corners and upper surfaces. There were no pedimental sculptures, nor were the metopes decorated with sculpture. The roof was decorated with sculptural acroteria, however.

Unfinished fluting and carving on the 5th century BCE temple.

At some point after the original construction, the Temple of Nemesis was severely damaged at its eastern end and the upper courses were subsequently repaired with new blocks. The damage to this and other temples in the region and the destruction of monuments in Athens is thought to be caused by the armies of Philip V of Macedon during his raids in 200 BCE. The blocks which were used to repair the Temple of Nemesis are distinct from the original blocks and the tooling is quite different which suggests that the repairs were made in the Roman period, when interest in the old Classical temples was renewed. The central block of the architrave on the east end of the temple bears an inscription of rededication to the goddess Livia by the Demos, which may be associated with the repairs. This reconstruction must have been costly since it involved replacing the east end, which required making duplicate blocks for the frieze, geison, perhaps the tympanon, the raking geison, the akroteria, and perhaps part of the sima, rooftiles, and ceiling coffers. Unlike other temples in Attica which had fallen into disrepair, the Temple of Nemesis was not stripped of useful parts or removed whole to Athens. Instead, it was restored with pride as an important local monument.

Statue of Nemesis

The cella of the large temple housed the cult figure of Nemesis, sculpted by Agorakritos, a pupil of Phidias, from the block of Parian marble alleged to have been brought by the overconfident Persians for their triumphal stele. This famous statue of the goddess stood within the cella of the temple and was around 4m high. The Roman historian and connoisseur Varro rated it the finest example of Greek sculpture.

The badly damaged remains of an over life-size marble head from a cult statue of Nemesis, with perforations for attaching a gold crown, was discovered by the British architect John Gandy in the early nineteenth century and is now part of the British Museum's collection. This has a stylistic similarity to the pediment sculptures of the Parthenon of 440-432 BCE.

Temple of Artemis (Artemision)

Ephesus, Turkey

323 BCE (main phase, initial construction around 6th century BCE)

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus located on the western coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) was built in the 6th century BCE, and such was its tremendous size, double the dimensions of other Greek temples including the Parthenon, that it was soon regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Destroyed by a deliberate fire in the 4th century BCE and then rebuilt, the great Ionic temple survived until Late Antiquity and the Gothic invasion of c. 267 CE. Once again rebuilt, in 401 CE it was torn down for the last time by a Christian mob. Today only the foundations and a solitary column stand as a reminder of the site where once stood the greatest temple in the ancient Mediterranean.

Antipater of Sidon's listed the temple as one of the world's Seven Wonders and wrote:

“I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, "Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand".

for a VERY interesting read, I strongly recommend the Wikipedia article

Other Temples of Artemis

More Ephesian buildings

Pnyx (First democratic parliament in the world)

Athens, Greece

507 BCE

The Pnyx (Greek:Pnyka) is a hill in central Athens, the capital of Greece. Beginning as early as 507 BCE, the Athenians gathered on the Pnyx to host their popular assemblies, thus making the hill one of the earliest and most important sites in the creation of democracy.

The Pnyx was used for popular assemblies in Athens as early as 507 BCE, when the reforms of Cleisthenes transferred political power to the citizenry. It was then outside the city proper, but close enough to be convenient. It looks down on the ancient Agora, which was the commercial and social centre of the city. At this site all the great political struggles of Athens of the "Golden Age" were fought out. Pericles, Aristides and Alcibiades spoke here, within sight of the Parthenon, temple of Athena. Here Demosthenes delivered his vilifications of Philip II of Macedon.

The Pnyx was the official meeting place of the Athenian democratic assembly (Ancient Greek: ekklesia). In the earliest days of Athenian democracy (after the reforms of Kleisthenes in 508 BCE), the ekklesia met in the Agora. Sometime in the early 5th century, the meeting place was moved to a hill south and west of the Acropolis. This new meeting place came to be called "Pnyx" (from the Greek word meaning "tightly packed together".

In the early history of the Pnyx, three phases can be distinguished:

Pnyx I: Probably constructed in the early 5th century. The people apparently sat on the hillside facing a speaker's platform on the north. The seating capacity may have been anywhere from 6000 to 13,000 people. This phase is represented archaeologically only by a few cuttings in the bedrock and a boundary stone (not found in situ), so that it is impossible to determine the date and size with any precision.

