Temple of Artemis (Syracuse)

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Front of the model from the Temple of Artemis, Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi

The Temple of Artemis in Syracuse on the island of Ortygia is the only known temple in Sicily today, which was built in the 6th century BC. Was built in Ionic style in honor of the goddess Artemis . The remains are on an area where previously in the 7th century BC. At the beginning of the Greek conquest , in addition to the remains of prehistoric huts, there was also an archaic Athena sanctuary in the form of a megaron . About the foundations, made in 1910 by the archaeologist Paolo Orsiwere discovered, the town hall of Syracuse stands today. The archaeologist Gino Vinicio Gentili was able to excavate fragments of an Ionic column in the 1960s, which are comparable to the columns of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus in today's Turkey.

The dimensions of the temple in Syracuse were 59 meters in length and 25 meters in width. 16 columns were set up on the long sides and 6 on the narrow sides, with a capital of 12.50 meters in length and 1.70 meters in diameter at the base. The temple had a vestibule ( pronaos ) that led to an open courtyard ( sekos ). The end of the temple consisted of a rear hall ( opisthodom ), which could be entered from the outside.

Modern research assumes, due to the lack of finds of roof elements, that the temple of Artemis was not completed. The cessation of the construction work in favor of a new temple next to it is around the year 480 BC. Adopted. Instead of the completion, a victory temple in the Doric style was built under Gelon in honor of the goddess Athena , on the occasion of the won battle of Himera . The building materials of the unfinished Ionic temple were probably largely removed to be used for the new Doric building. The striking overall picture of the Temple of Artemis in Syracuse must, however, go back to the 1st century BC. Have continued to exist.

  • Ionic column fragments from the Temple of Artemis

  • Front and side views of the model from the Temple of Artemis

  • Model section from old Syracuse. The detail shows the island of Ortygia with the location of the Temple of Artemis (2) and the Temple of Athena (3)

literature

  • Martin Dreher : The ancient Sicily (= Beck'sche series 2437 C.-H.-Beck-Wissen ). Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 3-406-53637-9 , The aristocratic polis and their monuments ., Pp. 21–35.
  • Birgit Carnabuci: Sicily: Greek temples, Roman villas, Norman cathedrals and baroque cities in the center of the Mediterranean Dumont Art Guide, 2013, ISBN 9783770143856 , Syracuse, Cathedral Square , pp. 117–118.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Cicero , Reden gegen Verres , II 4, 117 - 119 (online)

Web links

Commons : Artemision (Syracuse)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 37 ° 3 ′ 35 ″  N , 15 ° 17 ′ 39 ″  E