#6 bce

Have a good year ok...

If yours sucked this year the next might be better..ok..??ok...

happy new yea..r...s...

Honorable mention of the man I hate the most: @never-meant-to-know (betfried) (gonna slime this dude out)

Temple of Delian Apollo (”The Portara”, the lintel)

Peninsula of Palatia, Naxos, Cyclades, Greece

6th Century BCE

Ionic peripteral

On the small peninsula of Palatia, north of Naxos Town, a sanctuary developed, probably from Protogeometric times. The main period of floruit was in Archaic times under the reign of the tyrant Lygdamis (third quarter of the 6th century). The location of the sanctuary is coastal and can also be considered as urban. The divinity worshiped was most probably Apollo Delios.

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.

Temple of Themis

Rhamnous, Attica, Greece

6th century BCE

Doric in-anta

The sanctuary of Nemesis lies on the road between Rhamnous and Marathon, around 630m south of the later city.

Two temples to Nemesis and titaness Themis can be seen at the site situated very close together. The earliest temple dates from the late 6th century BCE, made of Poros stone and known from a few Laconian roof tiles, which was probably destroyed by the Persians in 480-479 BCE.

In the early 5th BCE the small temple of Themis (6.15 by 9.9m) of a 6 × 12 Doric order was built over the earlier remains to both the goddesses Themis and Nemesis, indicated by dedicatory inscriptions on two marble seats of the 4th century BCE that were sited on the porch. The former was the personification of Right Order and the latter the avenger of Order's transgressors.

There are several cuttings on the steps of this temple for the insertion of stelai. The temple was built of local dark marble and roofed with terracotta tiles. The walls of the cella and the terrace of the sanctuary platform are built in the Lesbian polygonal style of masonry. This temple probably served later as a treasury of the large temple for its cult statues.

This structure survived until the 4th century CE.

A statue called Themis of Rhamnous and several other dedications, unearthed in the cella, are at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

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 

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.

Temple of Demeter (Temple of Sangri)

Sangri, Naxos, Cyclades, Greece

530 BCE

14x13,50 m

Dorin In anta facade, Ionic interior

The Temple of Sangri is a Late Archaic Greek temple on the Cycladic island of Naxos in the area of Gyroulas, about 1.5 km south of Ano Sangri. The temple was built around 530 BC and is one of the earliest Ionic temples. The temple was entirely constructed of Naxian marble. The walls were covered by a multicoloured coating). The temple has a row of Ionic columns in the interior dividing the cella into two aisles. The columns of the internal colonnade support directly the gabled roof. Two corresponding monumental doorways open into the south long side of the cella (wide facade arrangement) with an Ionic pronaos of five columns forming the facade. Based on inscriptions the sanctuary was dedicated to Demeter, Kore, Zeus Eubouleus, Baubo, Apollo (?). The hypostyle hall is served for the celebration of the mysteries.

The temple was built around 530 BCE. Based on the finds, the sanctuary was probably dedicated to Demeter or perhaps Kore. For this reason and because of its unusual shape, the temple is often referred to as a telesterion. There are also indications of a cult to Apollo on the site. If still in use by the 4th century CE, the temple would have been closed during the persecution of pagans under the Christian emperors. In the 6th century CE, the temple was largely demolished and a three-naved Christian basilica was built from the same stone on the same site.

The temple contains many unusual features. The ground plan is almost square (13.29 x 12.73 m), when Greek temples, especially in the archaic period are usually elongated. The facade was on the south side instead of the usual location on the east or (much more rarely) west side. The temple was built without a foundation platform (the Crepidoma), directly on top of the euthynteria, likewise there is no stylobate for the columns.

The facade was formed of five columns in antis. The columns are in the Samian style, but unfluted. Very unusually, the columns show a slight contraction in width with increasing height, whereas Archaic and Classical Greek columns as a rule increase in thickness towards the top (entasis). The leafy wreathed capitals were not carved in the round, but were instead painted onto the double echinus of the capitals, while the abacus was decorated with a band.

On the smooth architrave, hidden behind plates on the facade, were the ends of roof beamswhich supported the oldest known marble roof of ancient architecture, which covered the pronaos. Seven almost four meter long beams formed the purlins of this roof. The beams were curved upwards almost 2 cm, which affected all the structural elements of the roof above them, giving the roof a slight curvature.

Two doors, placed in line with the second and fifth intercolumnation, led from the entrance area to the cella. The doorway was decorated with bands lined with a large Bead and reel pattern. Above the door was a painted Cymatium, which supported a smooth undecorated lintel.

The cella was divided into two parts by a row of five columns which were in line with the columns of the facade. The columns in the centre of the room rise to a height of 5.4 to 6.46 metres, but despite the different heights they all have the same diameter at ground level (50 cm) - in violation of the norms of archaic rules of proportion. They do not narrow towards the top. Like the facade columns they stand atop smooth Samian bases, but these have no torus. These columns supported the marble struts of a saddle roof, which ran from front to back about 4 metres in each direction. Diffuse light would have entered the cella through the gaps in the roof tiles even when the doors to the cella were closed.

The walls of the cella rested on a toichobate which was about 28 cm high and 70 cm wide and composed of two layers. While the outer layer was made of square blocks, the inner layer was made from smaller stones of irregular shape, giving it an unusual "rough" appearance. The space between these two layers was filled with rubble and marble splinters. The blocks of the outer layer show anathyrosis on the short sides, but not on the smooth long sides. The blocks were only occasionally linked with wooden dowels, mostly near the cornice. The outer layer was inclined outwards at an angle of about 3 %, which, like the shape of the columns of the facade, was the opposite of the archaic norm, which was usually intended to ensure in inward inclination. The whole exterior was plastered and painted.