Pnyx II: Probably late 5th century BCE In this phase the orientation of the auditorium was apparently reversed (a reconstruction that is based more upon ancient literary sources than from the actual archaeological record). A stepped terrace wall was created on the north to support an artificial terrace, and the people sat facing a speaker's platform on the south. Some sources stated that this retaining wall was constructed around 500 BC for the purpose of holding the soil that was brought in to form the level space for the bema. Part of the stepped terrace wall is preserved, as well as a staircase with rock-cut steps leading up to it from the direction of the Agora. The size of the auditorium (as it is restored by the excavators) is not that much larger than Pnyx I.

Pnyx III: The Pnyx was rebuilt and expanded in the 3rd quarter of the 4th century BCE, probably around 345-335 BCE A massive, curved, retaining wall was built (or at least begun) on the north. The southern side of the auditorium and speaker's platform (bema) were quarried out of the natural bedrock. (Traces of the quarrying process can still be seen at the eastern side of the great rock-cut scarp). On a terrace above (south of) the speaker's platform, the foundations were begun for 2 long stoas (but these seem never to have been finished). It is unknown for how many years Pnyx III was used as the meeting place of the ekklesia, and certainly by the 1st century BCE the assembly held their meetings in the Theater of Dionysos on the South Slope of the Acropolis.

Finally, in the Roman period, part of the Pnyx was used as a sanctuary of Zeus Hypsistos. Evidence for the sanctuary consist of c. 50 niches for votive plaques cut into the bedrock scarp east of the speaker's platform. Many of the votive plaques are carved with representations of human body parts (eyes, breasts, etc.), suggesting that this Zeus Hypsistos was a healing divinity.

Telesterion

Eleusis, Attica, Greece

5th century BCE - 170 CE

The Telesterion ("Initiation Hall" from Gr. τελείω, "to complete, to fulfill, to consecrate, to initiate") was a great hall and sanctuary in Eleusis, one of the primary centers of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Devoted to Demeter and Persephone, these initiation ceremonies were the most sacred and ancient of all the religious rites celebrated in Greece.

The Athenians used several calendars, each for different purposes. The festival of Eleusinia was celebrated each year in Eleusis and Athens for nine days from the 15th to the 23rd of the month of Boedromion (in September or October of the Gregorian calendar); because the festival calendar had 12 lunar months, the celebrations were not strictly calibrated to a year of 365 days. During the festival, Athens was crowded with visitors. As the climax of the ceremonies at Eleusis, the initiates entered the Telesterion where they were shown the sacred relics of Demeter and the priestesses revealed their visions of the holy night (probably a fire that represented the possibility of life after death). This was the most secretive part of the Mysteries and those who had been initiated were forbidden to ever speak of the events that took place in the Telesterion. If still in use by the 4th-century, the temple would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire, when all non-Christian sanctuaries was ordered closed by law initiated by the Christian emperors.

Painted Etruscan Antefixes - part II

An antefix (from Latin antefigere, to fasten before) is a vertical block which terminates and conceals the covering tiles of a tiled roof. It also serves to protect the join from the elements.

During the Archaic period, antefixes were produced in great numbers throughout Etruria, especially in Caere, southern Etruria (modern-day Cerveteri). Accordingly, many examples have survived. These painted terracotta objects were commonly used on the eaves of a roof, in order to protect the end tiles from the elements. They also formed part of the architectural decoration of buildings and were believed to banish bad luck. 

Antefix with the head of Maenad / Belvedere temple, Orvieto, Italy / 5th century BCE 

Antefix with a head of a Satyr / Cerveteri, Italy / 4th century BCE 

Antefix with the head of Juno-Sospita / Cerveteri, Italy / 500-480 BCE

The protective deity Juno Sospita, in terracotta painted red and black, was revered throughout central Italy in the Etruscan country as the guardian of the cities. The deity wears a colorful helmet, with a checkered crest, goat's ears and horns, and the stylized palm branch. The Romans appropriated this foreign deity when they conquered Etruria.

Antefix with the head of Maenad / Belvedere temple, Orvieto, Italy / 4th century BCE  

The maenad wears an elaborate diadem and very large grape-cluster earrings, a type of jewelry especially popular in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE.

Antefix of a female head with a Phrygian cap / Belvedere temple, Orvieto, Italy / 5th-6th century BCE 

Painted Etruscan Antefixes - part I

An antefix (from Latin antefigere, to fasten before) is a vertical block which terminates and conceals the covering tiles of a tiled roof. It also serves to protect the join from the elements.

During the Archaic period, antefixes were produced in great numbers throughout Etruria, especially in Caere, southern Etruria (modern-day Cerveteri). Accordingly, many examples have survived. These painted terracotta objects were commonly used on the eaves of a roof, in order to protect the end tiles from the elements. They also formed part of the architectural decoration of buildings and were believed to banish bad luck.

Antefix with a head of Silenus and anthemia nimbus / Cerveteri, Lazio, Italy /  4th century BCE 

Antefix with a Maenad head /  Portonaccio Temple at Veii, Italy / 510 BCE

Antefix with the head of Silenus / Cerveteri, Italy / 480 BCE 

Antefix with female head with nimbus / Lanuvium, late-Archic temple of Juno Sospita /  5th century BCE

Antefix with the head of Silenus / Italy / 4th century BCE

Painted Etruscan Antefixes - part III

An antefix (from Latin antefigere, to fasten before) is a vertical block which terminates and conceals the covering tiles of a tiled roof. It also serves to protect the join from the elements.

During the Archaic period, antefixes were produced in great numbers throughout Etruria, especially in Caere, southern Etruria (modern-day Cerveteri). Accordingly, many examples have survived. These painted terracotta objects were commonly used on the eaves of a roof, in order to protect the end tiles from the elements. They also formed part of the architectural decoration of buildings and were believed to banish bad luck.

Antefix with the head of Silenus / Excavations under the Cathedral of Perugia, Italy / 4th-3rd century BCE 

Antefix with the head of Silenus with nimbus / Veii, Italy / 5th century BCE

Antefix with a head of woman /  Etruria, central Italy /  ca. early 5th century BCE

Antefix with the head of Silenus / Italy / 5th century BCE

Antefix with the head of Silenus / Italy / 5th century BCE 

Antefix with the head of Medusa / from temple in the southern sanctuary at Veii, Italy / 5th century BCE 

Side

Asia minor, Turkey

The beginnings of the settlement

Side was founded in the 7th century BCE by Greek settlers from Kyme in Eolia, a land located in the north-western part of Anatolia. The patron goddess of the town was Athena, whose head was depicted on the coins minted in Side. However, the Greek origins of Side inhabitants were quickly forgotten, and the descendants of Greek colonists took over the language and customs of the local people. That language, examples of which have been discovered on the inscriptions from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, has not yet been understood by researchers. However, it is known, that the name of the city meant pomegranate in the local dialect.

Thanks to its favourable location at the natural harbour Side quickly became one of the most significant settlements in Pamphylia and a trading station of the region. In the 6th century BCE, Side came under the rule of Lydia and later Persia, but little is known about this period of history.

Hellenistic period

In 333 BCE, Alexander the Great took control of Side without a fight, and before embarking on his great journey to the east, he left a small garrison there. This way Side residents came in contact with Hellenistic culture. After Alexander's death, Side fell under the control of one of diadochi - Ptolemy I Soter, who declared himself the king of Egypt. The dynasty descended from Ptolemy ruled over Side until the 2nd century BCE when the city was occupied by the Seleucids. Throughout this period Side maintained a significant degree of independence and was an important cultural centre of Pamphylia.

In 190 BC a fleet owned by the city-state of Rhodes, supported by Rome and Pergamon, defeated the Seleucid king Antiochus. Under the terms of the peace treaty concluded in Apamea in 188 BCE, Pamphilia became a part of the Kingdom of Pergamon. However, the actual power of Pergamon reached only as far as Perge, leaving the areas located to the east, including Side, in a state of practical independence. In this period the Pergamon King, Attalos II Philadelphus, ordered the construction of a new harbour, located in Attalia (the present Antalya).

Roman rule

In the period from 188 to 67 BCE, Side was a free city and minted its own coins, tetradrachms with the goddess Nike and a laurel wreath. In the first century BCE, the city became the main naval base of pirates from Cilicia and, consequently, the centre of the slave trade. In 78 BCE, the pirates from Side were defeated by the Roman consul Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus, and in 67 BCE they suffered a final defeat, this time at the hands of general Pompey. It meant a de facto takeover of Side by Rome.

In 25 BCE, Emperor Augustus reformed the administration, and according to new provisions Pamphilia, and hence Side, was incorporated into the Roman province of Galatia. The wealth of the city during this period came not only from the slave trade but also from the sale of olive oil. The population rose to 60,000 and a period of prosperity lasted until the 3rd century CE. The merchant fleet of Side often played a double game - of peaceful merchants and, in favourable circumstances, bloodthirsty pirates. Wealthy traders allocated a significant proportion of their income for the development of the city and its beautification. They sponsored new public buildings, gladiatorial combats and games. Most of the ancient buildings preserved until today in Side date back to this period of history.